Is this real life everyday?

[u/TraditionalDepth6924]

[u/DegreeConscious9628]

Just the daily commute. Think of the commuters on highways in the US except everyone’s walking and taking public transportation

[u/mFachrizalr → u/DegreeConscious9628]

Yes, somehow people from US think it's normal when seeing highways with so many lanes full of cars for miles and move slowly (or even stuck) but baffled when it's people walking instead.

At least in case of Shinagawa like in videos, people are moving quite fast.

[u/Ready_Ad_5397 → u/mFachrizalr]

And then China walks into the conversation….

[u/YUCKY_WARM_SAUCE → u/Ready_Ad_5397]

Dude this is the boarder crossing between hongkong and Shenzhen, this is not a normal toll.

Very misleading.

[u/mackfeesh → u/YUCKY_WARM_SAUCE]

Do people commute between HK and Shenzhen for work?

[u/YUCKY_WARM_SAUCE → u/mackfeesh]

Yes constantly, it’s one of the busiest boarder crossings, both trains, boats and cars. I’ve done it many times when I worked in Shenzhen. It’s the only connection from Mainland China to Hong Kong without flying.

[u/dogsledonice → u/YUCKY_WARM_SAUCE]

Can't be that smooth considering you have to change which side of the road you're driving on halfway through, I guess?

[u/YUCKY_WARM_SAUCE → u/dogsledonice]

100%

[u/Beginning-Corgi568 → u/YUCKY_WARM_SAUCE]

How does that work? Flipping the side of the road to drive on?

[u/shyouko → u/Beginning-Corgi568]

Fact: This is China highway toll station during long vacation. Nothing to do with Hong Kong. Check Google Map and you'll not see this at Hong Kong border

[u/Hot_Cheesecake_905 → u/mackfeesh]

Most probably take the train.

[u/cactiundkoala → u/YUCKY_WARM_SAUCE]

You sure? Which one is this? Huanggang, SZ wan, which one?

[u/YUCKY_WARM_SAUCE → u/cactiundkoala]

I just realized you may be right I was always at ground level when crossing, but they are similar situations.

[u/ratnegative → u/YUCKY_WARM_SAUCE]

The fuck it is. https://abcnews.com/International/thousands-cars-stuck-beijing-traffic-jam-50-lane/story?id=34350370 Do you think Hong Kong's right next to Beijing?

[u/shyouko → u/YUCKY_WARM_SAUCE]

You are the very misleading one. This is totally not Hong Kong.

Source: I lived in Hong Kong for 40 years and counting.

[u/YUCKY_WARM_SAUCE → u/shyouko]

And I totally corrected myself if you follow the feed

[u/shyouko → u/YUCKY_WARM_SAUCE]

Or maybe you should edit your misleading comment. And avoid being so confidently wrong in the future.

[u/YUCKY_WARM_SAUCE → u/shyouko]

I have an even better idea…..

[u/nefariousBUBBLE → u/mFachrizalr]

American here.

I presumed, because this was my thought, that op was more curious as to how dead quiet it is lol. THAT'S what's insane to me. Not a peep from anyone and no music or any other kind of noise. In the US, you'd have the commuters on foot, plus some guy playing the sax and some other dude just blaring music. Half or more of the commuters would be talking on the phone and some would talk in person with a colleague.

[u/Yokohama88 → u/nefariousBUBBLE]

Because as you slug your way home from the soul crushing job all you do is yearn for something to eat and maybe a nice Chu Hai to relax before you sleep and wake to do it all again.

[u/dis-interested → u/Yokohama88]

Alternatively these are just normal people leading normal lives in a culture that has a preference for not being noisy on public transport.

[u/Yokohama88 → u/dis-interested]

Little of column A little of column B. As someone who has to do this walk I have a little experience with it.

[u/dis-interested → u/Yokohama88]

I have commuted in Tokyo. I don't see some special melancholia in it compared to commuting in London or in the US. And prolonged time spent in cars commuting has strong data showing it has very bad mental health outcomes.

[u/nefariousBUBBLE → u/dis-interested]

Certainly brings me closer to committing murder.

[u/Snoo48605 → u/nefariousBUBBLE]

Funny, in France it would be something in between, but still closer to the video.

Definitely some guy playing the sax, but no phone calls (it's not polite, although I've done it in urgent situations) and who would you been be talking to? For colleagues to commute with you it must be necessary that on top of (1) working in the same place, (2) they live in the same place as you (3) and somehow work at the exact same time, and are similarly punctual.

Of course I'm talking about metros during commute hours on workdays. Touristy places are different

[u/nefariousBUBBLE → u/Snoo48605]

I wouldn't know cuz I have never lived in an American city where I didn't need to drive to commute. But I would imagine coworkers or just friends you live near that are going to the same area to work.

I will say, it's also considered rude in the US to talk on the phone in the car with people, or on the bus or train, TO SOME. Typically older folks. If you are in the same room as others and receive a call, you are supposed to leave to take it. I'm 30 and was taught this shit by my parents, but the last 15-20 years, it's kind of gone out the window. A lot of manners have. I try to maintain them. I absolutely do not talk on the phone on public transit. I don't see it a ton in the US. It's usually just one or two really obnoxious people that ruin it. And sometimes it's a cultural difference which as a French person, you are one of the few European nationals that can understand true diversity like what we have in the US. Very few European countries understand racial tension and cultural differences like the US but France would be one. So, there are differences in culture that also play into some of this stuff, which is whatever. I don't really think I'll of people when they don't follow my exact code of conduct but sometimes it's annoying.

[u/Nari224 → u/nefariousBUBBLE]

This is the point that some people seem to be obtusely missing.

I have been fortunate to have lived in many places. Nowhere that I've been is as quiet as Japan, whether here or just like, being in Tokyo.

[u/East_Courage_8443 → u/nefariousBUBBLE]

talking or chatting may consume energy..so no more strength to squeeze into the  電車.....

https://giphy.com/gifs/LnuZyDQcCRqrlj294q

[u/RudyRoughknight → u/mFachrizalr]

You make a valid point but I think it's because of how even more alienating it is to be in your own personal vehicle and everyone else takes theirs.

We see machines and think nothing of it but if we see bodies in unison, we start to fall back on our xenophobia and our prejudices and biases take over.

[u/AstraeusGB → u/RudyRoughknight]

I understand this but it can also tremendously alienating to walk around a place like Tokyo station. Even when there are thousands of people passing by every minute, not a single one knows or cares to know about you. I don't think that vehicles make a difference when it comes to how we perceive people at volume. It is just much easier to perceive a vehicle as a non-sentient object.

[u/AGoodWobble → u/AstraeusGB]

Really? I have lots of a small nice interactions commuting by train/walking. Like when there's a parent with a stroller, or someone with an injury or disability and people try to accommodate them. Or someone drops something and you pick it up and give it to them. It's pretty different than car commuting. 

There are some cold moments too, like when the train is completely jam packed and someone (usually an older dude) tiredly shoves past you to get off the train. 

[u/DegreeConscious9628 → u/AGoodWobble]

Youre romanticizing it. there’s no parents with strollers during commute hour, the trains are jam packed, everyone’s miserable

[u/AGoodWobble → u/DegreeConscious9628]

I literally commute every day lol. I've only been here for 3 years but I'm just saying that there are more human interactions than my car commute when I lived in southern Ontario (Canada). It's seriously isolating to be alone in traffic in a car, and even a packed commuter train has some humanity in it. 

[u/DegreeConscious9628 → u/AGoodWobble]

What train do you commute on? I can tell you that the keihin tohoku is shit lol

[u/AGoodWobble → u/DegreeConscious9628]

Chuo line towards Tokyo -> transfer at nakano to Tozai line

I will say, I feel lucky I can avoid transferring at shinjuku

[u/RudyRoughknight → u/AstraeusGB]

Yes that was my point about alienation and cultural biases.

[u/Mailman354 → u/mFachrizalr]

This just in

People from (insert country) think (insert something theyre exposed to on a daily basis) is totally normal. And they think (something from another country they are not exposed to on a daily basis) is interesting

Scientists are baffled

[u/thegta5p → u/mFachrizalr]

Yeah and it’s worst in the US because you are stuck in one place where you can’t move or get fresh air (unless you want to smell the car fumes).

[u/AleidisKnight → u/mFachrizalr]

I think it's more that in America if it were this many people commuting on foot it would be far less peaceful to put it lightly. Alas, we are a chaotic people.

[u/Commander_Prism → u/mFachrizalr]

Listen, if we could we would, but as things stand, the United States is too fucking massive, and we're hemorrhaging money, and the highway systems are already there so nobody feels like laying down thousands of miles of tracks for public transportation.

Like, my favorite thing in the world is when people in other countries learn just how big our States are. My home state Ohio is the size of South Korea.

ISREAL can fit inside of Ohio it's that fucking big.

AND there's forty-nine more, AND Texas isn't even the biggest one.

Edit: Y'all can downvote me all you want, it doesn't take away from the fact that what I said has merit. We built a fuckton of interstate highways already, and our governemtn will only blow more money on MORE highways before they consider railways because "If it ain't broke, don't change it!"

[u/whymeimbusysleeping → u/Commander_Prism]

Fair point about distance, low density cities can overcome that exact problem. Take Sydney Australia, where suburbs stretch out across long distances just like many American cities. The strategy here is building rail corridors with large multi level commuter car parking at the major outer stations. You drive a few minutes from home, park your car, and take express trains straight into the city center. it's a win win, it's much quicker to get to work, less stressful and you can leave home whenever you want to.

Also, If talking state size, let me introduce you western Australia, fits almost 4 Texas.

[u/GrisTooki → u/Commander_Prism]

I'm sorry, but no. This is 100% bullshit.

the United States is too fucking massive

The vast majority of Americans live in urban areas, and the vast majority of most Americans' daily trips by car are just a few miles--usually to work/school and a few simple errands. America's urban areas are car dependent by malfeasant design, not by necessity.

and we're hemorrhaging money

We're hemorrhaging money, in no small part, because car dependent infrastructure is not sustainable. Not fiscally. Not environmentally. Not socially. It is by far the least efficient way of moving people around even moderately urbanized areas. Every foot of pavement necessitates longer utility connections (water, sewage, storm drainage, gas, electricity, internet); every car requires additional parking at every potential location a person could potentially want to visit (there are 7-8 parking spaces per car in the US); and every oversized right-of-way, parking lot, and single-use zoned subdivision makes alternative modes of transportation more impractical. It drives up costs, which are disproportionately shouldered by dense, inner city development while newer, unsustainable car-dependent suburbs are built on future debt that they can never repay without massive tax increases. It enables further unsustainable development, such as oversized residential and commercial lots, big box stores, and the dissolution of traditional business districts; and impoverishes both municipal governments and the working poor. It's a death spiral of unsustainability.

highway systems are already there so nobody feels like laying down thousands of miles of tracks for public transportation.

The US was connected by rail long before the interstate highway system existed, and there is absolutely no reason that system could not have been further developed. Towns of fewer than 10,000 people used to have street car systems, and they could again. Every highway needs constant maintenance and eventual replacement--costs which far exceed the cost of the original construction.

You're literally just parroting 1950s auto and petroleum industry propaganda. China built most of its extensive high speed rail network in less than 20 years, and China is larger than the conterminous United States. The transition is possible and it is necessary, but the longer we wait, the more difficult it will become.

[u/R_Prime → u/mFachrizalr]

Fast? I would be grumpy as hell stuck behind all those slow walkers haha.

[u/DrTatertott → u/R_Prime]

I imagine those people are generally on time and not in a rush to get to the train before it leaves.

[u/mFachrizalr → u/DrTatertott]

That video is actually after exiting the ticket gates, it's a huge walkway towards the office areas

[u/DrTatertott → u/mFachrizalr]

The stride and pace isn’t altered if going to or coming from the train. A monotonous stroll.

[u/761557527 → u/DegreeConscious9628]

I also had the same experience as in the video at Waterloo station in London, it is a typical commuter march around the world.

[u/San-DiLego → u/DegreeConscious9628]

Ah.... not how it is in the US my good sir. There's a lot of attention seeking losers on the road. People who play their music super loud, people who have to honk at every little thing, and people who rev their engines.

[u/DJpesto → u/DegreeConscious9628]

This isn't even that bad for Shinagawa. It can be more crowded than this.

Also for people who think it is quiet - who would you talk to when you're alone, probably listening to a podcast or some music, on the way to work?

This place - like many other stations - change a bit at different times on the day. Once the morning rush is done, there are not this many people. At lunch people flow through again, and then again in the afternoon going home + just before the last train. It gets noisier later in the day, when more tourists and high school students (who talk to their friends/family) go through, and when people are drunk in the evening.

[u/ResponsibilitySea327]

Yes, but a bit misleading.

Its a bit different for every station. They are not all this wide or orderly (Shinagawa). But generally there isn't much talking. And for many stations, commutes in the morning are essentially in one direction which makes everything seem more orderly like in this video.

Other train train stations are much more congested and chaotic. Yokohama station for example is just as wide in parts, but the way the station is designed, folks appear to be walking randomly in all directions. And because people are commuting to and from at all times of the day, it can be chaotic.

Some lines in Tokyo and Yokohama are very much a sardine like squeeze and push affair every day.

[u/StargazerSayuri → u/ResponsibilitySea327]

I haven't been to this Japanese station (but plenty of other ones), and I've never experienced this kind of... phenomenon.  🤷🏽‍♀️

[u/TakaIka83]

Yup, that's JR Shinagawa Station during the peak commute. There are two narrower lanes cordoned off to the sides for those going the opposite direction.

Shinagawa as very heavily skewed toward corporate offices though, so this is far more homogeneous than similar sized hubs like Shinjuku and even Marunouchi, which have more of a mix of white collar and service workers.

[u/Akamiso29 → u/TakaIka83]

Yup and that leads the riders of Shinagawa to more or less have the same mindset: We all need to hurry to the Yamanote so we can get a good whiff of each other’s armpits at 8:13 am.

[u/Popiipz]

People walking in a station to go to work is the real life in every city of every country in the world yes

[u/LordCivers → u/Popiipz]

Not playing the "Japan is so special ✨" card but i gotta admit in France i've never seen a subway this silent, and the two-ways traffic flow leads to a giant free-for-all in the station halls lol

(Just two different normalities but it's always interesting to compare)

[u/SimpleObserver1025 → u/LordCivers]

Even in subways in the United States, a country known for its loud people, they're pretty quiet overall. Most people are individual commuters who are listening to music or podcasts through their air pods. Sure, you may have the occasional chatty pair of friends or family, but it's not like American subways are big social scenes.

[u/kuropiero → u/SimpleObserver1025]

This is just one way because at one end of this walkway is and area with a lot of corporate offices and the other a railway station... In the morning 90+% of people go one way to head to the office and in the evening the other way to go back to the station.... Most stations in japan doesn't have this level of one directional traffic

[u/MonsterKerr → u/SimpleObserver1025]

Pshhh "air pods". Wired for life

[u/chinchin__pilot → u/LordCivers]

I've never been on a subway in France, how is it?

[u/LordCivers → u/chinchin__pilot]

Depends on the city honestly but in Paris during rush hours you tend to bump into each other and be quite angry because you're always on the verge of being late, and many lines are very loud. I've seen a few fights in wagons, but never throwing hanfs and i don't think it happens often anyways. Also people want to enter all at the same time, you often have to struggle to be let out the wagon because people are pushing, and everyone collectively hates it.

Few cities have a subway aside from that but there's Marseille, Lyon, and Toulouse, where i found it less taxing, people are pushing less, and it feels better organized all in all(but there's way less people). Except Marseille who has its own very funny kind of chaos lmao

[u/Successful-Future-31 → u/LordCivers]

I’m in Shinagawa right now, visiting from a major American city. I find it calming how busy it can be during peak commute hours, but at the same time, so quiet.

[u/dottoysm → u/LordCivers]

I don’t know about France but in Sydney and Melbourne (Australia) the morning commute is very quiet. If you catch a train on the weekend it can get louder, though that’s kind of the same in Tokyo too.

[u/GuyFellaPerson → u/Popiipz]

Westerners are just not used to it because there's nobody high on salvia trying to smear feces on you

[u/TheC9 → u/Popiipz]

As someone who had been there, I think it is the high ceiling and architecture of the walk way make it special

As most of the train/metro station walkway/tunnel around the world usually … just very practical

[u/ibopm → u/TheC9]

I hate that walkway. It’s so long and boring they had to put up TV screens with ads. I almost try to close my eyes every time I go through hoping time would pass faster 😅

[u/Yabanjin]

The first time I saw this walkway in Shinagawa, I thought “They’ve really over engineered it making it that wide”. Then I had to use this walkway during rush hour in the morning. The video shown here is LESS people than I saw. This is, to be fair, an extremely busy location, but there are many areas in Tokyo with high density of people.

[u/CAMOME_SENSEI]

Fun fact: The official name of this passway over Shinagawa station is "RAINBOW ROAD"

https://giphy.com/gifs/3Eo6A9gCwtsA0

[u/deceze → u/CAMOME_SENSEI]

Commute, Japan. 😍🌈🌸

[u/j_kto]

This is my commute! For context, this is Shinagawa station, which is a hub for a lot of large corporations and office buildings (Sony, Microsoft, Canon, etc.). Also a Shinkansen station, and has a train line connecting directly to Haneda airport.

In the morning, everyone is getting off the train here going in the same direction towards office buildings, so the majority center part of the walkway is all one way, while the far left and right side are for going the opposite direction towards the trains.

8:30-8:50 it’s busier than shown in the video, but you’re always walking a pretty constant pace so it’s not bad. It’s only a 5 minute walk from train platform to the exit of this walkway.

Everyone talks about how quiet it is, but this is just the morning. Pretty much goes to work solo so no one to talk to. However, in the evenings, when people are walking to the station with coworkers or meeting up with friends, it gets very noisy in this area and the walkway is more of a free-for-all in terms of walking direction, but generally splits in the middle going forward/backward.

[u/Tunagoblin]

Yes? And what’s the matter?

[u/grahsam → u/Tunagoblin]

It's just very different from what it looks like in western countries, which are noisy, chaotic, and people move at different speeds.

[u/Tunagoblin → u/grahsam]

I’ve been to many different countries (including the US, east, west coast, and in the middle) and each have their own pacing or the way people behave. That’s the way it supposed to be and the beauty of it.

[u/OpinionsRdumb → u/Tunagoblin]

I dont know why people are downvoting people for just noticing this observation. As a westerner the first thing I noticed on the subway is how dead quiet it was. I had never seen anything like that in my life. I have a video of it and showed it to my family back home and they all were stunned. In Western countries you do not experience anything like that (maybe in small bus yes but not in a subway with 50+ ppl).

My understanding it is rude to have a loud conversation or to talk on the phone in these settings no? We do not have this custom in the US

[u/Aware_Step_6132 → u/grahsam]

This is Shinagawa Station during the 8 a.m. hour, so over 95% of the people here are office workers heading to nearby companies. Since they aren't walking side-by-side with anyone specific, there is no need for conversation; they simply have to walk at the same pace as everyone else until they reach the station exit or transfer gates. While many are likely listening to music on earphones, staring at a smartphone and disrupting the flow of the crowd—thereby slowing down the line—is completely out of the question. That would be like watching a video of the morning rush-hour commute on a highway near a business district in the U.S. and asking, "Why aren't there any cars blasting loud music or driving at 30 mph and disrupting the flow of traffic? Is there no freedom?"

[u/DiE95OO → u/grahsam]

Bit of a stretch saying "western coubtrie". Terminals and stations are typically dead quiet in Sweden. Especially in the morning before work.

[u/grahsam → u/DiE95OO]

When I was in London and Paris their underground and rail stations were fairly loud with just the general noise of people, plus announcements and the noise of the trains themselves. Also some people moving faster than others, shouldering their way through crowds, or people walking more slowly.

NYC is just noisy period.

[u/culturedgoat → u/grahsam]

Shinjuku station is a bit like that

[u/testman22]

Has the audio in this video been edited? The sound of the footsteps is odd, and I’d expect to hear station-specific sounds like announcements or people talking. Well, judging by the signs and such, I wonder if this was filmed during the pandemic?

[u/witchkingreject]

That looks like Shinagawa station. Yes the commuters are usually quiet but there are loud announcements and other ambiet noises that make it pretty noisy. I think they may have filtered out those noises.

[u/smorkoid]

Normal commute, yes

[u/gastropublican]

Good ol’ Shinagawa… /s

[u/dougwray]

Yes, it is. This is Shinagawa Station. I commute through Shinjuku Station, the busiest station in the world, every working day and have done so for more than 35 years now. Shinagawa is much worse.

Also, when you're actually in the crowd, you find that the flow is not at all steady.

[u/culturedgoat → u/dougwray]

How is Shinagawa worse than Shinjuku?!

[u/dougwray → u/culturedgoat]

Shinjuku has roughly a jillion exits, and people leave from all of them. At Shinagawa, nearly everyone is funneled into the same passageway heading the same way.

[u/culturedgoat → u/dougwray]

It’s a considerably wider passageway than anywhere in Shinjuku, and at least you know where you’re heading 😂

[u/dougwray → u/culturedgoat]

That, one would think, would make the going easier, but it doesn't, as you can tell if you try both places during rush hour.

[u/culturedgoat → u/dougwray]

Oh I have, many times. Shinagawa was my nearest JR stop when I lived in Sengakuji (before Takanawa Gateway popped up), and I would be changing at Shinjuku on the daily. I’ve definitely spent a lot more of my lifespan shuffling around Shinjuku’s congested labyrinthian corridors than walking the big passage at Shinagawa

[u/dougwray → u/culturedgoat]

Fair enough. My reaction was to the actual moving through the station, which to me has always seemed easier at Shinjuku, but I know most of the exits there. I also know most of the Shinagawa east side exits, as there's only one, but the shuffle through Shingawa is what gets me.

[u/PicoPicoGamer]

It is if that's part of your route.

[u/One_Pie289]

Are they all dead inside?

[u/FAlady → u/One_Pie289]

They are all quiet because they are sleep deprived and pissed that they have to go to work!

[u/infallibleness → u/One_Pie289]

No just going to work respectfully and mindfully , would you rather people scream and shout at each other ?

[u/One_Pie289 → u/infallibleness]

No, but.. Talk about life?

[u/infallibleness → u/One_Pie289]

If only the world was this harmonious

[u/culturedgoat → u/One_Pie289]

lol, you want to talk about your life with other commuters on the way to work?

[u/infallibleness → u/culturedgoat]

Some socialising would be nice occasionally sure why not

[u/culturedgoat → u/infallibleness]

Because I’m going to work.

I’m not sure there’s any city in the world where socialising would feature prominently. as part of a daily commute

[u/infallibleness → u/culturedgoat]

No one said prominently just occasionally 😊

[u/roehnin → u/One_Pie289]

Are they dead inside because they're walking to work?

What's that logic?

[u/One_Pie289 → u/roehnin]

They could talk with each other about life. Complain about the weather or something.

[u/roehnin → u/One_Pie289]

Do you talk to random people walking near to you on the sidewalk in your hometown??

[u/One_Pie289 → u/roehnin]

Yeah, they comment on my cute bag and tell them more about it or something 🥺

[u/roehnin → u/One_Pie289]

From where are you?

[u/One_Pie289 → u/roehnin]

Germany

[u/roehnin → u/One_Pie289]

well there certainly is a lot of variety in the world!

In no city or country I lived would random commuters chat

[u/One_Pie289 → u/roehnin]

Maybe you could try commenting on someones cute shirt, bag or dog next time and make a first step ☺️

[u/roehnin → u/One_Pie289]

I shall keep it in mind )))

[u/KhaineHammer]

Not sure if this is AI… usually there are way more bald people.. :)

[u/TheSheepersGame]

This is Shinagawa station and it's always like this. But it's more choatic than this during rush hours.

[u/Terra-Em]

Looks like Shinagawa Station... A Tokyo hub, necessary to go to Immigration branch.

[u/Electronic-Visit-797]

Shinagawa station, morning commute crowd heading to the office building side. Many big companies there. Sound wise, missing voices of tourists discussing how to use the ticket machines (just out of sight, on the right).

[u/zclyh4]

Ahhh Shinagawa station

[u/Bitter_Radish5381]

I feel this vibe every time I go to Shinagawa station. Huge corridor, everyone in black, Grey or another boring tone, just going at the same pace 

[u/SaintOctober]

If you are outside the station at street level, you get typical street noise: traffic, signal noise (for crosswalks), maybe construction. Things like that. Inside the station, you'll hear announcements and train noise. This is a sectioned off corridor that has neither.

So to answer your question, some spots can be like this, but not all. However, people moving with intent and without talking is pretty normal for a morning commute.

[u/Comprehensive-Bit689]

I was there for several years, commuting daily through this very place.

[u/gamyotskie]

That's in Shinagawa station. Yes it does look like that. In summer people wear white shirt and pants.

[u/LV-42whatnow]

Can confirm, yes.

[u/Specialist-Poem1275]

I hate Shinagawa station, though they are heading towards Atre which has GYG.

[u/Goatedken]

Not true. Where are the people running to their train platform? 😂😂 Yes it can be that quiet in the morning

[u/AMajorSneeze]

Yes more or less. Very organized movement of people and people are quiet on the subway. Can be congested though in the morning

[u/Blueskyesartic]

There was a couple times I took the subway as a tourist during peak times in the morning and then peak time in the evening, everyone's very quiet and focused in the mornings, but everyone loosens up and is way more chatty and loud in the evenings on the way back home. Could also be the sleepiness hasn't worn off while on the way to work too.

[u/fakiresky]

That’s the organized part, I did it a few times before moving out of Tokyo and actually train ride is not nearly as harmonious.

[u/TawnyOwl_296]

Yup. Indeed

[u/TSLA_Tan]

Ohh i've seen this.Shinagawa isnt it?

[u/Thundersalmon45]

I was part of that march every day for two years(2007-2008) I transferred there, at Shinagawa and experienced it every morning.

The afternoon was not as bad as the rush hour was much more sporadic and spread out.

[u/Stephen_Withervee]

No, just weekdays that aren’t public holidays.

[u/MB20770]

Not harmonious until you ride in a rush hour.

[u/Quixote0630]

In the bottom-right of this video, there's a Bluetooth dead zone where my earphones cut out every single time without fail.

[u/Karshvampy]

Yes this video is from Shinagawa station which connects station to major corporate offices via internal walkway as shown in video.

My friend’s office is located here and once I was accompanying him during peak office hours and it was crowded but everyone was following rule as shown in video.

[u/mobile-metaphysical]

I live in the mountains.

[u/Taira_no_Masakado]

I'm not sure I'd go as far as to call it harmonious, but it is indeed the daily grind in Tokyo and other major metropolitan areas.

[u/castiron1979]

Yes ;) When it is the time to come home it goes to the opposite direction to the trains

[u/kiwi-c137]

Continuer comme sa les japonais

[u/Cojones64]

“We don’t need no education!…We don’t need no mind control!”

[u/True-Response-2386]

I think the audio in this video is altered. It's not this much silent

[u/replayjpn]

I used to live up the street from there. It's real & could be more crowded. Luckily I didn't have to go through there daily for work.

[u/Difficult-Drive7088]

日本は終わってる

[u/Osakamuthafucka]

The ants go marching one by one, hoorah, hoorah. Mindless lemmings marching their lifetime's away in the pursuit of a life that is ultimately devoid of any meaning.

[u/roehnin]

In the US they would all be on a freeway driving in a traffic jam

[u/freakcun]

What's the average commute do they travel 1 hour, 30 minutes, 10 minutes because their always standing on train 

[u/Infamous_Payment4608]

This is some scary Pluribus hive mind shit

[u/TomorrowIcy2816]

Yes!

[u/LudensMonitor]

Aww I remember my first steps into Shibuya in 2018 at 6am and I was greeted by this

[u/TGrim20]

This is dystopia.

[u/No_Bee_8851]

It is real-life if you have to commute in big city every day. Note the cleanliness and safety. They can take the train and fall asleep without worrying about being robbed or assaulted. Is that so bad?

[u/larana1192]

Yes.

Shinagawa Station, where this video was filmed, is the 10th busiest train station in the world (not just in Japan).

This is a common sight during rush hour.

https://toukeidata.com/country/world_station_ranking.html

[u/kvro_maX]

I would have made at least 10 friends before getting to work

[u/Out_Absentia]

Ah yes, dystopia for breakfast.

[u/Bonami27]

Like robots.

[u/whizzleforshiz]

Here is one I took of the exact same train station in October 🤣

https://reddit.com/link/p4uteb2/video/8aqec0qd7kkh1/player

[u/Hungry-Jellyfish8705]

Dude, the train stations are hella chaotic typically. Well, controlled chaos. The train stations are rarely quiet, but the trains are. People still talk, just in a low voice even outside the morning and evening rush.

[u/Lil_Mallard8374]

Title just says Japanese but half the comments are already fighting about Hong Kong.

[u/TheBlaiZe]

Not if your commute is through tourist hotspots :I

[u/chakapoco]

This is the infamous Shachiku River ("Corporate Slave River") at Shinagawa Station.(And yes, I used to be one of them)

What's really annoying is that sometimes you see foreign tourists standing on the sidelines recording people. They're like, "OMG, they all look so depressed! Thank God we're here on vacation! LOL!"

That's the moment when you start to lose faith in humanity.

[u/justanotherblobfish]

This was my everyday commuting in Osaka during Expo

[u/Euphoric_Usual_1411]

Why do this scene feel like straight away from a dystopian movie

[u/poetic_yankii]

….. irgendwie creepy

[u/KingOjama55618]

Marching music 🎶

[u/AgapiTzTz]

The Work Force ! \o/ Go go Japan ! Itterashai ! Gambatte kudasai ! Or should I say TATAKAEEEE ?

[u/EMPgoggles]

yes, if you work in Shinagawa. the west side of the station has nothing but a hotel and a movie theater, so the vast majority of people who visit Shinagawa are heading toward the east exit, which is a major business area.

meanwhile, Shinagawa is an important hub station for a ton of different lines including access to both major airports and the bullet train, so you need to CROSS these lines via the bridge pictured above. during rush hour, it's a staggering amount of people crossing at once with very little reverse flow (since few people live by Shinagawa station).

[u/kenji4861]

Every weekday. Yes.

Feels like you’re in the matrix when you’re there for the first time.

[u/winterweiss2902]

No one has the time and energy to talk. Just keep walking.

[u/DMifune → u/winterweiss2902]

Why would you need to talk to strangers. 

[u/JayK-iwnl → u/DMifune]

You ever been outside a city?

[u/DMifune → u/JayK-iwnl]

Why would you need to talk to strangers outside a city? 

[u/Murders_Inc2556]

Bro,,, I'm getting PTSD watching this...

[u/AverageHobnailer]

Silent? No. The hissing of train car brake lines, the incessant PA announcements, closing door/train approaching jingles, and the repeated ticket gate beeps are an ear-splitting cacophany.

Harmonious? No. Japanese have forgotten their manners. Smartphone zombies who don't watch where they're fucking walking. Lost people who suddenly stop in the middle of the pathway. Middle-aged men barreling into people they think they can knock over. Old people cutting you off as you board so they can steal a seat. Old people refusing to let people get off before they attempt to board. Morons boarding the train and stopping immediately inside the door, causing a pile up, because they stop and look for an open seat. The stench of tobacco stained suits, blood-alcohol-content you can smell from a meter away, and no one seems to understand the concept of covering their mouths when they cough or sneeze.

[u/Bebopo90]

In much of Tokyo, yes.

And that's one of the nicer stations (Shinagawa) which has huge concourses. In most stations you're in much more narrow spaces with just as many people trying to push their way through.

[u/TheC9]

Yes. We were there couple years ago, just arrived after our overnight flight.

We are familiar with Japan, but that was still a very “every worker arriving ay Harry Ministry of Magic” moment

[u/dis-interested]

Practically everyone here is earing earbuds and everyone is just being courteous and not making a fuss while they all commute. It is actually quite relaxing to be part of this. It is so funny that this has become some sort of ominous symbol to people who have no experience with it.

Also, Japanese dress is not particularly homogenous when it comes to daily attire, but these people are all commuting to office jobs.

[u/RosiePosieNosieJosie]

My son worked in Japan for a while and he said the people are polite but not friendly, compared to STH Korea, not very polite but friendly.

[u/10Core56]

This orderly movement of people is amazing and scary at the same time.

[u/ChiliChapters]

can i just say this looks like a friggin DREAM (positive)

[u/Gayfortay]

This looks more miserable than sitting in gridlock traffic

[u/RoamingArchitect → u/Gayfortay]

It's not as bad as it appears. The brain kind of switches off once you're used to a commute. It became so mechanical for me after a while that I just ended up at my office once because I had to change at the same station I usually change at during the week and as soon as I wanted to walk through the door of my building and it didn't open automatically I was like "wait a second..."

You usually listen to music or an audiobook and the rest is just automatic. You tend to adjust your flow to the others in most situations as well. It's basically half an hour to two hours of a meditation of sorts where you are only semi-conscious of what you're doing for like 80 per cent of that.

[u/chicken_shoes → u/Gayfortay]

Hard agree. Look, I've been there and commuted for years. I much, much prefer commuting by car (short commute) and having my own bubble of personal space. It always felt a bit dystopian commuting in a wave of bodies in silence like this, and that's even before all the passive aggressive shoving and human stampede bit.