Rush hour

A lot has been written about Tokyo`s rush hour trains, but actually being on one of these trains is an experience not to be missed and one that is not for the faint-hearted. You get the best idea of the so-called rush hour if you board a train of the Yamanote line, Tokyo`s central lifeline, at a major station, ideally Shinjuku, the world`s busiest train station.
The station is like a stream at peak times. Don`t try to walk against the current, you`ll drown. The number of people at Shinjuku in the early morning and early evening is incredible and the rules of politeness do not always apply, there is a lot of pushing left and right. Certainly make sure you have your ticket or Pasmo card ready at the gate, considering the number of people being channeled through those gates makes fumbling for your ticket more than a minor offense.
Despite the masses in the station there is space for little food stalls and shops that sell breakfast and lunch boxes to the hungry office worker. So before pushing their way through to the gate people try to grab something at one of those. Again - do have your money ready if you plan to do the same...
At the gate you are expected to wait in neat lines in front of the train doors. That orderly system gets somewhat corrupted at rush hour, due to the sheer amount of people lining up.Once the train arrives the line disolves quickly anyways as people are pushing their way onto the train. And yes, at major stations on lines like Yamanote there are guards that push people into the train where necessary, as you might have seen on tv already.
Once on the train try to grab a handle (don`t even dream of a seat). You can`t really fall because the train is so packedc, but still. Surprisingly some people still manage to sleep - standing and "hanging" on a handle or read or play Nintendo games. But if you`re unlucky you were one of the last to board the train and then your nose will be pressed flat on the window for the upcoming ride.
Once at the destination the challenge is to get off the train. Even those who do not need to get off are usually pushed out and need to board again with the masses at the next station. Finally being at the desired station may feel like a victory for those who do a rush hour ride just for "fun", but except for those lucky individuals, the same s... starts all over again going back from work and the next morning and... Welcome to "Groundhog Day"!
P.S.: The pictures do not show a real rush hour, just an averagely busy late afternoon and not one of the major lines either. It`s simply too stressful to take pictures at rush hour and as long as I can avoid it I don`t take rush hour trains at all.