Read any article about “working in Japan” and you’ll no doubt run into the horror stories of the 満員電車 [man’in densha] which the dictionary simply tells you means “crowded train.”

If you’ve never been to Tokyo, or any other extremely densely populated city, you probably don’t have a clear picture of just what that actually feels like.

Imagine a train full of people. There’s nowhere to sit, and all reasonable standing space is taken up by someone.

Now add 10 more people.

Now add 10 more.

Keep going.

Did the windows break?

No? Okay maybe we can add 5 more people.

Oh two people got off!

+10 more people.

This is my morning commute.

I have determined that humans, as a collective substance, are not solid nor liquid but instead gas, expanding to fill the space available and compacting down impossibly under pressure.

This is the man’in densha – or more accurately, the rush hour train.

In the hours between let’s say 6:30am and 9:30am, depending on your location, everyone is trying to get into Tokyo for work or school. Trains on my line during this time come about every 1-3 minutes and they are still packed. I live outside of Tokyo (I’m actually not even in Tokyo, technically, just like I never lived in Boston) and so my commute is just more and more people getting on the train until we reach the first city stop.

There are three types of speeds on my line:

• 急行 kyuukou – this is often described as the “rapid” train, and is the fastest option for me. This stops at only a half a dozen major stations and therefore takes the least amount of time to reach the end of the line. Consequently, it is also always packed.
• 準急 junkyuu – this is referred to as the “semi-rapid” and acts like the “rapid” up until a particular station and then stops at every station until the end of the line. I feel like this ends up being the worst option because you get all the people who want to get to the city faster plus more stops for people to get on the train.
• 各駅 kakueki – this is the “local” train and every line has this. Some might have the options above (or other variations) but every line has a local train, meaning it stops at every station. This takes the longest, and as a result might be less crowded? But there are also more stops for people to ride the train, so it’s a toss up. I don’t take this to work, but I do take it on the way home and often get a seat!

I think most people don’t enjoy the rush hour trains, but if I can maneuver myself into a safer spot, it’s not the worst experience in the world. I’m still impressed by the number of people who can squish themselves onto the train, although I have occasionally worried about the safety of smaller passengers when this happens. I’m 5’9″ so I’m a head above half the people who board, and this is one of the few times I’m happy to be tall here.

I’m also not on the worst line, according to coworkers, which has apparently actually had the windows break due to so many people trying to cram themselves onto the train… So I guess I can’t complain too much!