Firstly, everyone keeps asking why I would continuously get lost on the Tokyo train/subway system. Let me explain it this way: imagine a plate of spaghetti with each of the train lines as a string of spaghetti. Those are the JR (Japan Rail) lines that run above ground. Now imagine that plate of spaghetti on top of another plate of spaghetti. The second plate represents the metro (subway) lines that run under ground. Nothing goes in a straight line. Some intersect, cross, or end randomly. Almost nothing is in a language you can understand. And once you find the correct line to follow, at the end of it is another equally perplexing set of options as to how to either connect to another line or properly exit the station at which you've just arrived (more of which is in a language you mostly don't understand). Asking for directions would help, except for the fact that everyone around speaks a language you mostly don't understand. Even with a map, some of the stations are so confusing that the Japanese themselves get lost if they're in an unfamiliar station.
In fact, let me put it this way:
These are the subways (the bottom plate of spaghetti).
The station I most often got lost at was Shinjuku station. It is the busiest station in the world, processing more than 3 MILLION people PER DAY. An architectural brain-bender, it has several levels, various shopping centers, and over 300 exits. It wasn't until Amanda Fosburg gave me a tour one day that I finally got the hang of the giant station. The first time I tried using the trains alone took me through this station and was responsible for one of my seasons of disorientation that day. It was this underground walkway that so befuddled my brain:
The trick is to know the color of your line and then follow the signs. Trouble sprouts when the color of your line suddenly disappears from the signs above your head. I had never been adept at reading maps or looking for signs until I spent the better part of 2 months learning Japan's rail systems. It is comforting to know that I am not the only one who got lost. Even Pastor Shelley got lost once when I was with her, which is another story worth telling (another time!).
Trains were just one of the many ways God used to humble me during my time in Japan. I don't take it for granted that I know where I am going now that I am back in my hometown, nor that I have a car to get me there. Although, I have to admit that I do miss having an adventure ever day, as one never knows what route one will take on the trains in Tokyo! :) To God be the glory, I enjoy every memory I have of those moments this past summer. And it taught me this; Every day is an adventure - if you're willing to look for it!
