Train Free for All

I am always hearing how polite the Japanese are and that might be true in many cases, but certainly not on trains. I have lost count of the number of times I've been pushed and shoved out the way or had to fight my way through a tide of boarding passengers as I try to extract myself from a crowded carriage. Commuters waiting on the platform might queue up neatly guided by lines on the ground, but when the train arrives it's always a free for all with passengers of any age breaking rank and dashing for an empty seat. In the UK, travellers don't usually form such ordered queues, but they do take their turn when boarding (those that arrive first, board first) and they never step on the train until everyone who wants to get off has alighted. No matter how packed the train.


The other thing that gets to me are selfish obasans (old ladies) who love to take up several seats with their shopping bags, no matter how crowded the train is or how many people are standing. Of course no one says anything, we all just ignore them, but just once I would love to throw their bags on the floor and tell them to be more considerate and less greedy. You would be considered public enemy number one if you used up extra seats in the UK, and other passengers would not be scared to tell you so.


The reason for this lack of politeness in trains is said to result from the Japanese's lack of respect for people they do not know well. Basically they care less for the comfort of people they have no relationship with. Therefore, being in a train full of strangers is no fun.