Which side of the escalator do you stand on?
 

Thanks to the concentrated efforts of JR, the answer is rapidly becoming "both", at least inside train stations. Never thought that rushing Japanese would stand for it (heh!), but now more often than not the escalators are packed with standers on both sides.

Or is this just a metro Tokyo phenomena?

I am in Tokyo now and haven't seen it that much, maybe I just don't travel enough at rush hour.

My somewhat related question: if people stand on the right in Osaka but are already standing on the left by Kyoto, is there somewhere in between where people stand in the middle?

I rarely see this in Tokyo, especially during rush hours -- people continue to stand on the left. OTOH, I see plenty of posters urging people to stand on the escalators. However, like no smoking and no bicycle parking signs, I expect these to go totally unheeded.

And oddly, they seem to stand on the right in Osaka...

During exceptionally busy times in London, commuters are often asked to stand on both sides of the escalators. So no, not a Tokyo only phenomenon.

I've noticed that the advice on how to be considerate differs in the two cities:

In London, posters ask travelers to show consideration by standing on the right. ("A little courtesy won't hurt you" is the godawful slogan on one of those posters, I think). By contrast, in Tokyo, the emphasis is on showing consideration by not racing up the escalator and weaving in and out of the people who are standing.

London Underground etiquette posters have really dropped in quality IMHO. Very badly conceived - I'm not the only one to have noticed:
http://www.mhpbooks.com/london-under...rs-and-poetry/

probably offends the main "offenders"!

i do notice the ones in japan tend to be safety motivated.

Taking a closer look this morning, this hasn't caught on nearly as much as I first thought...

YEP.

Tokyo Left. Osaka Right.

Went out for yakitori last night with a bunch of old timers. They were telling me when the officials decided that Kansai region was to stand on the right, train staff were using loud speakers and crowd control officers to "encourage' people to stand on the right.

Ever since then, everybody just stands to the right.

However in Tokyo, from the days of the samurai, way the swords were tucked away, they did not want anybody to accidently bump into it so they stand on the left.

Don't know how much of this is believable or if it is the sake and yakitori speaking but that is what they told me.

The government stopped the samurai from carrying swords in the 1870s, several decades before the first escalators. It's possible that Kanto escalator etiquette stems from traditions that go back to sword carrying days... but if someone is painting you a picture of warriors on the subway, you should tell him about the time your grandfather hunted the last T-Rex.

Sorry, scotch on the rocks and typing on FT sometimes obviously don't mix.

Yes, that is what they meant. The tradition of walking on a certain side of the road, etc....

Well that's one of the stories that people use to explain why Japan drives on the "wrong" side of the road (along with 20+ other countries - many of which were British colonies). I hadn't heard it applied to escalators before. But perhaps the escalator thing stems from the road thing.

In London, we stand on the right on the escalators. I have a theory that the people who decided this were thinking that most circulation within the station obeys the UK pattern of staying on the left ... and it might be better if the people closest to people moving in the opposite direction were standing still rather than walking. This first struck me when I started to swim in a pool that didn't alternate the swimming directions in lanes (in Japan). When my hand and the hand of an oncoming swimmer smashed into each other, I thought "Hmm, I must tuck my hand in. And perhaps that's why the London underground has people standing on the right".

So ... perhaps Tokyo subway owes its traffic pattern to a similar history.

That said, my home underground station has its escalators arranged the opposite way round from what I hold to be "typical". So perhaps this is bollox. And perhaps someone can tell me why Japanese swimming pools don't alternate the circulation for each lane? (clockwise in lane 1, counter-clockwise in lane 2 etc.)

If there is crowding where the escalator begins, then sure, everyone should stand.

If it is quiet enough for there to be no crowding, only one side should be used for standing.

On escalators up from train platforms, I've often seen people maintain left side standing, right side climbing, even if it means the right side is empty with a crowd still for the left.

Did hear in a department store a couple weeks ago for the first time, or at least the first time I've noticed, an employee asking people to form two standing only lines. This was from 1F to 2F with a large number of people. Further up, folks seemed to gravitate to the left side as the numbers thinned.

In my both my home and work stations, the "right" or walking side of the escalators are heavily used by commuters. I heard about JR East's recent campaign to change that, but I can't imagine it being implemented.

Department store and tourist-heavy escalators I can understand it working as many non-japanese don't know the local rule anyway.

I cant remember which is which but I know Osaka and Tokyo are opposite sides.

yup -- that's my memory as well (though I also can not remember)

In Osaka, you stand on the right; rest of Japan, it's the left. I always wondered if there is somewhere in between where you stand in the middle or if the shift is sudden. Doubt I will ever try to find out!

There are quite a few escalators dotted around Tokyo which are narrow enough for standing in the middle to be near mandatory (there’s just such an example in the area feeding into Shirokane-Takanawa station - elsewhere the “rods” of the Atomium in Brussels house similar escalators. Here’s a video, too cool to resist!)

Bump, as JR has stepped up their efforts as of late. Big posters by the escalator entrances in multiple languages informing of the "proper" use of the escalators, and even the occasional station attendee standing by thr escalators to enforce them.

There's probably a big expanse of inaka between them where few, if any, escalators exist.

Roppongi Hills is pushing this too. The signs are clear and yet people tend to stand on the left and assume people will walk on the right. I stand squarely in the middle as I do not really want to wipe the escalator with my dress every morning.

I see this as a good policy, slow to be implemented, but important. If people are in such a rush they can consider leaving 1 minute earlier. :)

Prior to the previous Tokyo Olympics, the city streets were often strewn with litter. An intensive campaign to raise awareness and clean the streets was undertaken. In only a few years, Tokyo became known as one of the cleanest metropoli in the world, and to this day Japanese are noted for cleaning up after themselves after public events, showing how engrained this changed way of thinking has become.

Where there's a will, there's a way. I will do my part, standing perfectly still holding the rail on the right hand side, smug in the knowledge of my correctness.

Hold on tight, I've seen angry salarymen push their way past folks (usually foreigners/tourists) to get on their regularly scheduled trains. During non-commute hours, when clueless tourists outnumber office workers, you'll probably be fine.

I've seen that too, actually quite often. I too think it's good idea to ban people from rushing up/down elevators for safety reasons, but it's going to be tough implementing it.

Japanese people can be downright aggressive in certain situations. People rush in like bull stampede to get in and secure seats on a shihatsu train (empty train leaving its first station) that my 2 kids and I were unable to sit together recently despite being at the front of the queue. When you're deplaning from a domestic flight, Japanese pax are so eager to get off the plane that majority of people already lined up in the aisle will not stop and let you out unless you force your way out.

This is when stress relief therapy comes in. More than once I have had to lay into some idiot who felt it best to shove me. I actually find it relieves stress to make such low life fly or otherwise reconsider their behavior. That said it is 100X worse in the US than here for sure.

That was before Premium Friday solved everything. Now everyone leaves the office around 3pm on the last Friday of the month to get spritually rejuvenated with things like belly dancing lessons and community sock hops.

Most people thought that Premium Friday would be a flop, but gold old Abe sure proved them wrong!

Tokyo left, Osaka right.

In Tokyo, especially, people will get pissed off if you don't step aside if not moving up the escalator.

Let them be pissed. Escalators aren't public property; their owners get to set the terms of use.

Exactly. :)

I hear ya. Unless there's a "no walking" rule on it tho', I'd be pissed too if someone blocks my path.

The escalators at Roppongi Hills are explicitly marked in three languages and several very visible symbols for standing only and npo walking. If people get upset when I don't move, they are welcome to be upset. Long steep escalators require a little safety etiquette.

Again, I hear ya. I'm not talking about those that are explicitly marked with 3 languages.

Personally, I'd let someone by if they were in a rush. It would be a common courtesy outside of the rules no different than moving aside if I'm driving 55 in a 55 zone on the highway, and someone wants to pass going 60. 55mph is the rule and I could say that the limit is there for safety. I also know that it's not a big a deal to change lanes.

It's just not that serious.

edit: I see some of the earlier responses on the matter. I find there's a difference between pushing/shoving and someone simply walking up the clear side of the escalator.

Walking up one side is pretty common in the DC area and frankly, my short time in Japan had folks reasonably walking up the right side.

Any shoving and I'd be liable to get aggressive back.

I have yet to see an escalator in Japan or Taiwan where everyone stood in place without walking up one side. Whatever public relations program is trying to teach people to stop walking, I can say it's definitely not working.

Those rocket launchers are so fast, you're at the top or bottom before you have a chance to take a step. My first visit to Singapore years ago almost sent me flying when I didn't prepare for how fast those things move. Well, liability laws ARE different over there.

I'd like to ride a paternoster before they become extinct.