Tokyo Nights
Life In Tokyo - Neil Stalnaker
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Nose-Pickers On The Train
From time to time I find myself in the company of very determined and intense public nose-pickers on the train here in Tokyo. Usually guys but, from time to time I've witnessed some women with their index fingers buried to the 2nd knuckle sitting across from me on the train. I guess I can excuse emergency situations. Come on, let's be honest. We've all had to do a little landscape work from time to time. But, what amazes me about these nose-pickers is that they go "back in" repeatedly...sometimes 15 or 20 times. Deep, intense excavation. And then switching to the other side, all the while building up a huge pile of residue on the resting hand. After the digging is finished, watch out! Because then they do "the roll" (rolling it into a ball) and then "the flick" (flinging their trophy somewhere nearby on the train). Tonight, I encounter my first ear-picker. I had a 12 minute train ride from Kami-Itabashi to Ikebukuro and he was hard at work the entire time. I got off the train in Ikebukuro so I'm sorry to say I had to miss the "the roll" and "the flick".