Getting a seat on the train?

Interestingly, people gave up their seats so that my wife and I can sit together. I mean, we weren't even carrying a lot of things.

Aahh, the old "Priority Seating" thing. Often I wonder why the authorities even bother to post the signs. At other times I notice that most of the seats have people sitting in them for which the seats were designed.
Bearing in mind that people don't wear a sign that says "disabled" or "priority seating" or anything there is a great deal of leeway in the qualifications for sitting there. But the biggest problem is that the buses and railway carriages are nearly always so crowded that careful segregation of the passengers into "priority" and "non-priority" is kind of impractical as people are getting on and off at every stop.
If it was in America I would talk about stupid government regulations or something (San Francisco's regs simply offer a nice spot for bag ladies to snooze) but I believe this guideline represents a genuine effort to accommodate people who really need to sit down.
Well, I'm one of those people, 71-years-old and with easily tired legs. So after anguishing about this in 2014 I began to make an attempt to get to the open or opening seats first in 2015 and by this past month had developed a skill for fast footwork and sharp reflexes which worked almost all the time. Survival of the fittest I guess.
And yes, it is really rewarding when someone gets up and offers their seat to an old lady; it actually does happen.

johnnyman,

The debate on whether Priority Seats are worth noted met it's peak when it was first designed a few decades ago. Now we know that the Seats are generally placed at the best spots for disabled people to sit (for example, blind people would know where to locate them, and they're almost always near a door).

And railway stations in Japan (or at least in Tokyo) do give away tags you can wear to show that you need help or that you are pregnant.

Also, it is because public transportation gets crowded that these Seats are there.

Whether the Seats always function or not is another story, but I'm just laying out facts so that we can all stand at the same starting point when discussing the issue.

If you really want to sit down, you should ask a person to give you a seat for you. Because people often don't know how far you will go in the train, they just don't bother to or hesitate to offer you a seat.
I sometimes offer a seat to people, but most of the times they refuse to sit down .They usually say that they will leave the train very soon and don't need to sit down, or sometimes they are even upset by being offered a seat . ( they don't want to look old?)

I also take a taxi when I really need to sit down, like when I am sick and need to go to a hospital or when I have a heavy suitcase to carry. Call a taxi company, they will pick you up.

It's not a "norm" because the total opposite happens in city buses (at least in Tokyo): the priority seats are often empty even if the bus is packed and you'll be very much frowned upon if you just sit there and don't have an obvious need. But the big difference is that the bus demographic is usually elderly people.

Unfortunately, we only got offered a seat, when a seat was anyway free or by an older lady, where we feel bad if we would take the seat from her. We have a 4 month old daughter and it was the same when my wife was pregnant and I am talking 8 or 9 months pregnant. Always made me crazy and I was already on the verge of talking to the people sitting on the priority seats to let my wife sit there, but my wife always stopped me. Unfortunately the experience in the bus was not better either.

People in Tokyo are just too lazy, same thing in department stores or the train station. Sometimes the elevators are so full we cannot get in with the stroller. I mean it is not forbidden to take the elevator even in good health and alone, but why would so many people choose it just to ride one level up or down when the stairs are directly next to it...

Sometimes the elevators are so full we cannot get in with the stroller.

Do you mean that you were at the top of the queue and people barged in from behind you? Elevators and escalators are first-come-first-serve here, which in my opinion makes sense. Things that rotate quickly is first-come-first-serve.

What I meant is that sometimes in department stores, there are designated elevators for older people, people with babies etc, and when we wanted to use it, to go to the first floor, the elevator came from upstairs, but was full, so we couldn't get on and from the looks of it, there was no one in the elevator, who is in need of it.

What I meant is that sometimes in department stores, there are designated elevators for older people, people with babies etc

I'm truly sorry to learn that you weren't given priority on those elevators. Actually, maybe you can send your comments directly to the department stores where you suffered the experiences.

The reason I say this is because I can't really recall elevators like those. I'm sure they exist, and perhaps commonly, but I think that many shoppers aren't aware of them.

If they were aware, I'm sure many if not all of them would get off that elevator the minute they spot a baby buggy. Maybe stores should put a bigger sign up or hire someone to occasionally look after the elevators.

Department stores usually have more floors and shoppers with more shopping bags, so a lot of people can't help but use elevators, but a little guidance from the store may be able to help what the store intends to do.

I've lived in Japan for three years and 90% of the time, people won't stand up. I was shocked when I first saw this because Japanese people are usually considerate of others, unfortunately manners seem to go out the window on public transport. I think people hesitate to offer their seat because they don't want to offend people by implying that they look too old or weak to stand. I also think they don't do it because no one else seems to either. Manners on buses are also appalling - even when the bus is packed full like sardines, people are oblivious to those around them and seldom move to the back or sit on empty seats to make room for others. People in general seem to be oblivious of others on public transport, maybe because they're focused on their iPhones or manga.

Dear Uco,

If I recall correctly that was in Isetan in Shinjuku. Actually they cannot put a bigger sign on the elevator, it was written over the whole door and also on the wall back in the elevator, so that there is noway you don't recognize it, if you are not walking around with your eyes shut.

And no, unfortunately absolutely noone even seemed to care to give up their space. You could argue what the purpose of such an elevator is, as there are more than one, but it was just supposed to be an example, how hard it is in Tokyo to get a space from someone. Actually, I think in Kansai it happens more often, perhaps the people there pay more attention to their surroundings.

Dear City Hunter,

You should encourage Isetan Shinjuku to do more announcements and place employees near the elevators. On a side note, you can't be sure if the people on the elevator weren't tourists. But still, announcements and employees would help improve the situation.

From top:
Choose the first branch on the list.
Family name, first name.
Same as above.
You also need to type your email address and your comment, but you can leave the other parts blank.
https://isetan.mistore.jp/qa/dept2/input?rid=fae432774e7e483994185bc82...

when i visit japan, in tokyo commuter i often stood up to give up my seat to elder people, but they (9 from 10) refused the seat. it's kind of embarassing when they refuse it.

Dear City Hunter,

Just to add to my previous post, if you're going to write to Isetan, be sure you clarify the date and time of your visit there. Or if you can tell that to us, I can write to Isetan myself.

Today I happened to be in the area, so I observed elevator Nr. 5 for about half an hour on every floor, and things seemed to be going well. There were also automatic Japanese announcements every 2 minutes at the ground floor. But if you can pinpoint the date and hour, it would be easier for them to watch out manually during specific hours.

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