Tag: Train Manners

The Art of Train Announcements

This morning the conductor made an announcement as the Yamanote train pulled into Meguro station: “This train is not a waste basket, kindly fold newspapers and take reading material with you when you leave,” and went on to kindly remind passengers to hold backpacks in the front, put them on the rack or on the floor.

Train announcements used to be an human art that has largely been replaced with recorded machine announcements. It takes great skill to convey important information on the fly in an easy to understand way. There’s pitch, speed, volume and clarity delivered in a focused train of thought, channeled with personality and humor. Surprisingly there are a few JR East conductors on the Yamanote line who go out of their way to practice this lost art, and a rare select few who manage to combine those qualities in magical voice announcements for train manners and other gentle reminders. It’s a treat to hear a lovely low clear live voice announcement calmly cutting through the clutter of noise, calling out the next station and reminding us to be civil to our fellow passengers.

Train Manner Posters

Train station posters promoting safety and good manners are a stock item in Japan and are all about promoting safe transit. No drunk naked Halloween partying Aussies on the Yamanote line for me please. Boring, punctual, safe, fast transit is all I want.

Manner posters are usually humorous and light hearted. It’s easier to keep good manners when you can laugh at yourself. The latest JR East effort is along the lines of ‘don’t be a bird brain’ that plays on the different meanings of the Japanese word ‘toori’ which can mean bird, street, or on time. Japanese love word play and are well aware that, ‘Manner de Keep’ is not grammatically correct anything, it’s just fun and catchy.

  • Don’t be a bird brain, put that smartphone in your pocket

And the message is a good one: don’t be a bird brain and walk around while looking at your smartphone. It’s dangerous. Put it away and pay full attention to your surroundings. That will help everybody be on time.