There are many great aspects to Tokyo’s public transportation system – speed, efficiency and convenience are but three of them. Unfortunately, it also has its downsides. One of the worst is overcapacity: there are far too many passengers and too few trains and buses. It’s certainly not a city for demophobics. And it’s only when you’re crammed into a rush hour train with legions of cigarette smoking, black-coffee drinking, hungover middle-aged men that you start to appreciate life’s simple pleasures, such as fresh air and breath mints.
Some of the more disgusting commute-aromas (commuromas?) emanate from decidedly dirty-looking overcoats, often of the khaki trench variety, that a few salarymen still cling to from the bubble economy days. Now I’m not against wearing clothes until they’re beyond repair – longevity is the main reason why I recommend people buy well-made gear – but many of them smell as if they haven’t been dry-cleaned, or even aired, since the early 1990s.
Next time you go out on the town with your overcoat on, remember to air it out when you get home. All that tobacco smoke, food and booze-related aromas permeate clothing quite easily. Even if you don’t notice it, others will, especially if their faces are haplessly squashed into your back on the Yamanote line.
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