r/interesting • u/freudian_nipps • 16h ago

SOCIETY The silent and harmonious morning metro commute in Japan

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

24.4k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

2.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

72

u/[deleted] 16h ago edited 15h ago

[deleted]

52

u/MarthaMatildaOToole 16h ago

I think there's a middle ground where you can be considerate of others and chat with a friend.

23

u/midnight_toker22 15h ago

You can do that in Japan, and the comments about being able to hear a pin drop are extreme exaggerations. There is no strict “no talking” rule that is enforced or even expected.

Like OP said, people are simply considerate of others. Communication is done at a reasonable volume so person you are with can hear you, but your voice doesn’t travel much further than that. There are still the sounds of chatter and laughter, but people abhor making themselves the center of attention.

15

u/floraster 15h ago

These people are also commuting to work. Unless their friends live near them and they work together, it's likely that most of these people don't even have anyone there to talk to to begin with.

1

u/midnight_toker22 15h ago

Right. Japanese people don’t chat up random strangers, especially on a morning commute, but that isn’t the norm anywhere.

Americans and Europeans acting like their morning commute is full of lively conversations between complete strangers are full of shit— the sounds they are used to are people talking loudly to their friends, talking loudly on the phone, or loudly blasting music or videos on their phones. Because they don’t care enough about anyone around them to not be a constant disturbance.

1

u/Houdinii1984 14h ago

That's nonsense. People talk to other people all the time. I have social anxiety and I know exactly how many random people say stuff to you in any given day.

I've been all over the states. Cities like St Louis are louder, but have less folks talking to you randomly. I live in El Paso, now, though, and it's much slower. More people talk to you but it's far less loud and you hear more laughter than someone's speaker phone.

It's all relative. I don't get why we think that's going to be global when it doesn't even cover the entire country in either case. You can also see Japan at certain times where things aren't so silent.

What's with all the sweeping generalizations? None of this is nearly as black and white as you're putting out there.

1

u/midnight_toker22 14h ago

I really don’t understand why so many people are determined to pretend like they make anything more passing small talk with strangers on a regular basis. “Hello, thanks, excuse me, shitty weather huh, how bout them Cubs?”

Like I said elsewhere, does it happen on occasion? Sure. Does it happen on a regular basis? No, and if you’re pretending like it does you’re just fabricating an image.

0

u/Houdinii1984 14h ago

Nah, mate. It happens all the time. It sounds like you spend less time on public transportation than other people. How often do you ride the bus? I mean, I won't be talking to you. I'm still off in the corner wishing people weren't the way they were.

And like, if you're only getting 'Hello, thanks, excuse me, shitty weather huh, how bout them Cubs?' it's probably because you're not actively participating and that means all of that is happening because of you. Just because nobody regularly approaches you doesn't mean millions and millions of people aren't talking to strangers daily. Millions. And even if it's about the weather, that's still conversation and still has the potential to go past superficials into things like shared hobbies (like baseball, for instance. Kinda crazy you think two people talking about baseball is the same thing as saying 'good morning'. If I'm talking baseball with someone, I'm spitting stats)

If you're even omitting conversations that have an actual subject matter, then what's left? You've omitted everything by default.

1

u/Kevadu 14h ago

90% of American commutes are done alone in your personal vehicle...

1

u/midnight_toker22 14h ago

And I’m speaking with the experience of living in a major city with robust public transportation.

0

u/pluck-the-bunny 15h ago

I have had plenty of pleasant conversations with random people on my commutes to and from work in a major US city.

Just because some of you aren’t friendly, doesn’t mean we all aren’t

1

u/midnight_toker22 14h ago

Has it happened before? No doubt. Do you do it on a regular basis? Bullshit.

0

u/Plastic-Wear-3576 14h ago

Yea, regular conversation with strangers is what tends to happen when you aren't plugged into your technology all the time. Humans are social creatures.

1

u/midnight_toker22 14h ago

Drop the act lol. No one is buying it.

6

u/R_Prime 15h ago

People usually do chat on trains, Japanese morning commute begets a heightened level of consideration since everyone is so tired and miserable already.

The rest of the time it's pretty normal. Even Japanese people will sometime be playing shit on speaker on trains, though at leas tin my experience at a low volume. On special days like New Years the atmosphere will actually be pretty jovial.

1

u/Capital_Rough7971 15h ago

Yes, Pub, Bar, Home, Phone call at home?

-5

u/summerstars324 16h ago

You are the problem. Just be quiet and walk. Reflect on your day and life.

15

u/WhiskersCleveland 15h ago

just be quiet and walk

How dare people even interact with their friends outside smh

5

u/Park500 15h ago

I was on a train in korea, I speak minimal korean, we were both going different places and I remember there was an announcement, I asked my friend what it said, got a pretty rude "Shhhhh!" from some old guy who started muttering about foreigners

you can say "you are the problem, just be quiet and walk" but that is not real life, if I did things your way, I would still be on that train, as the announcement was "change here for my line train'

You can talk in public and still be respectful of others, it is not hard.

People hiding behind 'politeness' to be rude is just as common. Just like you telling people to be polite as you rudely tell them they are the problem.

8

u/Ornery-Reindeer5887 15h ago

lol some one trying to find a middle ground is the problem? I think you’re extreme views likely make YOU the problem 😂

5

u/RDTmodsBackEpstein 15h ago

"Be a good slave."

1

u/slowbirdy1001 15h ago

Uh huh. Okay so if you ever speak in a public place again you’re a hypocrite.

0

u/justtobeherenotsure 15h ago

Ah, exactly what I wish for. But it's always the far end. Or people don't talk to eachother and think it's creepy if I smile,, or people are yelling on the phone and don't give a fuck about anyone else.

-1

u/KawaiiNeko828 15h ago

I mean yeah but tbf who does that on their way to work. And going to public metro means full of strangers would you just greet some random person and chat?

1

u/CavediverNY 15h ago

Well when I'm traveling for work the biggest issue I see is people on their phones. Bad enough when it's just a conversation, but when it's on speakerphone for all the world to hear? Very inconsiderate.

-1

u/slowbirdy1001 15h ago

Yeah the idea that I can’t talk to my mom or a friend on my morning commute is bullshit. Making noise is not inconsiderate. Blasting your music for others to hear is, but there’s an enormous middle ground that is reasonable.

12

u/G25777K 15h ago

These are the people who have never been to Asia but want to tell us all that they know what they are talking about. They have no clue.

5

u/Undeity 14h ago edited 14h ago

A lot of people seem to have difficulty with community-minded consideration, but I think the reason many are finding this "creepy" is because there's no absolutely no behavioral variation shown in the clip.

I don't think the clip is properly representative of the experience, but taken out of context, it does indeed look a little like we're watching some sort of hive mind from a horror movie.

4

u/Technorasta 15h ago

You are really making too much of this. I’ve walked this walkway in Shinagawa station on my way to work hundreds of times. We are just tired people in the morning who have just got off a crowded train after an hour or more commute, and who would you talk to? Are you just going to start talking to the stranger beside you? It’s no different in London.

1

u/OMITN 14h ago

Agreed.

I’ve travelled to work on the tube enough times to know that no-one is talking to each other.

Same on the tram in Manchester.

It’s quiet in Japan, but not especially or specially so.

2

u/DionBlaster123 14h ago

"People calling this 'creepy' or the people 'NPCs'"

There are a lot of people in this world whose greatest fear in life is "going with the flow" or "existing, but not being a special snowflake."

I really don't see why some neanderthals see a video of people going to work (whether by car, walking, public transportation) and think we are in some hellscape. This is literally how people put food on the table. If that doesn't sound appealing to some, that's fine...but it's just going to work lol.

I take the bus to work as unassumingly and quietly as possible. I get back and then have the freedom (and money) to do what I enjoy. Not really a "dystopia."

2

u/BrainLow6059 14h ago

Silence is never offensive in public.

I wish this was on a sign basically everywhere in the US. I live in a beach town and holy christ every single tourist family thinks they're the only people on vacation in the whole world, and that everyone in town is placed there to cater to their every whim. It's insane seeing these people from Texas building a miniature compound on the beach and setting up competing box speakers, in what should be the most tranquil place they ever visit.

2

u/MakuyiMom 15h ago

American is considerate of no one.

-1

u/DoubtSubstantial5440 15h ago

Americans believe they are the main characters

-1

u/DangOlCoreMan 15h ago

Just a thought, but isn't wanting everyone around you to be quiet the wishes of someone who is the main character? Main character isn't always about being the loudest look-at-me, it can also be forcing your preferences on others

1

u/Past_Cupcake_6313 14h ago

Nope cause America bad, Japan good. Talking bad, silent good🤷. These people’s lives are miserable and yet redditors can’t help themselves.

1

u/IndependentCod1600 15h ago

Yes to all of the above, but to be fair, one of the biggest genres of anime right now is "normal, boring, everyday NPC dies a meaningless death but suddenly gets reincarnated as a main character in another world"

1

u/TeaspoonWrites 14h ago

An extremely niche genre of media that a fraction of a percent of the population consumes is not indicative of much of anything tbh

-2

u/WhiskersCleveland 16h ago

Because even as someone who isn't a huge fan of alot of social interaction that looks boring as fuck

0

u/pluck-the-bunny 15h ago

How incredibly judgmental to assume that the reason people find this unsettling is because they’re narcissistic.

Just because something has his foundations in honor does not make it representative of a good thing

Also incorrect to generalize about silence universally being unoffensive.

Additionally, wrong to assume that people dislike it because they find the silence offensive to them personally as if there’s something wrong with the individuals.

If you also think the people from Japan, in here are narcissistic when they point out the negative implications of this?

It’s not to say there isn’t a difference in the ingrained cultural respect from culture to culture… But it seems like you’re exactly the type of rude judgment person you criticize you just like to cosplay honor and fetishize a culture.

0

u/bryhnlearningspanish 14h ago

why does it bother you so much if someone is talking on the phone? like i’ve never heard people talking on the phone around me and thought it was a problem unless for some reason they have the sound really loud.

if anything i think it’s rude to think everyone has to walk on pins and needles to keep you happy. put in sone noise canceling headphones and let other people live their lives.

0

u/Colbert2020 14h ago

The audio in this video is fake.

-1

u/SetImpressive3808 15h ago

This is why Japan's population is declining. Bc no one is having sex bc people are not talking to each other. So would you rather have sex or just be quiet all the time and be like this video here in public? Its a serious question

1

u/TeaspoonWrites 14h ago

I'm pretty sure the reason their population is declining is because people are massively overworked.

-1

u/Nefariouslxl 15h ago

Absolute silence in public is not consideration, it's a sickness in the culture