Human override

Sunday afternoon at Motegi theme park in Tochigi.

I was alone with my three kids, waiting in line for the Dekoboko, an off-road buggy ride they had all pointed to on the map when I asked what they wanted to do. Twenty minutes in, we were almost at the front.

Then an announcement came over the speakers: children under third grade must ride with one adult per child.

My stomach dropped.

In Japan, a rule is a rule. I started rehearsing how to explain to three kids that we'd waited for nothing. Or worse, one gets to go but the others don't.

But when we reached the front, the staff didn't shrug and point to the sign.

They paused. Looked at our group. And offered a solution: my oldest could drive on his own. I'd ride with one of the younger kids, then switch and ride again immediately with the other.

No extra wait. No hassle.

It would've been so easy to enforce the rule and move on. Most places would have.

Instead, one staff member took five seconds to think about the situation in front of them rather than the policy behind them.

Nothing broke. No exception spiraled out of control. Three kids left smiling.

It was a tiny decision. And it's the one part of the day I've already retold three times.