Silence on Trains

When chatting happily with friends, you might feel stares (silent pressure) from your surroundings.

When riding trains in Japan, many foreign travelers are surprised by the "silence inside the cars." Especially on commuter trains, many people spend their time quietly looking at their smartphones or listening to music. Even on crowded trains, it can be surprisingly quiet, which might be quite impressive to those experiencing it for the first time.

Even when just having a normal conversation with friends, there are moments when you might feel, "Compared to our surroundings, maybe our voices are the only loud ones." Although you are rarely warned directly by anyone, you may suddenly feel the stares of people around you or an atmosphere akin to "silent pressure."

In Japan, there is a strong awareness that public transportation is a "shared space to be spent quietly," and announcements generally request that people refrain from talking on the phone. Therefore, if you get too excited on the train during your trip, you might unintentionally stand out from your surroundings.

Of course, conversation itself is not prohibited. Simply lowering the tone of your voice a little is enough. If you act while adapting to the surrounding atmosphere, you will be able to use public transportation in Japan more comfortably.