There are a lot of unwritten rules when it comes to riding the subway, but one of the major ones would have to be: don’t make eye contact with strangers unless you want to make it really awkward. Another one would also be: do not look at the map unless you absolutely have to (unless no one is sitting in the seat in front of it), because more often than not, there will be someone sitting in the seat in front of the map, and you’ll have to lean over them to look at it, and it’s just weird. That, and you’ll look like a tourist, which no one wants to be.
I could probably write a whole essay on stuff like this, but that’d take a lot of time and most people here probably wouldn’t really understand, so I’d rather not. So instead, I will link to this thing that I read earlier about the NYC subway system and some interesting anecdotes about its etiquette, which I found very interesting. Especially the last part because it never really happens and it would actually be really cool if it did.
Interestingly, I had an idea like this for a comic (the comic idea turned into what we know now as daily flashes) way before I ever started this website, and I haven’t gotten around to making anything about it until now because I sorta figured it’s one of those things that are kinda hard to understand unless you’ve been through it, but then I just decided “oh well whatever” and made it. And now the wall of text is over.
FIRST?
YEAH!
And i know what it’s like =w=”’
I have a thing where I stare at random things, then someone walks in the way…
@KrazyCatQueen: YES! Exactly! And then it’s worse when they just stand there and stay in the way, unaware that you were looking at it, and then you have to make it seem like you weren’t staring at the person, so then you have to stare at some other random thing before they see you!
@KirbyM
And then they notice you’re staring at them and stare at you too~! QAQ
Oh, I just remembered that there was this one flash game called “metro rules of conduct” (the site it’s from seems to lead to a 404 error now, so no use linking to it) where you basically avoid making eye contact with people on the subway and get points for staring at interesting things. I can’t find the flash game any more, but here’s a description, I’m sure there are some youtube videos of it.
Edit: like this one here!
I SLEEP ON THE SUBWAY – TWICE EVERY DAY!
…this is (part of) the reason I wear shades everywhere.
I just look away towards the window next to me.
I’ll bet Superman never has this problem.
“Hey, I was reading that poster that that guy just sat in front of. Wait a minute, I have x-ray vision.”
…
Ok, that didn’t work, posters are non-luminescent. Sure hope that guy doesn’t mind the rads I pumped into his chest cavity.”
…
“Oh, hey, heat vision!”
…
“Ugh, that just made a mess of the dude. And now his blood is all half-congealed on the poster.”
…
“Wait, why am I riding the subway? I can fly!”
whooosh
“and of course my favorite:
If someone suspicious approaches you, gesticulate wildly, pick your nose, and talk loudly, working in comments like “Syphilis runs in my family.”
Lol wut ( ;ﾟ∀ﾟ)?
It’s been a really long time since I’ve been on a subway because the actual place where I live doesn’t have any. So it’s hard for me to remember if this ever happened to me.
But I’ve read that in the ones in Japan, they don’t even say a word and just use their cellphones to send written messages in the meantime. Or something. I bet they don’t even move. Yeah.
the worst is when you notice someone staring at you, and when you look at them they’re looking away, but then you see them staring at you again, and the next thing you know you’re going back and forth, both you probably wondering why the other is staring at them. i dunno that used to happen to me every now and then when i used to take the LIRR to school.
Actually, a good number of times I spent making eye contacts with the women. But I know this kind of situation because there are always those ugly ones that won’t look away no matter how much you pray. >.<
Reminds me of elevator etiquette, only more involved (probably because the rides are longer–usually).
We don’t have a subway system where I live, but the bus system is a close substitute. Rides aren’t as long as on a commuter subway, though, and there’s like as not something to look at out the window at any given moment if you really need to avoid all eye contact.
Damned Eye contact! No matter if you are in a subway, a bus or a starship cruiser, it’s annoying!
Back in Miami, it’s a monorail more than a subway but it can NEVER compare to the two bus routes that I constantly used; the 9 and 10. If you think staring is bad, try being the only Asian on a bus full of Haitians and the bus is PACKED. It’s like you’re a centerpiece of a Thanksgiving meal.
@Fubu72
Yeah, Japanese people damn silence in their trains… I remembered Golden Week Holiday, I and my senior went to Sapporo, at subway train, and met another tourist from Singapore. We talked a lot, until they stop at theirs, suddenly silence in the train…. Like playing some creepy game (L4D anyone?) where people you met does not talk.
Also, when I sit in trains, my favorite would be sitting across babies or children… I would make weird faces like no one care… and laugh out loud… They would be scared after that/
I usually pretend to fall asleep when it gets crowded. It’s more comfortable than looking at people’s legs and shoes when I rather not do so for an hour.
Oh, I know this feeling all too well…
I especially hate when I’m just minding my own business and suddenly– BAM! I look up and someone is staring RIGHT AT ME.
I try to just keep my eyes off them but I peek back up and BAM! They’re still staring! And they’ll be like ϖ_ϖ and I’ll be all ;w;
All aboard the Yukari Train~~~
anywho, yeah it does get awkward… especially when the person in front of you just stares…. that mostly just happens with kids though -.-“
I don’t take subways :x
Food and drink isn’t allowed on the subways here so it’s kind of odd to stare at the floor where there’s only the patterned carpet. It’s really odd though, no matter who gets on: old folks, teens, kids, babies; it’s almost always quiet.
Ah for some reason I find it really odd when the person across from you gets off at the same stop after a “staring competition”.
They say that if you use the subway or similar 1,000,000 times you will be in the train Yukari uses in her spell card (`w´)
@Supakitsune:
BTW, I’m the guy that’s usually staring at you guys. The goal is to make the other person feel more awkward than you do, i.e. looks away first. IMO it’s more fun to do it towards the more attractive girls.
Although, usually you just think that someones staring at you, but in reality they’re actually just staring at something near you. That still really bad too, cuase then you think “Is that guys staring @ me?!?!” in some panicked way. And it just ends in bad feeling…
@deslar`ris:
Carpeted subways?
you get used to the eyecontacts once you start doing gesture drawings of them in your sketchbook lol.
or you can just get red eyes like Reisen and make people go insane when they stare at you.
Stare at his shoes.
I once had some random person sit down next to me and start talking to me when I was in Japan… I REALLY stuck out because I’m not Japanese…
Oh yeah… I was even riding that train with people I knew, but I guess that because they were Japanese I obviously wasn’t traveling with then =P
But still… awkward conversation is awkward
Well, the subway is bad in these regards. You can always look out of the windows and watch the scenery in a normal train.
I’ve never been on a subway before tbh. But I know a good survival tip is to never stand next to the doors.
Subwayz are complex.
There aren’t any subways in the city where I’m from, but I’m in Japan right now and ride the subway every day. I know exactly how you feel. If I’m reading it’s not really a problem, but yeah, it’s really hard to try to figure out a “casual” place to stare without staring at someone, especially when it’s packed.
On the not-talking note, I’ve considered trying to strike up a conversation with some random person, but I always get awkwarded-out and end up not doing it. Sure, I’ll never see them again, but…you know? ._.;
Hmm, what a curious culture that I never really noticed before when I rode the bus/tram/train/subway. Having said that, I almost always bring something to read (or do) for such journeys and if I haven’t, then I’m busy with my head in some long train of thought of its own – either philosophy, fiction, or both. Life’s too short to not make good use of those waiting times.
Wall ‘o text!!
I Don’t Know what is sit in the subway, because the subway in my country is awful, no for the look, is the people that use it, A LOT of people, especially at 5:00 and 6:00 pm and in the morning, personal space is no longer respected because people go into the subway like sardines in a can >_<
I’ve never taken the subway, but I can tell that’d be EXACTLY what I’d think if someone did that.
When I’m on the subway I always stare at advertisements
my brain hurts after reading the walls of text.
yuyuko: oh boy a half dead body!
me: huh
yuyuko: youmu i found dinner!
Well, this only happened me in busses cause there is no subway/train/monorail/planetal destroyer where I live, but, most of the people will just avoid eye contact with me and even if we made it it’s really not ackward, cause it will be a baby then XD
In most of the case, I would just inmerse myself into my own toughts or just stare at the void.
What is also funny is when you are staring outside through the window, and some people might think you are looking at them because of the minor reflection the window makes…
Something I note is that this post has a “continue reading” thing… and moreover I did actually read everything in the post… even more, I read very single word in the daily flash…
… Man, How is it possible that I never just took one of my notebooks and started reading to past time in a bus/train/monorail/subway/The Enterprise/Death Star/creeper bamboo canoe?
Hate to say it, but this is the only flash that includes a lot of text on a single frame that I’ve actually read. This, and the one a bit back with the Blueberry Envelopes and Yuyuko complaining about being fat.
Not just on subways, I ALWAYS do this no matter where I am if I need to wait for a while and stay in the same spot. The only thing that’s occupying my mind at that time is how I can act as inconspicuous and ‘normal’ as possible so people don’t notice or pay attention to me. The most annoying is when you’re sitting somewhere, waiting, and some moron(s) walk around and do crap that constantly catches your attention. You can’t just go stare at them, so you constantly have to look away, but I also want to keep my eyes on them a little so I can ‘check’ what they do. It’s probably because I don’t trust strangers, at all.
@Bill: On the contrary, one of the better places to stand on a subway is against the doors (around here anyway), despite the fact that there are clear signs saying “do not lean against doors” here (No one pays attention to that, including police). You just have to know when to stop leaning — that is, when the subway pulls into the station and you know the doors are about to open. It’s pretty much the only place you can feel stable without having to hold on to a pole or a bar. I mean, I never fall even when not holding on to anything, but there’s always the uneasy feeling that I could easily fall if the subway makes a sudden movement.
And there’s also the “don’t hold the doors” thing that no one ever pays attention to (but if you do it for too long during rush hours, people will get annoyed at you). Heck, there are lots of “rules” that are clearly written on signs that New Yorkers don’t pay attention to, although it’s completely different if a tourist does it.
I also notice that if the subway goes over a bridge and you can see outside, the only people who really look out the windows are tourists and children. So then it becomes really easy to spot tourists if they’ve been inconspicuous for most of the subway ride.
Sometimes I do the “pretend to be sleeping thing” although when I do, I’m actually sleepy and only close my eyes for a few seconds. I never fall asleep on the subway unless someone I know is with me, because then I’d probably miss my stop or someone could steal something (which I’ve never seen happening, but yeah).
I realized that I can write a lot about things like this.
That’s it, folks. KirbyM’s shutting down the Touhou part of the site and migrating create.swf to a subway rider generator!
I can’t wait to see what hilarious antics Unnamed Hobo 3 will get up to :)
I don’t know what this is like
I don’t have a subway here
…I don’t think there are any here in BC lol
A lot of people here in LA wear shades when in the subway. (Yes, there’s a subway in Los Angeles) The map in the subways here are up top, so there’s no one to look at there. Oh, there’s also the “listen to iPod, bouncing your head up and down with your eyes closed, as if you’re REALLY into your music” and the part where the crazy dude grabs everyone’s attention and we get a chance to not look at each other.
Of course, I guess it’s not too much of a problem since only the handicapped seats face each other…. The rest of the seats face the front or back, with 2 seats on each side. then again, there’s that dude that sits right next to you when there’s other seats available…..
And honestly, it’s often kinda hard to pick out the tourists and the locals, since I seem to see a lot of locals who are first-time subway riders. And they’re as wide eyed as the tourists going to Hollywood.
And as others who have been in Japanese subways mentioned, it is freaking quiet in there. And that car was PACKED. Not a peep out of the people in there. (well, other than the dudes in my group heh)
When I see someone staring at me, I stare at them until they look away. Staring matches ftw!!!
I hate when I’m on the train and I can’t stare at an empty seat I just hates when everything is squishy like everybody is blocking the way sometimes I go mad so I just make an eye contact
I know it isn’t very polite to do it.