| For new arrivals in Japan riding trains | | | | This same inclination to bump and jostle is |
| quickly becomes a necessity of life. Taking | | | | obviously to be expected in a city of fifteen |
| on the challenge of a crowded morning rush | | | | million, but care should be taken when |
| hour train is a right of passage, and | | | | walking along crowded platforms, especially |
| foreigners who pass this grueling test are | | | | in late evening when salarymen staggering |
| promoted to the ranks of those tenacious | | | | home after a night of drinking have been |
| individuals able to adapt to this country's | | | | known to accidentally nudge commuters off the |
| major form of transportation. Scenes viewed | | | | edge onto the tracks below. |
| on television or in magazines of white gloved | | | | |
| conductors pushing throngs of commuters into | | | | Another potentially lethal hazard stems from |
| crammed compartments are unfortunately a | | | | gaps that can be found on various station |
| reality, and anyone bold enough to literally | | | | platforms. Although trains in Japan are an |
| jump into this melee will experience the | | | | engineering marvel, oversights were obviously |
| claustrophobic's worst nightmare. | | | | made when designing the tracks in |
| | | | relationship to certain platforms. A number |
| My initial encounter with rush hour in Tokyo | | | | of stations contain very large spaces between |
| was on a Monday morning, and I was due to | | | | the train and platform, and upon entering the |
| report bright and early for my first teaching | | | | carriage you find yourself carefully stepping |
| job thirty minutes away by train. With the | | | | over them like a mountaineer negotiating |
| naivety of a novice rider I patiently waited | | | | crevices. Some of the gaps are large enough |
| for the crowd on the platform to disperse, | | | | to consume an adult or child, as I was |
| convinced there was no possible way to | | | | witness to one Spring afternoon in Akasaka |
| physically enter the packed carriage. | | | | station. Sitting near the entrance I suddenly |
| Allowing several cars to pass I realized that | | | | heard a shrill scream of panic erupt from a |
| if I didn't board the train soon I would be | | | | female passenger attempting to board. |
| late for my first day of work. Eventually | | | | Apparently as she and her young daughter |
| forcing my way into the compartment I was | | | | entered the compartment, the girl |
| engulfed by a multitude of bodies compressed | | | | inadvertently slipped between the train and |
| into one cohesive mass which swayed | | | | platform onto the tracks, the distraught |
| uncontrollably with each erratic surge of the | | | | mother desperately pulling her trembling |
| train, my freedom of movement relinquished | | | | daughter back onto the train seconds before |
| entirely. This seemingly endless ordeal | | | | the doors shut automatically. |
| continued until the next station, when for a | | | | |
| brief moment passengers would frantically | | | | Women riding trains also have a special |
| disembark, only to be replaced seconds later | | | | concern; gropers known as "Chikans" are |
| by another group vehemently intent on | | | | famous for fondling women on trains so |
| entering the car at the same time. I realized | | | | crowded it's often impossible to determine |
| I would never survive thirty minutes of this | | | | with certainty who the offender is. Though |
| pandemonium, and found myself fighting my way | | | | Japanese women have recently become more |
| off the train at the next stop. I decided the | | | | aggressive confronting these molesters, the |
| only solution to the dilemma was to find | | | | incidence of assaults has been steadily |
| accommodation within walking distance of the | | | | rising each year to such an extent that one |
| office, or to establish a schedule that would | | | | of the main train lines in Tokyo has now |
| allow me to avoid the inevitable crowded | | | | incorporated a "women only" car to |
| conditions that exist in any major Japanese | | | | accommodate those wishing to ride without |
| city from the morning hours of seven to nine. | | | | fear of being accosted. |
| | | | |
| In addition to the horrors of rush hour there | | | | Despite the crowded conditions and negative |
| are other pitfalls that newcomers should be | | | | aspects of riding trains in Japan as |
| aware of when riding trains in Japan. The | | | | previously mentioned, the Japanese rail |
| reputation of the Japanese as being polite is | | | | system still maintains a reputation as one of |
| very accurate, but in regard to getting on | | | | the most efficient in the world. Punctuality |
| and off of trains this noble trait often | | | | is almost guaranteed, and frequency of |
| seems to vanish. Caution should be exercised | | | | departures and arrivals is truly impressive, |
| as you enter or exit the carriage due to the | | | | with a waiting time of only a few minutes |
| number of impatient passengers who feel the | | | | between trains, and a maximum of only ten |
| need to aggressively push and shove. Some of | | | | minutes on smaller lines servicing outlining |
| the worst offenders are "gray haired little | | | | areas. Japanese trains are also among the |
| old ladies" who upon seeing a rare empty | | | | cleanest and safest in the world, and |
| train seat make a bee line for this coveted | | | | accidents or breakdowns are almost non |
| spot with the dexterity and determination of | | | | existent. |
| a fullback sprinting toward the end zone. | | | | |