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I lived in Tokyo for a little over 3 years from 2017 to 2020, and this video brings back some really fond memories. Here's a few fun facts about Japan's trains

I lived in Tokyo for a little over 3 years from 2017 to 2020, and this video brings back some really fond memories. Here's a few fun facts about Japan's trains: - Every single station has a different song that plays. Here is a sampling of some: https://youtu.be/470_2wt2t1o https://youtu.be/470_2wt2t1o - In the deep subway stations they pump in bird sounds to make it not feel so deep - The trains can be paid for with a specific card called the Suica card and/or pasmo card. This can also be used as a debit card at various shops. But recently due to the chip shortage these cards have been harder to get.

SoylentYellow 3y ago
Komagome is my favorite Yamanote line jingle: https://youtu.be/-GF_dku3Mgo?t=131 https://youtu.be/-GF_dku3Mgo?t=131
- kazinator 3y ago
  That's the famous folk song "Sakura, Sakura". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakura_Sakura https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakura_Sakura
  - kazinator 3y ago
    And, aha, here is likely why that station has that tune. Komagome used to be called 染井村 (Somei Mura). It's supposedly the origin of that famous 染井吉野 (Somei-Yoshino) cherry tree.
- ekianjo 3y ago
  Ebisu station has the beer company jingle. Its quite nice too.
Taganov 3y ago
I always thought the bird sounds were more of a guide for blind people, to give them a reference point for where the platform is, because I've heard them on above ground stations too.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- matsimitsu 3y ago
  The bird sounds are indeed a guidance for blind people (to the escalators/elevators/exit).
throw0101b 3y ago
"Why Tokyo Has Musical Train Stations" which goes into the history a bit: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2htXigbGsqQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2htXigbGsqQ The first jingles were by Hiroaki Ide: * http://connect.ajet.net/2020/04/11/one-man-and-a-history-of-jingles/ http://connect.ajet.net/2020/04/11/one-man-and-a-history-of-... A profile on Minoru Mukaiya, who has composed a lot of the more recent ones: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSG5IkRA9BE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSG5IkRA9BE * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoru_Mukaiya https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoru_Mukaiya
1024core 3y ago
Yeah, those bird chirps threw me off in the beginning: I thought some bird(s) has set up nests in there. But then I realized how uniform the calls were and thus must be electronic.
jwells89 3y ago
> The trains can be paid for with a specific card called the Suica card and/or pasmo card. This can also be used as a debit card at various shops. But recently due to the chip shortage these cards have been harder to get. Something to note is that if you have a recent-ish iPhone (iPhone 8 or later), Apple Watch (Series 3 or later), Pixel (4 or later), or Pixel Watch, regardless of where they're sold those all have the Japan-specific bits in their NFC hardware required for the digital wallet version of Suica and other Japanese IC cards. For other Android manufacturers (Samsung, etc), you'll have to get ahold of Japanese models for that capability.
- yellow_lead 3y ago
  Garmin (Japanese model) watches have it too
- kansai 3y ago
  Worth noting that if you have a US-issued visa card, you cannot use it to pay for IC via Apple pay.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - a_t48 3y ago
    You can however buy a physical card (at a few of the major stations) then transfer it to your phone. Once it's there you still can't reload it directly, but you can use a recharge station (with cash) - just put your phone down where the card would go.
    - lhl 3y ago
      Sadly due to semiconductor shortage, physical Suica cards are very hard to come by atm: https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/sale-of-pasmo-and-suica-cards-suspended-except-those-for-tourists-080223 https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/sale-of-pasmo-and-suica-c... FWIW I've been using Suica on a Japanese Garmin smart watch and refilling it with Google Pay on an international card without too many problems (and before that with Apple Pay with the same card on iPhone/Apple Watch), although there are probably some gotchas (Apple Pay at POS seems to be pretty hit and miss for in Tokyo and I've never figured out why).
kazinator 3y ago
In the Chigasaki train station (Kanagawa Prefecture), the tune is from pop tunesmith legend Kuwata Keisuke. That is his hometown. (Been since 2014, evidently.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrMeLLXifBY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrMeLLXifBY I noticed the tune when passing through. Otherwise I wouldn't know where the dude is from. Compare with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK5xSs9jBlk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK5xSs9jBlk
murphyslaw 3y ago
What I found really strange when I went there for a few weeks, was that the entire network ground to a halt before midnight. And this for a city of 25 million people. Which I guess is why I found people sleeping in their suits near Shinjuku station. I still wonder where all the bar staff and their customers went to after closing up for the night. I asked the hotel staff and they said they could sleep on-site.
- po 3y ago
  Two important side-effect of this: First is that it drives people to head home earlier, and then they often stop at a second place in their local neighborhood. I honestly think part of why there are still bars in the smaller neighborhoods outside of Tokyo is because of this. You can feel a bar empty out around midnight, and the people who stay behind are all locals. In NYC, those people (the ones from NJ who had to catch the PATH at least) would be derided as "bridge and tunnel" folk, but here it's most people. Secondly, it gives the subway a full 5 hours or so to do maintenance and repairs. In NYC, they were constantly re-routing trains during late night hours to do this kind of work. It is pretty disruptive for passengers and they come up with crazy workarounds like taking a bus between stations which really don't even make sense.
  - zeroCalories 3y ago
    I have used both systems too, and while the NYC transit system is a shithole, I greatly appreciate the 24 hour service. There are also usually alternatives available for when things get shutdown.
  - Symbiote 3y ago
    Many European cities compromise, by running trains overnight on Friday and Saturday nights, but using only buses on Sunday-Thursday nights. (Tokyo seems not even to have buses running at night, which is really strange.)
    - midoridensha 3y ago
      No, the whole public transit system shuts down sometime after midnight. At that point, you can either walk, ride a bicycle (there are rental/bikeshare bikes available), or take a taxi.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
jeemusu 3y ago
> - In the deep subway stations they pump in bird sounds to make it not feel so deep The bird sounds are for visually impared people, to let them know they are approaching a staircase.

SoylentYellow 3y ago

Komagome is my favorite Yamanote line jingle: https://youtu.be/-GF_dku3Mgo?t=131 https://youtu.be/-GF_dku3Mgo?t=131

kazinator 3y ago
That's the famous folk song "Sakura, Sakura". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakura_Sakura https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakura_Sakura
- kazinator 3y ago
  And, aha, here is likely why that station has that tune. Komagome used to be called 染井村 (Somei Mura). It's supposedly the origin of that famous 染井吉野 (Somei-Yoshino) cherry tree.
ekianjo 3y ago
Ebisu station has the beer company jingle. Its quite nice too.

Taganov 3y ago

I always thought the bird sounds were more of a guide for blind people, to give them a reference point for where the platform is, because I've heard them on above ground stations too.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
matsimitsu 3y ago
The bird sounds are indeed a guidance for blind people (to the escalators/elevators/exit).

throw0101b 3y ago

"Why Tokyo Has Musical Train Stations" which goes into the history a bit: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2htXigbGsqQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2htXigbGsqQ The first jingles were by Hiroaki Ide: * http://connect.ajet.net/2020/04/11/one-man-and-a-history-of-jingles/ http://connect.ajet.net/2020/04/11/one-man-and-a-history-of-... A profile on Minoru Mukaiya, who has composed a lot of the more recent ones: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSG5IkRA9BE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSG5IkRA9BE * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoru_Mukaiya https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoru_Mukaiya

1024core 3y ago

Yeah, those bird chirps threw me off in the beginning: I thought some bird(s) has set up nests in there. But then I realized how uniform the calls were and thus must be electronic.

jwells89 3y ago

> The trains can be paid for with a specific card called the Suica card and/or pasmo card. This can also be used as a debit card at various shops. But recently due to the chip shortage these cards have been harder to get. Something to note is that if you have a recent-ish iPhone (iPhone 8 or later), Apple Watch (Series 3 or later), Pixel (4 or later), or Pixel Watch, regardless of where they're sold those all have the Japan-specific bits in their NFC hardware required for the digital wallet version of Suica and other Japanese IC cards. For other Android manufacturers (Samsung, etc), you'll have to get ahold of Japanese models for that capability.

yellow_lead 3y ago
Garmin (Japanese model) watches have it too
kansai 3y ago
Worth noting that if you have a US-issued visa card, you cannot use it to pay for IC via Apple pay.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- a_t48 3y ago
  You can however buy a physical card (at a few of the major stations) then transfer it to your phone. Once it's there you still can't reload it directly, but you can use a recharge station (with cash) - just put your phone down where the card would go.
  - lhl 3y ago
    Sadly due to semiconductor shortage, physical Suica cards are very hard to come by atm: https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/sale-of-pasmo-and-suica-cards-suspended-except-those-for-tourists-080223 https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/sale-of-pasmo-and-suica-c... FWIW I've been using Suica on a Japanese Garmin smart watch and refilling it with Google Pay on an international card without too many problems (and before that with Apple Pay with the same card on iPhone/Apple Watch), although there are probably some gotchas (Apple Pay at POS seems to be pretty hit and miss for in Tokyo and I've never figured out why).

kazinator 3y ago

In the Chigasaki train station (Kanagawa Prefecture), the tune is from pop tunesmith legend Kuwata Keisuke. That is his hometown. (Been since 2014, evidently.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrMeLLXifBY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrMeLLXifBY I noticed the tune when passing through. Otherwise I wouldn't know where the dude is from. Compare with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK5xSs9jBlk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK5xSs9jBlk

murphyslaw 3y ago

What I found really strange when I went there for a few weeks, was that the entire network ground to a halt before midnight. And this for a city of 25 million people. Which I guess is why I found people sleeping in their suits near Shinjuku station. I still wonder where all the bar staff and their customers went to after closing up for the night. I asked the hotel staff and they said they could sleep on-site.

po 3y ago
Two important side-effect of this: First is that it drives people to head home earlier, and then they often stop at a second place in their local neighborhood. I honestly think part of why there are still bars in the smaller neighborhoods outside of Tokyo is because of this. You can feel a bar empty out around midnight, and the people who stay behind are all locals. In NYC, those people (the ones from NJ who had to catch the PATH at least) would be derided as "bridge and tunnel" folk, but here it's most people. Secondly, it gives the subway a full 5 hours or so to do maintenance and repairs. In NYC, they were constantly re-routing trains during late night hours to do this kind of work. It is pretty disruptive for passengers and they come up with crazy workarounds like taking a bus between stations which really don't even make sense.
- zeroCalories 3y ago
  I have used both systems too, and while the NYC transit system is a shithole, I greatly appreciate the 24 hour service. There are also usually alternatives available for when things get shutdown.
- Symbiote 3y ago
  Many European cities compromise, by running trains overnight on Friday and Saturday nights, but using only buses on Sunday-Thursday nights. (Tokyo seems not even to have buses running at night, which is really strange.)
  - midoridensha 3y ago
    No, the whole public transit system shuts down sometime after midnight. At that point, you can either walk, ride a bicycle (there are rental/bikeshare bikes available), or take a taxi.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

jeemusu 3y ago

> - In the deep subway stations they pump in bird sounds to make it not feel so deep The bird sounds are for visually impared people, to let them know they are approaching a staircase.