And it’s not just chimes in train stations, either. The streets of Japan are full of signals that play sounds and music, so when a familiar one starts up, you can be sure that there are Japanese pedestrians who take it as a sign that the light is green and they can start crossing—even if they don’t see the signal itself. And then you have people like the Italians who want to make things even more interesting by whistling to mimic the signals and see if they can get any of the Japanese people waiting on the street to reflexively start moving.
Most Italian train stations don’t play chimes when the trains pull out. Nothing resembling music plays in the station buildings. All you get is a deep, computerized male voice announcing the numbers of the platforms where trains are leaving, providing information on delays, and so on. So it ends up feeling like your train starts quietly pulling out of the station before you know it. I do find it charming, though, that they always play a message in the train telling people who have boarded to see someone off to deboard as the train is preparing to depart. It must be common for family members to get so wrapped up in conversation during the unwanted parting with their loved ones that the train just pulls away with them still aboard.
Incidentally, the areas in and around train stations in Italy aren’t the safest places to be, which may be why they don’t feel like they’re designed as waiting spaces the way Japanese train stations are. That said, the Milano Centrale Railway Station has undergone a major transformation in the last ten years or so, with far more shopping, gourmet eateries, and other amenities than before. It’s also gotten brighter, which has significantly improved people’s image of stations. the Mercato Centrale food and retail zone they created in the station in 2021 is a particularly big draw, with so many delicious and attractive options lined up that you’re at a loss as to which shop to pop in, what to buy, and what to eat. The danger, of course, is that you’ll get so distracted by everything that you’ll end up late for your train, so it would really be handy if they would play announcements in there to snap you out of it.
So what about waiting at traffic signals in Italy? Depending on where you are, the signal might give you a countdown to green—but I’ve never encountered one that plays music or sounds. It may be because on Italian streets, drivers are king.
I also tend to drive more than walk, and a lot can happen while you’re waiting for a light to change. Some of the most common things are people trying to sell things, people begging for money, window-washers, and street performers. People selling toys or lighters will come up to the driver-side window, but nothing they have is ever of use to me—so I always shake my head to indicate I don’t want anything. Window-washers, on the other hand, tend to be extremely pushy and irritatingly persistent, to the point that I’ll stubbornly wave them off and refuse to get my windows cleaned even if they’re dirty. Even then, many of them still insist on cleaning the windshield, so I have to resort to either inching the car forward at them or turning on the wipers to block them from cleaning it. Beggars also will come right up and put their faces near the driver-side window—or even start knocking on it to ask for money.
The only people I’ll actually roll my window down and give coins to are the street performers. These guys will get out in the crosswalk where the drivers can see them and perform while the light is red. I’m always impressed at how they manage to get out in the street and somehow figure out which intersections have longer red lights, since they’re dealing with a matter of seconds. And they don’t just have to put on their acrobatic performance—they also have to find the time to collect money from the drivers waiting for the light to change after it’s over. I get stressed out just watching them, wondering if they’ll have enough time to get their money. So I end up pulling out some coins for them, not so much because I’m impressed with their performances, but because I’m impressed at their ability to coordinate their actions down to the second.
