Japan’s railway manners

[TinCan782]

While the posters are in Japanese, the message is clear.
Very creative.
(the article is in English)
"Japan’s railway manners posters offer reminders on correct behavior with a light touch, along with charmingly playful designs."
https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g02256/

 

[George Harris]

And for the foreigners traveling to Japan, be observant. Think, "When in Japan do as the Japanese do" like the very old, "When in Rome do what the Romans do." You would think most of the things listed would be on any list of the blooming obvious. Be considerate, act politely, respect the way they do things and try to do likewise, and recognize that the idea of "personal space" in Japan is not the same as "personal space" in the USA, but it is not zero or a negative number. We spent a week there with nothing but a flexible list of things we would like to do, a Lonely Planet guide book, a Railway Pass and a Railway Timetable (that was in Japanese) and had a great time. I don't recall seeing much of what was on that list while we were there. In fact, we did not experience most if any of the negatives that other people we knew got in an uproar about, but by then we had spent 15 years in Asia, mostly Taiwan, and seemingly knew how to adjust to the way things were done where we were.

If you want to operate on "we will do thing the American (or European) way you will be miserable and leave a bad taste in the mouth of the locals. If that is going to be your thing, do yourself and everybody else a favor and don't go.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Japanese passengers are usually very ordered and quiet but the areas around stations are often full of loud and obnoxious announcements. It seems these visuals were chosen to separate public service notices from the deluge of generic advertising. As George alludes you'll rarely fail to notice a pack of American teenagers as they spread out with bags, purses, and feet on chairs using outdoor voices everywhere.

 

[cirdan]

Japanese graphic design at its best, subtle, visually appealing, restrained, well matched colors, while the message is clear.

 

[Literalman]

On the New York City subway, I've seen a long list of rules of behavior, including the pithy "Go before you go," along with commandments not to make loud noise, not to disturb other passengers, and not to set fires; "Oh," I said, commenting on these three, "I'm not supposed to have any fun." ;-)

 

[Steve4031]

The staff on Japan's railways politely enforces the rules. I was on a limited express and took a phone call while seated in the coach. A staff member approached me and politely explained that I needed to step through the door into the area at the front of the car which happened to be next to the engineer's cab with a great view of the tracks ahead. Based on my experiences in the US I had assumed this area to be off limits. I did know that I should not have used the phone in the coach area. I had heard announcements on every train not to do so. In this instance, I was somewhat jetlagged.

On another train, I accidentally sat in a reserved area. This was on a commuter train where I thought there would be no reserved seats. The conductor politely enforced the rule and I immediately got up.

 

[user 1215]

I goofed in Japan last month. Say it ain't so! Well, yep. I got on the wrong train. lol. Took the Shinkansen out of Tokyo to Osaka. Bought a ticket for what I thought was the 2:03 PM Hikari. Got on board with my kid and all was well. Conductor came to check my tickets and he spent a little more time than I was expecting. I asked if everything was OK. He shrugged and said, "Well, not quite..." Turns out my ticket was for the 2:33 PM. Fortunately for us, the train was very empty and he was able to confirm our seats for the rest of the journey. Ooops. That would not have been OK on the return, because seats were sold out and the trains were packed - reserved seats were being reseated as soon as someone got off.

 

[Tlcooper44]

I goofed in Japan last month. Say it ain't so! Well, yep. I got on the wrong train. lol. Took the Shinkansen out of Tokyo to Osaka. Bought a ticket for what I thought was the 2:03 PM Hikari. Got on board with my kid and all was well. Conductor came to check my tickets and he spent a little more time than I was expecting. I asked if everything was OK. He shrugged and said, "Well, not quite..." Turns out my ticket was for the 2:33 PM. Fortunately for us, the train was very empty and he was able to confirm our seats for the rest of the journey. Ooops. That would not have been OK on the return, because seats were sold out and the trains were packed - reserved seats were being reseated as soon as someone got off.

Had a similar experience from Okayama to Kyoto.

We reserved a Nozomi at 8:45 but boarded the train that was currently on our track at 8:42.

When the train began to move, I assumed we were leaving early (silly me, this isn’t America). In rush our, I guess three minute headways are possible on a high speed rail line. Astounding.

I found Japanese train etiquette to be rather self explanatory. Politeness seems to work just about everywhere.