Got a job change recently. Will be riding the train during rush hour (from 7AM) for the first time in my 3 years in Japan.

20 comments

1. Don’t be late?

   Edit: Yea, shoes are a good idea.

   Edit 2: Study something. Plan the day. Answer emails.

2. What advice you need? You accepted a job that u knew u had to commute?

   Make sure be there on time

3. No one can give you detailed advice with such a vague description…

   Tokyo? Osaka? Sendai? Akita?

   Is your station an express stop? First stop on the line? Local only trains? Do you need to change trains at a hub?

   ​

   My advice for you is, get to the station 5 minutes before your train arrives, line up and get on the train, away from the doors, and buy some Airpods Pro/Bose/Sony noise cancelling headphones.

4. Remember,this is Japan.
   Be on time means 15-20 minutes early to set up your desk and accept praise from your manager for being on time, when he is actually 5 minutes late.

5. Uh… Don’t miss your train? Show up early?

6. Why in all that is holy did you leave a full remote job for one that has you getting on a train at 7 AM lol

7. If you wear a backpack and don’t plan on using the overhead storage, then wear it on your front kangaroo-style. It’s easier to keep it out of other peoples way with space being such a premium.

8. Except for a few certain lines and express trains starting far out of the city, trains at 7AM won’t be too crowded, so you may be able to sit. Been catching the train before 7AM for years and it is calm and quiet, with a lot less chance for delays, too. Biggest advice would be to sign up for Amazon Audible and listen to audiobooks. Been doing it for the last couple years and it is awesome. Occasionally listen to podcasts, too.

9. Get a book to read, manga if you are into such, or listen to podcasts. Buy a switch. Sleep or eat if you wanna minmax time.

   I find myself messaging friends, listening to twitch streams, checking reddit for posts like this, planning out how to torture my players in the next dnd session, reading ads to improve my Japanese…

10. I saw people solving sudoku in train on physical question books.

11. Wear a mask.

    Not for the corona or the flu or anything of the sort, do it because many people shower at night before going to bed rather than in the morning before going to work or don’t shower at all. You can get mint flavored mask filters on amazon.

    Rainy season and summer are the worst and you will feel sad for the tiny women who get sandwiched between sweaty armpits.

12. OPs extra details are so unnecessary if people used a lick of common sense. A train at rush hour is a train at rush hour. Osaka Tokyo Nagoya Kyoto even the small town I live in, it’s crowded and full of people. “Be on time” for the train and work is stupid advice because you have to be clocked in anyway at a remote job (in my experience we clocked in from phones) and should be on time for your commute anyway. It doesn’t matter where.

    Of course now it doesn’t matter because OP edited the post but jesus christ.

13. I hate rushing so I’ll usually start riding the train about 30 minutes before I know the trains get crowded in the morning. I’ll either get to work early and chill and prepare, or even if there are any delays in the train i’ll probably still be on time. A less crowded time on the train also gives me space to read a book or play a game on my phone. The rush hour train itself is a nightmare with people pressing shoulder to shoulder.

14. Create a bingo card and use it on the train

15. Are you going with or against the crowds? I used to travel from Tokyo to Yokohama in the mornings, so no real crowds. The trains coming into Tokyo were stupid crowded. Good luck.

16. Learn to predict which sitting passengers will be getting off the train soon so you can wait next to them and get a seat.

    From what I observed, people who are getting off soon usually:

    a.) Have their bags on their lap, as opposed to the floor or the shelf above.

    b.) Sitting upright instead of slouching or asleep.

    c.) Usually end cars are less crowded than middle cars.

    d.) Won’t be carrying something that cannot be easily put away. Smartphones OK, but if they have a book, something to write with/on, laptop or food, they probably aren’t getting off soon.

17. At that time it shouldn’t be crowded.

    The problem should be on your way home.

    On the way home, I prefer to line up at the farthest carriage as less people tend to exit through there because it’s farther from the stairs/elevator. Which means that I can enter the train faster and find a seat without problems.

    PS: It’s also a good opportunity to grab a small notebook and a pen, open Anki (or your preferred app) and study some Japanese.

18. I listened to podcasts. Either that or white noise / forest + rain + spring garden on noise canceling headphones. (myNoise was is the app I use on iPhone.

19. I listen to podcast. That’s about it.
    Usually something easy or about history.

20. I only do a short commute these days, but it’s on a very crowded section. I used to commute 40 minutes from Tokyo out to Chiba. These are very different scenarios.

    On a busy stretch, forget being able to sit down. Line up, bag on your front, pull yourself on the train gradually and keep everything clear as the doors close. If you’re going to read or look at your phone, have it pressed to your chest so it’s easy to get at. Learn which stations lots of people get off at and where it’s best to be.

    If you get on outside the central area, you might get a seat, for which you might want to get there early.

    If you’re commuting out of the centre, there might not be anyone else in the carriage who isn’t sleeping. You have a good chance of getting a seat. I always imagined myself working on this commute but never really did.

    Edit: Oh, and definitely podcasts.