Chatters inside stations/Carlos Pueblo
We were
inside Himeji station ticket room to reserve seats back to Shin-Osaka
and
following a robot’s instruction to take a number and sit for our number to
be called. I
was attracted by a pretty lady sitting in front of me on the left. She
was busy reading
her i-phone and managing her handbag. She wore a white
mask;
therefore, I couldn’t see her face yet I could still see her appearance,
lovely
hairdo, overcoat, slender figure, and high hill. Amy, on another sea,
warned me
not to stare at her that long. Suddenly, a foreign family of four
entered the
room. The husband took a number and took his daughter to
sit and the
mother and her son were attracted by the Japanese greeting
robot in the
front. The boy attempted to communicate with a question,
do you speak
English? Repeated it several times and the Robot still return
his format
greeting. Then, the mother said Konichiwa, good afternoon.
Then, the
girl joined in asking the robot if it spoke English. The robot still
spoke in
Japanese. I think that very soon, the station will provide multi-
lingual
service robot and two way communication with customers.
All reserved
seats were full except non-reserved trains, the first to the third
trains in
the front. The staff recommended us go to the platform early and
wait on the
que to get on first after some came off which made sense. On
the next
after, we were in the same situation at Hiroshima station. There
were no seat
and robot except the traditional way. Suddenly, I saw a counter
on the far
right with a sign for JR Pass customers and that’s us. An English
spoken lady
staff was outside the counter and approached to us, asked our
destination
and another staff inside the counter quickly checking the computer
and found
nothing available. She advised us to try the non-reserved train and
also
recommended us to take one after the immediate next train because the
second one
stopped fewer stations and actually would arrive early. On our way
back, I did
see Fukuyama Castle, a station that we passed without a stop.
There are
shopping center inside every station and many stories to tell that
reflect the
good manners and service of Japanese people. We located a drug
store inside
a big store like Walgreen type. When I mentioned Kasei, the cold,
the clerk
brought us to a row and soon a specialist followed to point out the
suitable one
on the counter.
I helped Amy
to get desserts, sweet rice ball with red bean paste inside. When
I asked where
I could get a bottle of sake. The elder sent her young assistant to
take us to a
nearby supermarket and we learned how to get a lunch box of
sashimi or
sushi for a reasonable price.
