Life on a train

The lines for the incoming train

I mentioned that I had the ideal impression that Tokyo citizens suffer no signs of frustration and discomfort with the vast population of 35 million people, 22 of which actually commute into the city daily. Yesterday, however we experienced just that and found comedy in people watching from witnessing a significant amount of people sardined together into the train. It was nothing like I've seen before, people bum rushing into the tiny air pockets, making use of every possible space they can to fit their adult bodies in, leaving one middle-aged woman behind only to find that "sorry, Mam, there is no more room for you to fit". This woman obviously showed several signs of frustration in trying to fit her upper-body into the train, leaving the significant half off board. It must be annoying with so many people taking the same train as you and nearly making a train because people can't seem to make any room for you at all.

Today, we were sardined, or as Lara likes to call it "tuna".

As Lara and I made our way back home on the Saikyo line, we tried to squeeze our way into the train with no effort whatsoever. The exerted force from behind, shoved us forward and into the walls of other warm Japanese bodies. Typically, I like to add further stability to my train-riding by holding two handles, however holding handles above for security was pointless because everyone would soon serve a functionality to this commute. When the conductor pressed the brakes of the train, I gasped for air and prayed that I didn't get squished that bad into the back of a stranger. Using everyone as your personal padded cushions is the only thing you can do at that point because personal space is non-existent here. How is this normal?

Some photos I've taken of public transportation:

Observations in passenger activity and train dynamics:

• Deep isolation by tending to various electronics (phones, DS, Playstation thingies, Palms)
• Reading
• Sleeping
• Listening to music
• Absolute silence

I still love public transportation though, because really... everyone has somewhere to go...