a stranger in tokyo saved my daughter on the subway
We were in Tokyo, riding the Yurikamome subway line, and things went sideways in a split second. My 8-year-old, for some reason, decided the next stop was ours and bolted off the train. Her little sister yelled after her, but it was too late. You know that moment when your heart just drops? That was me, watching my wife try to push through a packed crowd to get off too, but she just couldn’t make it in time. We’d told our kids earlier, if we ever got separated, just wait at the next station. Still, seeing your kid disappear into a sea of strangers in a foreign country is a whole different level of panic.
Out of nowhere, this young Japanese guy, who’d overheard the commotion, leapt off the train right before the doors closed. I mean, he didn’t even hesitate. I had to ride the train back a stop, hoping my daughter was okay. When I got there, the young guy was standing with her, calm as anything. He’d even tried to help her call me using Google Translate, but she forgot the country code—classic. He tried to take her to the station master, but the place was unmanned. So they just waited together on the platform.
Here’s the kicker: when I tried to thank him, he barely acknowledged it, just laughed with his friend who’d also come back a stop. I couldn’t even say thank you properly because of the language barrier. He just shrugged it off, like it was nothing, but honestly, it meant everything to us. I keep thinking, would someone in North America have done the same? Or would they have just watched, not wanting to get involved?
#TravelStories #Japan #FamilyTravel #Travel
