Are you Japanese?

A few days ago, I was riding the Taipei MRT during a trip north. I’d wanted to photograph New Taipei City’s Danjiang Bridge (淡江大橋) in its near-complete state. Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and scheduled to open next year, it’s the world’s longest single-tower cable-stayed bridge.

I had a window seat on the MRT. I sat with my tripod and camera bag on my lap. After about five minutes, I noticed a woman—around age 30 and dressed like an office worker—standing a few meters away, staring at me intently. This is unusual behavior in Taiwan; kids stare but adults usually mind their own business.

I ignored her and looked at my phone.

The next time I looked up, she'd moved closer. Still staring.

She had unblinking black eyes and long, straight hair.

I looked back at my phone.

But when I glanced up a third time, she was only an arm’s length away.

Much like the Ninja Cat from this 2008 meme, she got nearer without ever seeming to move.

Here’s a reasonably-accurate AI re-creation:

With her standing close and still staring, I decided to subtly bow my head to acknowledge her. She nodded back.

I returned to my phone, but then heard (in Chinese) “Excuse me…”

I looked up.

“Are you Japanese?” she asked.

As someone with—according to AncestryDNA—no Asian heritage, this was a surprising question.

“I’m not Japanese. I’m a New Zealander”, I replied. “Are you Japanese?”

“No, I’m Taiwanese”, she said.

She then said something I couldn’t make out, so I apologized that my Chinese wasn’t good enough to understand.

“You look like my manager”, she said in English.

“Is he Japanese?” I asked.

“No”, she said. “He’s from New York.”

“Interesting,” I said, in a state of polite confusion.

“You look the same as him,” she said in English, before switching back to Chinese: “How long have you been in Taiwan?”

“Around two years”, I replied.

“Are you alighting at this station?” I thought she asked, as we arrived at some random stop.

“I’m going to Shipai Station” I said—immediately before realizing I’d misunderstood her Chinese. She’d actually told me she was about to get off the train, and probably didn’t care where I was going.

“Goodbye”, I said in Chinese.

“Goodbye”, she said, before leaving.

She stood on the platform and stared back at me through the window. I’m not used to being so transfixing.

Thankfully, the doors closed and the train departed quickly.

I messaged a friend about my experience. He said she was probably a scammer. Another friend said she might’ve been a ghost. (Ghost Month starts on August 24, this year.)

Anyway, here’s a photo of the bridge:

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