Commuting in Japan

[https://imgur.com/RGa2TeJ](https://imgur.com/RGa2TeJ) Visual aid

The commute in Japan has got me in the most volatile rage I’ve been in. I just hate how people here line up for absolutely no reason. I was lining up for near 2 minutes just to go up a set of stairs despite the fact that there was another set of stairs that absolutely NO ONE was using. People just continued to line up to go up the stairs that saves you 5-10 seconds. Ironically creating conjestion so fucking severe that collectively everyone loses 2 minutes.
The only reason it didn’t take another minutes is because I had to shove my way out and take the other stairs. This on top of the congestion in stations in general caused by people lining up to stand on the escalator. line up for 2 minutes. walk in the opposite direction to where they’re heading, just so they can join the long line to stand on the escalator
God it makes me wanna say some shit. It makes me wanna say some fucked up shit.
What the fuck is this behaviour. How do people conduct themselves like this. This is ridiculous

18 comments
  1. Oh hey its Thursday. Thursday means a Complaint Thread. 🙂

    As for the topic. People here love lining up. There are positive and negative perks to this but mostly positive.

    Also OP only 2 more days. You can do it!

  2. Following the rules (lining up..) saves you energy (usually- if it doesn’t trigger some weird rage button as it did with OP). You can stop thinking about the commute per se. Which really helps to relax (usually).

  3. Like sands through the hourglass, so is just another day on r/japanlife.

  4. This plus the 100 people zombie walking on their phone the whole time. Although the opposite of this line culture is like the stations in Beijing or Mumbai where it’s a melee to get onto the train.

    Anywho maybe start looking into places that are bicycle distance from your work OP. I know its no fun during the rainy season but it’ll help your quality of life. I too absolutely hate the crowded morning commutes here and schedule my work to avoid it.

  5. Dunno where you are, but where I am, I make the sign for “sumimasen” with my hand and move on through. Most people yield to it and I can get through.

  6. Happens every day at Kokubunji station on Seibu line, people don’t use the stairs at the edge of the station and create massive lines. But hey, I’m all for it. Empty stairs for me

  7. Sounds preferable to a free for all where it literally becomes a fight for who can physically dominate the most.

  8. Already when I came to Japan for the very first time, I learned that the secret of commuting was liberal use of elbows while saying sumimasen.

  9. Uhm the commute had never bothered me in the slightest, except when I had to commute from kitchijyoji to kaihin makuhari, and it was just the length of time it took that bothered me.

    Having said that I bike to work when the weather is reasonable because I get to work feeling awake instead of half asleep.

    Nobody actually cares what time I get to the office but I try to set a good example.

  10. Thank god the genius foreigner is here to save the day by raging on Reddit 👏 Japan does not deserve your genius. In all seriousness, if that kind of stuff makes you *this* angry, Japan ain’t the country for you my man…

  11. If I am in a hurry and know some point of the station gets backed up, I just make sure to be in the car that’s right next to the exit I want. Easy. I just get out and I am the first person up the stairs. If you are in a hurry, it’s your responsibility to deal with it

  12. This reminds me of Ikebukuro exit 35, the one that leads to Sunshine City. Always a 30 meter queue to board a one-floor-difference escalator, while the stairs just next to it is always empty. Lol

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