Commuting in Tokyo
Vložit
- čas přidán 15. 06. 2016
- Despite living in Tokyo for 3 years, I've been lucky enough to not have to do a daily commute, as I mainly work from home. I've decided to try and level up my Japanese from horrible to bad, so now I get to experience the morning commute on my way to school. Here's what my commute by train and subway in Tokyo is like.
Website Post: bit.ly/LWIFXEP10
If you'd like to support our mini-documentaries, we have a Patreon account / lifewhereimfrom
Website: www.lifewhereimfrom.com
Main Channel: / lifewhereimfrom
Facebook: / lifewhereimfrom
Instagram: / lifewhereimfrom
Twitter: / lifewhereimfrom
You are the only one wearing sandals.
"Tickets are for tourists and suckers." hahaha, love it! Wow your 'not busy' day would be considered quite busy in the UK or even Bangkok :O The city view from the train is amazing tho :') Tokyo is so pretty~
Woah! I can't believe you wore sandals! I was worried for your toes getting stepped on in the squishy train carriage!
Yay for sitting down! 👍🏻👍🏻
I live life on the edge!
The X in the channel's name is for extreme... ;) :)
+Life Where I'm From X lol you sure do...getting tomb raider cardio workout..
This was actually pretty cool, as I am a rather big fan of Japanese Transport (as a foreigner who has never been in Japan), to see and hear how it actually is commuting with trains! Thanks a bunch for this!
bro he is savage. i could never walk aroumd in my chanclas/huraches
Luisa Carcamo This is a very common Asian shoe
This was a fun trip! I really enjoyed the sceneries 😄
cool video! great way to see the transit system and how it works! thank you for sharing :)
Thank you for this. My friends and I are backpacking in Tokyo, and this will help us with getting place to place quickly and without offending other people. Definitely a cultural primer. I also enjoy your children's channel too! Greetings from Canada!
would like to see more these kinds of videos!! the journey is so interesting
The Tokyo morning commute was one of the coolest thing I experienced n Japan.
First, like the rest of Japan everthing is much cleaner than I've ever seen public streets/undergrounds before.
Second, it's all very well planned and intuitive. The markings on the floor showing where you should stand, where the doors stop, etc. are very intuitive and helpful. The maps and signs are very easy to read too.
Finally, seeing ten sarariman push into a train that appeared overpacked to begin with was amazing.
The commuters' teamwork, for a lack of a better word, is something you'd never see in Europe.
This was brilliant and informative!
hi :) I love your videos and have watched them from the beginning of your channel. these videos are so reassuring to me because I plan to visit Japan and it makes the whole experience less daunting :) thanks from Australia x
thats amazing video. nice to leanr the tricks of your own area.
as a tourist, I enjoyed commuting a lot in Tokyo because it was like an adventure haha. this reminded me how cool is transportation in Japan. Thank you Greg!!
I loved this video. Thank you :3
Omg I Love this!!! So cool!!!! If I can't move to Japan. At least I can see it thru your videos!! I'll visit someday for sure!!
This was so interesting to see, like wow that gets so much more packed than I realised and LOL when you used the right terminal like 'everyone goes left, so the right ones free' its so random but funny xD
Great video. I am fascinated with super efficient metro systems like Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, etc. I love hearing the Japanese announcements in the subway. I remember there was a Yamanote line as well as the different subway lines.
This is an awesome voice-over video! So information, yet entertaining! So excited to see what you have in store. I will be heading over to Japan soon, so maybe a video on simple things foreigners should know in Japan??? Thanks! :)
Nice. I just came back from Sapporo with the morning JR rush hour under my belt. Definitely not as bad as Tokyo as I've experienced before. Good vid!
This was a nice voice over and walk. Good job bro.
That's exactly how I do it. Nicely done!
Great video. I've just finished my visit to Tokyo and watched a lot of your videos from my hotel room in Minato. We caught a lot of trains and the one thing I noticed were the amount of people running. This seems very common. Where we are from we would just leave home earlier.
I love your strategics!
keeep it up. thanks for upload
This brought back memories of the Chiyoda line, hehe. Glad I don't have to deal with that anymore, just some other packed trains on Seibu and Tozai. Thanks for the awesome narration, getting on the right carriage at the right time on the right train is great. Sure, most lines in Tokyo run more or less every 5 minutes weekday mornings, but 2 or 3 minutes can be a HUGE difference, especially for those metro lines that connect to the other railways. Sorry for rambling, this was a cool video. Thank you for posting!
Thanks! Yeah, the 2-3 minutes can be a HUGE difference :-)
This makes me appreciate the tranquil walk to school through my quiet suburb. On a busy day, I'll see maybe 10 other people.
Trains (Metro) in New Delhi have a kind of similar level of crowd as well. I could totally relate when you mentioned the safe spot between the seats. That's how every morning is in the trains in New Delhi as well.
I love riding the trains when I go to Japan. I go everywhere on them. Ikebukuro was quite crowded at times. Can't wait to return next year. :)
I enjoy commuting in Tokyo more than driving my own car in Manila.
"I don't know why so many people go on the left when the right one is way more free" This is your best line ever.
The thing that really amazed me was how quiet it was!
Looks pretty much the same as the London Underground (except there aren't helpers to push people on lol, although I haven't been on the Tube during rush hour so I dunno exactly how busy it gets). Tickets are for tourists and suckers there, too xD There's no point in having tickets even if you're just visiting anyway, get an Oyster card and it tracks your journeys and automatically places a cap when you've hit a certain amount so you don't pay more than a daily/weekly pass would be anyway, and when you leave you can get the leftover balance and the cost of the card refunded, so you don't spend more than you have to. Or you can just use your bank card if it has contactless payment and save having to worry about anything.
Boy, this man is speaking the truth. When I was staying in Japan for three months it only took me about a few days to realize that I needed to find the sweet car that would right in front of a stair case or escalator. I have also been squished to a point where was a ballerina on my tiptoes in a crowded train and then knowing the relief when I can actually see a bit more of the floor and that means that there is less people. When he said that tickets were for tourists and suckers he is totally right, when I first got there I stayed in an Air BnB and the first I was renting it from helped get us a Suica card immediately, so I don't know that struggle. Man this video spoke to my soul though.
I love those kind of video !!! make more please ! , can you make one about canadian product that are sold in japan ?
Wow, it's so clean. The stations are pretty grungy here in Chicago.
Was that the Yurikamome train first? That train has the best views!
This would have been handy to watch a month ago before I went to Tokyo! Some great tips! Everything is so ordered though so it's fairly easy to just copy everyone else.
Now, navigating some of the big Tokyo stations is another thing entirely!
Thanks for another interesting video!
Nope, it wasn't Yurikamome first. Thanks for the comment!
I miss Japan so much.....love riding the train since we have no train here :D
Iceland?
Worth the view
I am totally jealous of the train system in Japan! Who cares that it's crowded when the trains are always on time! And no long waits between connections?! Amazing!
Yeah, that's one thing I do like, is the trains (for the most part) are on time.
Wow, that's so packed! I think I would get claustrophobic having to do that. I live in a more rural area so driving is my way to work.
Do we look like if some one give a fuck?
first thing when visiting japan I always buy the Suica or Pasmo charge card,,
makes going on trains so much easier,plus most conbini stores and vending machines accept those
I used to have a kochosensei who said she took a train once back home in Japan, and it was so busy and squishy, her feet didn't touch the floor during her whole ride! I could simply not handle that. Early happy Canada Day from one crazy Canuck to another! 😘🇨🇦🇯🇵
I have to transit between Nishi-Shinjuku and Shinjuku-sanchrome at 8:30am which is only 2 stops over. I can just walk and it would only take 20 minutes but it's rainy season so I take the subway when it's raining. It's basically full contact and everyone is shoved / squashed in. Luckily I'm not claustrophobic, not sure how people who are do it. Or how people handle it when it's an hour long commute, I assume it's not as busy for the entire stretch as going to somewhere like Shinjuku.
its like in singapore too... super packed!
Wow it really is the little things that count when learning to live abroad
you could really crowd surf in those
what an awesome style of video! can you do more like this?
Glad you enjoyed it! I hope to try out different ideas as I go along, so hopefully you'll like some of those as well :-)
Looking forward to it!
Wow....that is squishy! I worried about your toes in the sandals! lol But a fun video! Thank you!
my " commute" to work takes me a total of 6 minutes if I get stopped at a red light, if the light is green it takes me 4, minutes.. Love living close to work :)
Same. :) 👍👍
Lucky! Mine is about 10 minutes with lights. hahaha
Great news that these trains have air condition. When I went 2 Paris they didn't have any ac at all in the trains. I am quite nervous about the crowded trains in Tokyo,I'll b taking the Yamanote line often.
It looks and sounds like catching RER trains in Paris. I guess it's everywhere the same, then.
OMG AKASAKA ...... I stayed there for 2 weeks ;((( I MISS JAPAN SOO much. Just remembering the station makes me nostalgic.
even tho it doesnt get as packed like this in hamburg, germany on a regular basis, as in tokyo, i have to say that commuting here is almost the same! it actually does get really packed here too especially during 4-5pm when kids get off school and adults get off work, and when there are festivals/football games too it gets really packed, like REALLY that people HAVE to miss trains lol and i thought i was the only one who gets on in a specific cart to get off right at the exit, since i know the routes i take i always know where to get in lol its really convenient for when i have to hurry
This gave me anxiety lol thank goodness I can almost always find seats on trains/subways in the US
I used to commute in Tokyo. Last train before holidays were the worst times.
I think this is similar in all big cities. Although the city where I live has only about 1.2 milion inhabitants, in subway it´s just the same. Smaller city smaller trains and stations. I go by subway every day to school and back. I experience crowds like this every time I go. I also run down the escalators because it would take ages to get where I need otherwise. I know Tokyo is much much bigger than Prague but I take the most frequent subway full of people going to work, students and turists. :)
Ah, thanks for the insight!
"Tickets are for tourists and suckers", I actually saw looks of awe and respect when I used my IC card in Japan. As an obvious gaijin I think that everybody was sure I was going to get stuck or at least slow everyone down while looking for my ticket.
'Awe and respect'?? Hmmm, I dunno...
lucy girl
Ok, maybe it was just a look of bewilderment on their faces when they realized not every gaijin was a bumbling moron that would stall the line for 10 minutes.
Actually many of the tourists I've met in Tokyo use the IC cards. To be honest, I think of all people tourists should really get them, because it makes things easier for them if they don't know the cost of the ticket they have to buy.
+BigSirZebras That's better....
+Disastorm Having the card and being able to pull it out and use it when you need to in order to keep things flowing are two different things. I was only in Tokyo for a few days at the end of my time in Japan but in Kobe and Osaka I would notice that people would go to longer lines than the one I was in like they were betting that I would just stand there not knowing what to do.
I am amazed that as far as I can, even with the camera mostly points at the ground, I didn't see a single scrap of trash.
if you want to see what is crowd really like, come to India. specifically Mumbai trains
Ah yes, this reminds me so much of my daily commute during my study abroad in Tokyo. Missing all of my squish buddies (not really)
This is the type of strategy I use when I ride the train in my country too.
If riding the train was like this in NYC for me, I'd go crazy.
Actually interesting!
Do you ride buses after taking the train? or do train stations there exist every few blocks?
And I thought the Skytrain in Vancouver could get packed during rush hour, specially if you get one of the small trains for expo '86.
Simple yet very insightful. How often is it that squishers don't get on? How long until the next train arrives typically? Is it worth it to wait for the next train to have more space? During the morning commute on BART in San Francisco bay area I think the trains are spaced 12 up to 20 minutes apart, if I remember correctly. I don't work in the city any more.
On the route I showed, people get on most of the time. It's only every once in a while that they don't actually get on. It's more likely someone will simply wait until the next one then try and get on and can't. Waiting, I don't know if you'll really end up with more space initially, but it can mean you can get further into the train, and if you can get into the middle isle between the seats, then I find you don't get squished so bad. It's near the doors which is the worst spot (IMHO).
i ever feel crowded like that and you can't move your body because the train is full, but in Mrt green line, Singapore.
That's crazy!!! I've never seen a subway so packed before. In Atlanta GA (in the southern United States), on MARTA*, a busy morning/afternoon commute means that maybe 10 or 15 people are standing per car. Not sure if I'd like the whole "squish buddy" thing over what I have now. (*MARTA stands for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority)
It's like this in DC now..
Tai Dang Really? Is it really as bad as the the Tokyo Subway?
well instead in Atlanta everyone's squished onto the connector in their cars ;)
I loved using the trains in Japan, as well as the busses. I felt like a true commuter when I just walk up to the gate and swipe my ic card...until at times when I swipe and it turns red...even though I had adequate funds....what was that about?
So how long is the commute from start to finish? ( Apologies if you already answered this. )
Bro, I'm from Zephyrhills, Fl (USA) The countryside so my perspective is skewed for sure. but man... when you say... there's room today.... or it's not too bad... :P makes me wonder... What's bad look like lol. Thanks for posting all this stuff :)
bad can mean you don't even have to support yourself to stay upright lol. It's great though because you don't fall down no matter happens. This is usually just the areas by the doors though. It's impossible to be that bad in the areas between the seats, so always aim for that spot if your station is still far away.
I don't think I could handle that commute everyday, but then I am not young anymore. I agree, was thinking ouch with the sandals and waiting for someone too step on your feet, but I think people are more polite in Japan.
Holy crap I can't even imagine this.
I took the train to LA every day last summer, and I thought that was a struggle, but I only had 1 transfer, and it wasn't half as crowded as this.
If you're not commuting during peak times, I think you're fine. The reason I had to come up with a whole strategy was to make it a more pleasant commute. It became a lot more bearable when I knew how to get where I was going without needing to rush around.
How long did it take to figure out which train cars were closer to the exits u needed?
I thought the signage in the Tokyo subways was awesome!
How do you know which train to take and which one is the correct one? LOL i've never been in one before actually..so i feel like i would be pretty lost!
dude idk if I could handle that early in the morning but it sure would wake me up 😂
I'm staying near asakusa, i walk from skytree to ueno to akihabara last 3 days until i go though.
Yeah, I've walked and biked around that area too! There's lots of nice green space around there if you know where to look.
me being a student and my sch being walking distance meaning that i dont hv to take a bus or train
but especially during sch holidays i try to experience the morning rush hour and i can say its not as bad japan the waiting strategy where you deliberately miss a train to board the next one always works especially during the evening peak and trains are only packed at the front and middle as most of the escalators are at the either the front or middle
and hello this what rush hour is like in singapore
not sure whether is there suh a rule in japan but recording videos or taking pictures is not allowed(this law is not strictly enforced as the major law)
man this was intense
Nice shoes!!!
How long does it usually take in total? Gosh it must be awful in the hot humid summers D:
A lot of the trains have air-conditioners. The best spot is directly below the fans.
If you're in the 23 wards of Tokyo, you can get from the outskirts to the centre in about 30-40 minutes and to the other side in about an hour. They do have air conditioners inside in the summer.
Awesome reporting. Of course on the really packed subway you can't even make a video at all and your bag, if you carried one, would also be crushed. The worst is not going to work as some people go early. When many drunk people, often including myself, are trying to make the last train is the absolute worst. The crazy thing is that I don't know what's worst when you have to deal with the stink if you run into a drunk who puked in the train (but you can have extra room because people are avoiding the puke) or being trying to pack into the last train.
Haha, that's funny and sad about the puke. Yeah, I think you're right, if I was on the super packed train I wouldn't even be able to touch my camera.
Japan has some of the best public transportation around...I wouldn't say that they 'don't really care' about it.
I'm aware of how packed they are. I've watched the vids of them. I've watched the vids of India's trains. I've ridden the London Underground, the Mexico City subway system, and Chicago's train systems, all at rush hour capacity. I understand the situation. I also understand that there is more to it than simply...adding carriages. If carriages are added, then the station platforms need to be lengthened...or the train needs to spend double the time in a station to allow people on and off. Neither are a viable option. Japan steps up by upping the number of trains on a line to try to cope...but increasing traffic puts a strain on the system and increases safety issues. It's not an easy fix and Japan does the best job they can...and they put most public transportation systems to shame.
wow all the points you mentioned about choosing the correct car and gate to travel efficiently is so relatable!!! I live in Kolkata where we have the oldest subway train system in India. Truth be told it is our lifeline and so it gets unbearable to commute during rush hour. we don't have " squish buddies" here unfortunately . Rather "impatient /indifferent morons" . Petty arguments break out often at this time and it's best to put on your best zen mode on to keep you sane. I sometimes use the reverse psychology and use the farthest compartments to avoid being squished. lol.
From where to where do you commute ? Plz answer.
oh man this makes manhattan look tame haha
I won't complain next time I'm on a crowded subway...they rarely get this bad!
Goodness! I'm so glad I don't have to do that!
And this was a normal day...
!!!
so it's a bit like riding metro buses and light rail during rush hour, complete with the whole "how many people can we fit in a finite space" routine. Only clean, quiet, and on time. So, better.
wow I don't like crowded places so when I eventually get to Japan for my holiday I wouldn't be using the train at rush hour😓. You have to do the train journey every day? Great video very interesting and good to know. Thanks for the info and heads up. Hopefully Visiting Japan very soon saving very hard.
When I was in school, yes. My wife does it everyday. She says that she knows the other players around her, so they have an unspoken system of where to stand and how to act.
What a science!
So packed, and that's "not busy"?? Woah. But wow these card readers are efficient!!! In norway, there aren't even cards for anything. There is a new "touchless paying" thing with Visa cards, but they are very uncommon. So far, I've only seen them on vending machines. And they barely work. You need to beep it several times before it works, and sometimes it charges you twice. It can't be in the wallet either, you need to take it out. Also, never more than one ticket machine in my town's station...
All the "beeps" made the station look so _fast_ and _efficient_!
Anyway, thanks for the video, it was fun to watch!
Yeah definitely not busy. When the train is packed like sardines he wouldn't have been able to record with camera at all. Impossible to do anything on train when it's busy.... except to try and stay alive. LOL. Sometimes it's so hard to breathe with so many ppl.
allmyjm O_O Well I guess slow ticket booths aren't bad since there are a lot fewer people here. In Norwegian trains, everyone has a seat, and nobody ever stands. :D
~ atleast in Japan they got platform attendants to push ensure everyone didn't get stuck at the door..In Seoul..all door close automatically and I often see people got stuck at the door
+RonaldASL ロナルド That must be so nice to always be able to find a seat! I'm jealous. 😅
Whether the card works through wallet or not, really depends on both the card and the booth. For example at my school my old student card worked through my wallet, but my new one doesn't because the 'signal' isn't as strong.
Don't know though how bad it can get in Japan in the trains though. But I imagine based on other videos and the other comments that this really wasn't as bad as it can get.
Great video.... I was in pin needles as the whole video I worry you were going to get step on with open toe shoes..... 😱😱😅😅
Haha. I travelled a good 20-30 times like that, and never had a close call once. Perhaps I just got really lucky ;-)
I commute to school in Tokyo everyday, luckily I take the train going away from Shinjuku so my train is never packed like that.
this is a lot like the train rides in singapore!
When I went to Japan, my friend bought me an Icoca card!! It really was more convenient.
Commuting to my college our trains are almost like that, more like your not so busy clips. The stations(and sometimes the trains) are nowhere near as clean as Japan though.
Do you have any tips for holding your camera steady while walking? I want to do a video blog when I go to Japan for the first time for a year and if you have any tips that would be awesome!! You could also do a video!! My camera is a Canon VIXIA HF10, it's old but still takes great videos! Also this was an awesome video! My University is in Tokyo, it is Waseda University, and I know I will have to learn the trains!
The zoom level will help. Not too zoomed in and not too wide. If you know anything about cameras, a full frame lens at 24mm would be about what a human would see (at least I've read). I don't know what zoom that would be on your camera. I know with walking I tested out wider at 16mm, and it made the footage look quite hectic. At more zoomed in, like 50mm, it was too zoomed in for walking. Try practicing with different zoom levels and I'm sure you'll figure out what works for your camera. Beyond that, the better your camera's stabilization system, the better it'll be.
+Life Where I'm From X Thank you so much!! That really helps!
kinda remibds me if home, or NYC.... luckily I'm small and can fit if it's packed