Notes for Gaijin (外人) #1

[bellinghman]

In Britain, we drive on the left, and overtake on the right. On escalators, we stand on the right, and overtake on the left.
In Japan, they drive on the left, and overtake on the right. On escalators, they stand on the left, and overtake on the right.

Comments

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

With escalators, I guess we stand on the right as its more natural to hold on to the rail with our dominant right hand. I wonder why the Japanese are different?

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

An interesting hypothesis, but one I'm far from convinced by.

[silly-swordsman.livejournal.com]

Obviously, it's to make it harder for a (right-handed) samurai to dishonourably attack an enemy from behind/beside, thus ensuring that you can stand in peace.

Since there has historically been very few samirai in Britain, that was never a consideration when the custom of escalator-standing developed.

[feorag.livejournal.com]

Except in Osaka, where they follow the British model for escalator use. Also, they play music in stations when the train is about to arrive, not just before it leaves. I think I am beginning to understand the Osaka jokes.

Not just Osaka either ...

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

... but local places like Kyoto, Nara etc. ... I can't remember which way it was in Hiroshima, but I think it might have been Osakan ... which leads to fun when you're travelling on trains full of Osakans arriving in Tokyo as you end up having to slalom the escalators!

Oh, and the stairs are clearly marked with "up" and "down" arrows on the stairs (and sometimes arrows overhead) and people *mostly* stick to those, but there are enough that don't (and not just me with my luggage!) that it's annoying :-)

Re: Not just Osaka either ...

[feorag.livejournal.com]

I'm finding in Kyoto that what we have is confusion. I get the impression its mostly Tokyo fashion, but just enough people do it Osaka fashion to turn escalators into a scrum.

[bellinghwoman.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall that they played music before the trains arrived in Kyoto too. What got me was standing on the shinkansen platform in Kyoto and realising that there was either a regular or a nozomi shinkansen to Tokyo every 3-4 minutes.

Last night, the bellinghman worked out that we had been through two thirds of all the shinkansen stations on the entire network, although of course we only stopped at a handful :-)