Unspoken Rules of Trains in Japan

　　If you have lived in Japan, especially in Kanto area, you have probably noticed that the competence of Japanese public transportation, the accurateness, the tidiness, the functions and so on. More than that, however, I believe that there is one thing that makes passengers unconsciously comfortable. That is unspoken rules that everyone follows. I have lived in Tokyo for 5 years and realized that everyone follows unspoken rules of public transportation without knowing, When I first came to Tokyo, I didn’t know there were such a rules, but I found myself in following the rules along the way. I would like to take the ones of trains as an example here.

1, Stand in line while waiting for a train

　　The first thing that I was surprised by is that people stand in line until a train arrives. There are landmarks on the platforms to encourage people to stand in line. And they actually wait for a train on the landmarks in line. I have never seen people break into line. Even if they are in a rush, they never do it.

2, Keep priority seats open

　　Japanese trains have priority seats for elderly people and those with disabilities. It is completely no problem to sit on the seats when it is vacant. But in my experience, people seem to refrain from sitting on the seats and always keep them open even if there is those people around there. When I realized the fact, I was very impressed by their consideration.

3. Speak quietly and don’t talk over the phone

　　People try to speak quietly and don’t talk over the phone. To be honest, I have seen some people who were talking over the phone, but they tried to speak as quietly as possible. Some people might say that Japanese people care too much about strangers but I think there is no other country with full of consideration like Japan.

　　If you start living in Japan, especially Kanto area, you might be surprised and weird at first. But I am sure that you will feel comfortable in the environments soon and preserve the disciplines without knowing. But I would like you to be careful of people who are drunk. Some Japanese people completely ignore the rules when they are drunk. We want to be able to consider even such a people.