Tourists Need To Follow This Train Etiquette Rule To Blend In When Visiting Japan

Although eating on the subway isn’t exactly easy, hungry visitors should abstain from snacking on Japanese metros. In Japan, a nation famous for its order and cleanliness, the seats in metro cars are often arranged like benches, facing toward the middle, so you’re shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow riders. If it’s crowded, you may have to stand, holding onto rails for support. These positions don’t lend themselves to eating, and chomping down a sandwich or granola bar risks covering your outfit or your neighbor in crumbs. Many of us would also consider this environment unsanitary, with the circular flow of passengers, the easy spread of germs, and the lack of onboard bathrooms to wash hands. In short, passenger should wait until they return to street level to address rumbling stomachs.

In Japan, even the act of nibbling a snack is considered taboo in the subway, and the same goes for bottled drinks. While Americans might innocently open a bag of Fritos on the Chicago L and wash it down with a swig of Coke Zero, Japanese riders would frown on this behavior. In the same way that subway passengers in Japan generally observe the unspoken train etiquette rule about backpacks, people are expected to abstain from eating or drinking while traveling in the subway or waiting in the station. This isn’t just good manners — food consumption is often prohibited.

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Eating on Japanese trains

While eating is forbidden on subways and commuter trains, eating is permitted on intercity routes, and bullet trains (or Shinkansen) are a pretty decent place to scarf down a lunch. The difference is clear from the moment you step into a Shinkansen car: Folding trays operate like small tables, and if you’re traveling first class (known as the “green car”), vendors often push food carts down the center aisle.

Meanwhile, larger Japanese train stations routinely double as food courts, where you can buy compact meals called ekiben, which are effectively designed for easy eating on the train. Plus, 7-Eleven is a sweet paradise for travelers who need coffee and snacks, and it’s easy to purchase a filling lunch on the go. So reserve your snacking for longer journeys instead of on local metros, and you’ll find a wide range of sandwiches, noodle bowls, and sushi trays to devour when hunger strikes. One of the best options is the classic Japanese staple, the bento box, and here is a list of the best train station bento boxes for your journey across Japan.

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Read the original article on Explore.