Saw the "Blue Tarp" today...

[RoboReptar]

Needed to get this off my chest since I'm still kinda shook up a bit over it.

Was wandering around the rainy streets of Shibuya, turned a corner and there were a bunch of gents, I couldn't tell if they were paramedics, coroners team, or police officers (They were all wearing a lighter blue sort of suit thing). They were pushing a stretcher, clearly with a body in it.

I was unfortunate enough to get a look at the poor gentleman who's arm was hanging outside the stretcher while onlookers seemed to pause for a moment. The folks in blue kept repeating the same thing (I wasn't sure, maybe please move or something.)

Makes you think a bit about life whenever you see something like that. Makes you value what you have.

Sorry for the bummer thread, just needed a place to vent. Has anyone else run across a similar situation while in Tokyo so far? How did it affect you personally?

 

[User#8628]

On the 25th of february i saw likely a dead person in Shinjuku station. But i couldn't find any news about it afterwards...

 

[RoboReptar]

On the 25th of february i saw likely a dead person in Shinjuku station. But i couldn't find any news about it afterwards...

It's so sad and so unfortunate. I can't imagine what goes though people's minds as they do this.

I just appreciate the life I have so much more these days.

 

[Hofmeyer]

On my flight back home an old woman collapsed in a faint in the aisle. She turned out ok, but for a while I thought I was going to watch a lady die in front of her stunned husband and quietly freaking our grand daughter thousands of miles from their home.

 

[AngelicBlight]

I had a few instances where this occurred, and this happens often, sadly. onetime in takadanobaba station, when I got off at last train, there were paramedics covering a body with a blue tarp, and ambulance sirens going off in the distance. Everyone disembarked and walked on their way but I couldn't help but be overcome by a wave of sadness... Are we all so alien to this kinda suffering that we just go on with our day? David Foster Wallace said it best, that there's no such thing as atheism in the day to day trenches of adult life... it kinda beats you down and you have to find some form of worship to combat it. Maybe everyone else found their way of dealing and just walked past the body, but I couldn't quite steel my heart like that.

Another time I went to the Tokyo design festival and there was a fire in one of the exhibits where one child died and two people were injured trying to save the child. To see the panic occur at that time was such a rough feeling, I had my heart in my gut the whole time, wondering if anyone was hurt, and was devastated when I read nhk news after I came home.

For me to deal with it, I had to talk about it and cry to my friends about it; for the time in takadanobaba I just rambled at a friend for an hour with tears in my eyes, and I was with someone for the second time so I had to console her the whole ride home too, but I think we both got through that in our own way.

I think it's important, just grab someone and talk to them about it. Get it off your chest in physical form, face to face is best, or maybe phone your parents or a good friend.

 

[MongerInAStrLnd]

Couple years ago my train pulled into Shinjuku station, saw a guy 2 tracks over go down with a heart attack. No one lifted a finger. Couldn't do anything myself either with the train pulling away and the whole thing taking place on the tracks opposite the platform door.

 

[TAG Manager]

Couple years ago my train pulled into Shinjuku station, saw a guy 2 tracks over go down with a heart attack. No one lifted a finger. Couldn't do anything myself either with the train pulling away and the whole thing taking place on the tracks opposite the platform door.

That's sad....

It's not the same, but I saw some guy go down on a scooter on Saturday (3/18) in Akihabara. I didn't see the exact event, but I turned around long enough see the scooter hit the ground with him rolling around in intersection. Immediately, a bunch of pedestrians jumped in to help him get out of the street, collect his belongings and the busted scooter. A few Japanese and a few tourists were involved in that... I definitely would have helped, but I was about 250 meters away and many people swarmed him immediately.

Of course, some dumbass taxi driver was blaring his horn to get people to move.