Japan: Travel and Safety
Japan is regarded as one of the safest countries with low crime rates. During my trip in Japan, I don’t think I’ve come across any safety tips. The people here are very respectful and helpful. One of the students on the dialogue lost her NEU ID at a subway station or on the train. In America, if that were to happen, you’re probably out of luck of ever finding that ID. However, within about a week, news came that the ID was found. Additionally, the bikes here aren’t even locked up, or if even locked, it’s not the most secure. These bikes can even cost up to $1000. It’s amazing how people here have so much trust in each other.
A safety tip that would’ve been nice to know is what to do when there’s an earthquake. Japan is frequented by earthquakes, and it’s a real possible danger while being abroad. Although nothing has happened for the good month we were in Japan; however, during the last week, there were three earthquakes within the span of three days. The first one occurred at 2am, and it was an interesting experience to wake up to since I’ve experienced one before and it felt like someone was shaking my bed. I was also half awake, so it kind of felt like a dream. The other one occurred at 7am that morning, but was minor and I didn’t even notice it. The last one occurred while I was eating lunch at school two days after the first two occurred, but lasted around 10 seconds. Thankfully, during these moments the earthquakes were not major and we were all safe. The epicenter of the earthquake was quite far away. However, if the earthquakes ended up being severe, it would’ve been nice to know what to do in that situation.
Japan is also very convenient. When being in Japan for over a month, carrying a large suitcase around while travelling isn’t the most ideal. However, Japan has a carrier/mail service where they can deliver your large suitcase to your next destination. This was extremely helpful when were at Kyoto going to Tokyo. As some of the subway stations do not have elevators and can get pretty crowded, it was a nice relief not having to worry about lugging around a 50lbs luggage.
