Camera: Fujifilm XT5

Snapped this photo at an underpass in Tokyo. The torn poster caught my eye and as I was composing the shot this dude walked into shot. I am happy with both these photos: 7/10.

—ooOoo—

I just don’t want to be that person.

I have been pretty diligent about wearing a mask in Japan. As I mentioned previously, there is reportedly a nasty flu season over here right now. Of course, getting sick would suck. I definitely don’t want to spend the rest of the trip feeling like I have just been run over by the Shinkansen. 

But there is something I fear even more than influenza. 

Last year on the flight home there was this lady sitting two rows back from me who had a persistent, productive hacking cough the entire 10 hour overnight flight home.

It literally drove everyone on the flight mental. Even the flight attendants had all donned masks after the first couple of hours.

Now, I dont blame her (much), I mean what do you do if you are feeling off colour and have a cough? Do you cancel your flight home and fork out the money to stay another week until you feel better and your cough clears up? I don’t think so.

So. I feel sorry for her on reflection. She was hated by every single person flying cattle class. I am surprised the emergency evacuation shutes didnt deploy mid flight due to the sheer barometric pressure generated by the viral loading she was expunging into the cabin.

Ten hours was ten hundred hours.

Towit, I dont want to be that person.

—ooOoo—

The other day at breakfast there was a Russian tour group sitting two tables across. They were loud and animated and three of them had nasty coughs. They coughed whist they talked. They coughed whilst they ate. They coughed whilst they selected their food from the buffet. Not a hand cover, not a tissue, not a consideration was to be seen.

Finishing my pancakes quickly, I scooted out of there. 

Not 30 minutes later I was catching the lift down to the lobby when the entire group appeared as if from thin air and all attempted to squeeze into the elevator.

Im not sure how many of us were in there but it must have exceeded the lift capacity for the doors refused to close. This only resulted in generating a hyper-animated discussion in Russian. Accompanied by coughing. Much much coughing.

I was trapped at the rear of the lift and had no mask. I tried to relax like a free diver…..sloooow exhale. Relax. Slow. Your. Heart rate. No inhale until the lobby.

Eventually, after much arguing, they figured out how many of them would need to bail to get the lift working again. Needless to say, the three alpha superspreaders were not sacrificed. 

And needless to say I didn’t make it to the lobby before needing to take a seriously deep gasping inhalation. I could feel all the little viruses bouncing down my trachea like microscopic peppercorns.

I fly home on Friday.