Something I’ve been contemplating since my commute has been extended and changed is politeness in Japan. It is so embedded in the culture that you can make a request 10 different ways depending on who you’re talking to (and I’m certain I’m missing some things I haven’t learned yet). Then there is the unspoken rule that we must maintain peace and joy throughout 

the land even if it means humbling yourself into non-existence. 

This is not at all to say that other cultures are not as polite, but the detail here is extraordinary. And language structures aside, I’ve met a lot of people who have done amazing things for me after knowing me for only a couple hours. So many people have thanked me and my classmates for still coming to Japan despite the Fukushima diaster that sent so many foreigners away. Everyone’s always smiling and it’s positive energy all around. 

And then I’m back to the train station. Politeness in Japan is widely and rightfully praised, but no one talks about what I’m going to call the lack of regard for total strangers. 

In the train station, it is all for one and one…needs to get to work so everyone else better move aside. Here’s a step by step guide for how to commute during peak hours

1. Board the train without waiting for the passengers to get off

2. Stand by the doors so you can get off quickly at your station. Don’t fill the aisles, that will only slow you down.

 

3. If the train is seemingly at full capacity, enter the train backwards so you don’t see the people you’re about to push and squish as you make your way in.

4. Don’t make eye contact. There is no sharing in this. This is only a means to an end. 

5. Push through whoever was able to get between you and the door and power walk it off. You got this, champ!

6. If transferring, walk in a bee dance line and hold out your arms in a non-threatening fashion so as to easily move people out of your way like a snow plow. 

Feel free to decorate these steps with running and ignoring the station staff’s requests to wait for the next train. 

Jokes aside, after my confusion cloud cleared up, I came to notice these these situations are not that aggressive or malicious. It’s truly as if they don’t see you there. Some say it’s because Japan is so narrow a country, people feel like bumping into each other and the like can’t be helped. And some people do apologize. 

Perhaps this is more of a big city commute thing than a Japanese culture thing? I’ve never ridden the subway in New York at the peak hours or anything, so I have nothing but the CATA system to compare it to. Either way, what a trip.