As someone who lived in Boston for years, where taking the train was as much fun as going to the dentist, Japan’s railway system is a dream come true. The trains are reliably on time and go almost everywhere, plus they’re quiet and clean. A pleasure to ride rather than a burden.
One of the big reasons Japanese trains are so nice is because of the unspoken social contract that most riders uphold. There are lots of train riding manners that go a long way to making the ride more pleasant for everyone. Some examples include not eating on the train, not talking too loud, and more.
But what are the most important train manners? To answer that, the Japan Private Railway Association recently put out their annual report of the “top-ranking pet peeves on trains and at stations.”
Let’s take a look at how 2019 compares to previous years.
First is the Worst
Number one on the pet-peeve list is “how people sit” on the train. This refers to passengers spreading their legs into multiple seats, or crossing their legs to take up more room. Since Japanese trains are often packed to the brim, taking up extra space is seen as selfish.
What’s interesting is that this is the first year “how people sit” hit the number-one most hated spot. It always hung around number two or three in previous years, and last year it was beaten out by “how people carry/place bags,” which is number three this year.
Aside from placing bags on seats or taking up too much space, this tweet shows another reason for this pet peeve:
Something annoying that happened to me on the train recently. I was sitting down when something hit me in the head. I thought it was a person’s backpack, but when I looked, I’d been bitten on the head by a shark.
What would just be a cool, fun backpack elsewhere can become a source of annoyance for other people in Japan.
Despite that though, bag-annoyance is on the decline. Hidaka Yoshifumi, the assistant director of public relations at the Japan Private Railway Association, said this about it. “The top three were all very close, so I don’t think it’s due to any big societal change. It could be due to people generally being more aware of their manners with bags.”
Show Me the Manners!
Other pet peeves that made the top of the list were “manners getting on/off the train” at number two. This refers to people not waiting for passengers to leave the train before they try to get on, or not moving away from the door for oncoming traffic.
“How people use smartphones” came in at number four. Typically this is when passengers walk around staring at their smartphones, not paying attention to people they might bump into.
Here’s the full ranking for 2019, as well as previous years:
One interesting thing to note is that number 17, “reading newspapers/magazines,” has been on the decline for years. This is likely not because of a change in manners, but simply due to people reading phones instead. Also notable is “talking in loud voices,” which held the number-one spot up to 2017, fell all the way to number five this year.
The increase in number 11 “people ignoring priority seating” and the disappearance of last-place “baby strollers on crowded trains” are both heartwarming. Rather than most pet peeves which are based around the passenger themself being annoyed, those show concern for others and making allowance for them.
It’s Not What’s On the List, It’s What’s Off It
Personally, as someone who rode Boston trains for years, it’s fascinating how many of my own top pet peeves aren’t even on this list. My list from Boston would include “people playing music/games without headphones,” “people vandalizing the train/graffiti,” and “awful smells of unknown-but-probably-body-fluid origin.”
Thankfully in Japan, those pet peeves are all but nonexistent. Music leaking out of headphones is the worst that most have to deal with, and station staff quickly take care of any sort of vandalism or irritating odors.
I think another part of the reason is that those three are based around a blatant disregard for other passengers. Japan’s pet peeves are more based on accidentally getting lost in the moment and forgetting where you are. One Twitter user put it pretty well, saying this:
Train pet peeves are a hot topic right now. But really none of them are that big a deal unless the train is packed.
They have a good point. If there are only a few people on the train, you can feel free to spread your legs a bit, chat about, use your smartphone however you want. But even if you’re the only one on a train, vandalism and discharging liquids is never acceptable.
If you’re planning on traveling to Japan, and you want to be a good tourist rather than a bad tourist, do your best to follow the top manners and you’ll do great. Most of them are common sense, but unfortunately yes, it may mean leaving the shark backpack at home.
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