You made it on the subway. People are catching side glances at you or staring and you are dying to blend in, or at least you don't want to do anything offensive or embarrassing.
Perhaps part of the reason why I enjoy Japan is because people follow rules. I was raised in the Swiss culture, where we follow rules religiously. The saying goes that at least in the "German" part of Switzerland, whatever is not forbidden is mandatory. So I feel comfortable in places like that.
But if you don't know what the rules are, then it can be very uncomfortable. Not to worry, the subway etiquette is fairly simple. What makes it hard is that you can't rely 100% on watching people, as some of them are behaving rudely.
Here goes for the subway rules:
1) Do not talk on the phone. If you really want to blend in, do pull out your phone, and text (or surf the web). Fake it if you don't have service in Japan. It's OK to talk with travel companions, but quietly.
2) Do not eat. The exception might be on a long train ride, when it's lunch time and people take out bentos or start munching on onigiris. In general, it is poor etiquette to eat standing up or walking, or out on the streets.
3) Ladies, no applying makeup. Men, also please refrain. I made a discreet exception for lipbalm. As far as I could tell, that was OK. If you must blow your nose, try a discrete dab instead (turn your head away from people).
4) Amazingly, in the land of respect for the elderly, you are not expected to give away your seat for them, with the exception of "priority seats", which are labeled as such. These are supposed to be given up for the elderly, pregnant women, parents of young children, and handicapped people. That rule is not always obeyed. If you give up your seat when you are not expected to, expect a barrage of apologizing and thanking. But do insist. Remember what I said about being nice to people (my first post in this blog).
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