Train Delay

The other night I was in Ikebukuro with some friends for some food and drinks. Afterwards, we decided to hit the trains a little early, and were on the platform by 11:30 (last train is at about 12). When we got to the platform it was total madness! It was swarmed with people, literally tens of thousands of people. A series of announcements came on the speaker in Japanese, and one of our Japanese friends translated, "train accident, someone jumped."

Now, even though the train was only delayed by about 15 minutes, this caused alot of trouble. The train we were trying to get on was one of the busiest lines, and we were at one of the busiests stations in Tokyo, so even a small delay causes the platform to fill up really quickly. Finally the train arrives and PUSSSHHHH, everyone packs on in a mad rush. I was crushed up against a door with a dozen prim businessmen. It took quite some time for the doors of the train to close, since an arm or leg or other body parts had to clear all the doors before the train took off. The sensation of being literally crushed by a team of business men on the busiest train line in Tokyo was totally hilarious. Yet again another "weird japan moment", which I seem to have on a daily basis. James, who was with me at the time, couldn't stop laughing. "Imagine if we could teleport someone from back home to here right now, what do you think their reaction would be?" He said.

Apparently, 30 000 people a year kill themselves by train in Japan. In Tokyo alone there are dozens of train suicides a day. JR calls these "Train Accidents" Ive had students tell me that when someone kills themself by train, its customary to remove their shoes first. If you see a pair of shoes on the platform you know whats about to happen. I had another student tell me that people choose which line to kill themselves on based on how expensive the line is. Offing youself on a cheap line causes great dishonor.