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I witnessed a group of 20+ Latin American tourists boarding at some station and then getting off at Shinjuku the other day. One of them held the train door with

I witnessed a group of 20+ Latin American tourists boarding at some station and then getting off at Shinjuku the other day. One of them held the train door with his body while all 20+ of them strolled in the train nonchalantly. Then the same door blocker proceeded to scream out instructions to the rest of the group. They did the same thing on the way out. Usually there's a smooth flow of people entering and exiting as everyone seem to know where to go (left or right) because there are maps of train car # to every other station's exits on the line. While they were figuring out whether to go left or right on the platform, they were blocking everyone on that side of the platform right at Shinjuku (literally the busiest station on Earth). There are dozens of lines criss-crossing the city and every one of them is running accurate to the minute. We take it for granted living here. But boy, when articles like this come around every so often, mind blown. I never gave the crowd behavioural aspect of this system much thought. But this article reminded me of that incident with the tourists. It's impressive how behavioural quirks of the commuters are critical to the overall efficiency of the system. (obvious in hindsight) Thanks for sharing!

marak830 8y ago
There is so much here that couldn't work as it does, without the implicit assumption that everyone is going to behave politely. Hell the polite queuing after a major earthquake for water and food is absolutely astounding. The foreigners who don't try to live up to the social standards while living here should be shunned by the local gaijins.
- thedailymail 8y ago
  Re the polite queuing after earthquakes: I happened to be in Sendai the day of the big earthquake/tsunami/nuclear reactor breakdown. I had no place to stay because I had a flight booked for later that day, which obviously got canceled. I started walking around downtown. There was clearly a lot of nervous energy, and there were hundreds of aftershocks in the first 24 hours, but people were behaving calmly and orderly. I wandered into a hotel to see if I could book a room. They were fully booked, but were letting people who were stuck without a place to stay to sleep in a ballroom. They provided free sheets, pillows and food to about 100 people, many of them stranded foreigners. Some local volunteers brought in gas powered generators so people could charge their phones. The next morning, I went out for a walk, as it was still not possible to get out of town. At 8:00 in the morning, the supermarket in front of the central train station had staff, in uniform, handing out perishable food for free, rather than having to throw it away (there was no electricity so freezers were down.) The word was only starting to trickle in about how serious the damage was farther north. People were universally calm, generous and polite. I walked around for a few hours, not knowing the town. Many sites of severe structural damage, but some businesses were already open. I passed by a noodle shop run by a young guy. He called out to me and said "You look hungry." (I speak Japanese). He offered me a free bowl of noodles. I finally ended up getting out of town two days later by finding a cab and riding all the way to Fukushima Airport, for the last flight to Tokyo, and then back home to Kobe. The order, decency, and humanity I experienced those few days still make me tear up when I think about it (even right now).
  - ohashi 8y ago
    It's really nice to read about the best side of humanity showing itself. Thanks for sharing.
  - Broken_Hippo 8y ago
    That was uplifting to read. Thank you for sharing your experience.
- saagarjha 8y ago
  > local gaijins Isn't this an oxymoron? I don't really know Japanese, but as far as I'm aware this means something along the lines of "local foreigners".
  - chillydawg 8y ago
    Aka expat community. Those who have already moved there should work to try to help newcomers integrate.
    - saagarjha 8y ago
      Aah, I guess they're still considered gaijins.
      - acidtoyman 8y ago
        You're considered gaijin even if you're born in the country. My half-Japanese children (born and bred in Japan) get called "gaijin" all the time.
  - Bromskloss 8y ago
    I understood it as referring to non-Japanese people living in Japan, who should make sure that the clueless ones among their ranks behave.
    - marak830 8y ago
      That's exactly it. I try and help foreigners who look lost at stations when I can, and while I'm a foreigner myself, I have been here 8 years now.
  - masklinn 8y ago
    "Gaijin" is any non-ethnically-japanese person, so non-japanese long-term residents are still gaijin, even if they've been here for 15y, have a long-term job and married a japanese. "Local gaijin" are thus simply people living in the area but not of japanese ethnicity. Mostly expats.
- galieos_ghost 8y ago
  The joys of living in a homogeneous society with an average IQ of 106
- 794CD01 8y ago
  Shunning as pseudopunishment is silly. If it's not a problem, let them be. If it is a problem, fine them or arrest them.
  - xyzzyz 8y ago
    If it's not a problem, let them be. If it is a problem, fine them or arrest them. This is very American way of thinking. Japanese society is like it is precisely because it follows different norms than American ones.

marak830 8y ago

There is so much here that couldn't work as it does, without the implicit assumption that everyone is going to behave politely. Hell the polite queuing after a major earthquake for water and food is absolutely astounding. The foreigners who don't try to live up to the social standards while living here should be shunned by the local gaijins.

thedailymail 8y ago
Re the polite queuing after earthquakes: I happened to be in Sendai the day of the big earthquake/tsunami/nuclear reactor breakdown. I had no place to stay because I had a flight booked for later that day, which obviously got canceled. I started walking around downtown. There was clearly a lot of nervous energy, and there were hundreds of aftershocks in the first 24 hours, but people were behaving calmly and orderly. I wandered into a hotel to see if I could book a room. They were fully booked, but were letting people who were stuck without a place to stay to sleep in a ballroom. They provided free sheets, pillows and food to about 100 people, many of them stranded foreigners. Some local volunteers brought in gas powered generators so people could charge their phones. The next morning, I went out for a walk, as it was still not possible to get out of town. At 8:00 in the morning, the supermarket in front of the central train station had staff, in uniform, handing out perishable food for free, rather than having to throw it away (there was no electricity so freezers were down.) The word was only starting to trickle in about how serious the damage was farther north. People were universally calm, generous and polite. I walked around for a few hours, not knowing the town. Many sites of severe structural damage, but some businesses were already open. I passed by a noodle shop run by a young guy. He called out to me and said "You look hungry." (I speak Japanese). He offered me a free bowl of noodles. I finally ended up getting out of town two days later by finding a cab and riding all the way to Fukushima Airport, for the last flight to Tokyo, and then back home to Kobe. The order, decency, and humanity I experienced those few days still make me tear up when I think about it (even right now).
- ohashi 8y ago
  It's really nice to read about the best side of humanity showing itself. Thanks for sharing.
- Broken_Hippo 8y ago
  That was uplifting to read. Thank you for sharing your experience.
saagarjha 8y ago
> local gaijins Isn't this an oxymoron? I don't really know Japanese, but as far as I'm aware this means something along the lines of "local foreigners".
- chillydawg 8y ago
  Aka expat community. Those who have already moved there should work to try to help newcomers integrate.
  - saagarjha 8y ago
    Aah, I guess they're still considered gaijins.
    - acidtoyman 8y ago
      You're considered gaijin even if you're born in the country. My half-Japanese children (born and bred in Japan) get called "gaijin" all the time.
- Bromskloss 8y ago
  I understood it as referring to non-Japanese people living in Japan, who should make sure that the clueless ones among their ranks behave.
  - marak830 8y ago
    That's exactly it. I try and help foreigners who look lost at stations when I can, and while I'm a foreigner myself, I have been here 8 years now.
- masklinn 8y ago
  "Gaijin" is any non-ethnically-japanese person, so non-japanese long-term residents are still gaijin, even if they've been here for 15y, have a long-term job and married a japanese. "Local gaijin" are thus simply people living in the area but not of japanese ethnicity. Mostly expats.
galieos_ghost 8y ago
The joys of living in a homogeneous society with an average IQ of 106
794CD01 8y ago
Shunning as pseudopunishment is silly. If it's not a problem, let them be. If it is a problem, fine them or arrest them.
- xyzzyz 8y ago
  If it's not a problem, let them be. If it is a problem, fine them or arrest them. This is very American way of thinking. Japanese society is like it is precisely because it follows different norms than American ones.