Nothing unites Tokyoites together quite like complaining about daily commuting by train. And it’s a worthy gripe — morning and evening rides practically dispose of the idea of personal space altogether. Being packed tightly with other people also exposes us to all sorts of oddball and annoying behavior, either above or below ground.
With this in mind, what train-based behaviors irritate other commuters the most? The Japan Private Railway Association released its annual ranking of inconsiderate behavior at stations and on trains in late December, compiled from information gathered from various train companies and more than 2,500 passengers. It comes after a year in which plenty of online discussions — or, more accurately, arguments — came about as a result of riding the rails.
The ranking revealed that a number of daily occurrences attracted plenty of votes. Applying makeup and playing music through headphones loud enough to bleed out both landed in the top 10 (Nos. 8 and 5, respectively), as did being drunk (No. 7). A few other highlights include eating food on the train (No. 10), rude boarding and exiting behavior (No. 4) and reading physical media such as magazines or books (a surprisingly low No. 16 — I’ll take lipstick application over somebody opening a newspaper in my face any day).