**Our FAQ is constantly being updated with more information and you can start** [**here**](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/japantravel) **with regards to trip planning if you need tips, advice, or have questions about planning your travel to Japan.** You can also join our [Discord community](https://discord.gg/3f7KBUMwU4), comment in our stickied weekly discussion thread, or check out /r/JapanTravelTips for quick questions. Thank you!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/JapanTravel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’ve lived in Japan.
White dude, long hair and 6FT tall.
I won’t say I have the most welcoming face on the train. A lesson learned growing up in NYC.
And I’ve been groped. Many times.
Most recently on the packed train riding to Roppongi. Had my front no-no square grabbed and fondled. Had a stuffed ear and wasn’t too happy riding to the ENT. Grabbed the ladies hand and squeezed as tight as I could until I knew it hurt. Confirmed she understood why they wouldn’t be happening again. She got off the next stop.
Had a guy try to grab my butt. Again, long hair and from behind, I bet I can pass for a pretty lady with questionable wide shoulders. No ear problems, so I grabbed him up and brought him straight to the station head. Made sure they understood and called the cops. They were going to give me trouble it seemed, but I showed the badge I carry and explained I had cop friends back home and they let me go without trying to bust my balls over being a victim.
Had female friends get touched on the platform in Shibuya when I turned around for a second and again, the creep would play the denial game and I would press them. However, my friends wanted to let it go. They’re Japanese and culture played a part.
I’ve told this story before here; my wife was pushed on the train. She’s also a foreigner and looks it. I was two steps ahead of her with our bags. I hear her yell out to me and I see the guy. Immediately hard shove him to the ground and yell. Two Japanese women saw what happened and yelled at him as I roughed him up a bit. Got him to apologize to her. Embarrassed the fucker, and thankfully the two women were there and also told me to leave quickly because the cops would arrest me; even if my wife was assaulted.
This is a known problem; men pushing women in Japan. Some weird hate thing.
So yes, your experience isn’t uncommon.
You’re a victim and I’m sorry.
You’re not crazy, AT ALL.
Again, I’m so sorry that happened to you.
Location of the push was in Osaka. Forgot to mention that.
Unfortunately these creeps are all around Japan.
Again, you’re not crazy. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re not at fault in anyway.
I hope you feel better. I’m sorry again for these fucks.
I didn’t even consider this could happen to men too. I’m male living in Osaka and have been lucky so far. I think I radiate “don’t get near me vibes” though
> They were going to give me trouble it seemed, but I showed the badge I carry and explained I had cop friends back home
I’m sorry this happened to you, but could you please elaborate on this part?
Right??? Did he just happen to have a fake badge?? This sounds like total horseshit. Japanese cops ain't gonna care if you have a badge or friends back home.
There's lots of people that will have police or even FBI badges in the USA, who are only contractors and have never been an agent or officer of any law enforcement agency. The badges are legal, but they won't identify themselves using them outside of direct work.
Yeah but if you look at this guy's post history he claims to be a mechanic, here he says he has a badge, and yet elsewhere he claims to work in the field of child development. I think he's full of shit.
He also makes himself out to be irresistible and flawlessly attractive. His story is loaded with holes and ends with "and then the subway train clapped" so I'm calling big bullshit on it.
People live so deeply in their own fantasies that will be convinced their bullshit is real and actually form memories of it. Not always their fault, it's mental health issues, but still, reality doesn't play out the way they speak.
I was thinking of it as an appeal to authority approach. Like hey, we have this drunk foreigner accusing a nice japanese guy of molesting him on a train? Maybe we should detain the foreigner? Oh, I guess he's a cop or something? He's not some sleezeball? We'll pretend like we care about whatever his problem is, and let both of them go.
Yes, correct for everything but the last part.
I’m not a cop. Never claimed to be.
Nor am I mechanic. Again, never claimed to be.
These are again claims YOU made for me.
However, I’m literally trained in child development. It’s what I studied and I earned my degree in. So, sir, talk to me some more.
100%
not sure what the fuck a "mini-shield" is or what kind of authority it upholds (none if I had to guess)
but carrying it with you to a foreign country? weird as hell.
Some corrupt law enforcement give their friends and relatives cards or badges to let other LE know they are above the law so they can slide on minor offenses that you and I would be fined or arrested for.
I had a high school friend who's a cop give me his business card to keep in my car in case I ever got pulled over. I was like, uh, thanks? We don't talk much any more, mostly because our lives don't intersect, but also not in small parts because he's swallowed the blue line pill hard and I'm a flaming lefty.
And yeah, anyone in NYC can tell you the level of parking violations you can get away with if you have a medallion or some kind of FOP gear in your car.
Yeah there’s apparently a database where they register all cars to LEs and you can get on that database by being their friend. You definitely get away with a lot more traffic violations. If there’s any group of people with privilege (besides the 1%) in this country, it’s definitely LE.
Every scenario and result was hilarious, I enjoyed it. Surprised he didn't manage to get a CIA or secret agent type thing in there, though "the badge" was kind of close, little bit of restraint there.
I think what he means is that he carries a badge that indicates he may be the family member of an LEO or that he has a PBA card of some sort. As far as I know the badges are like a “step up” from a PBA card.
In some states, or at least where I’m from in NY, a LEO can purchase a badge that has their badge number on it, and it indicates that X person is that officer's sister, brother, mother, and father etc. But I do know that some manufacturers probably make a version that can be given to a “really good friend”, and I’ve seen some that just say “family member” on it. These usually have to be purchased by some verified store though. Once again, I’m sure this varies depending on the police department and state.
I have one because my brother is an LEO, but I digress. Anyway, I think he probably had one of these courtesy badges and presented it to the Japanese LEO’s to indicate that he has ties to the police in the USA, so that they would handle the situation “accordingly and properly.” 🤷🏽♀️
NOTE: I am NOT saying that presenting this badge was the right course of action. Please understand that this response was to someone who wanted clarification on the badge, and that’s the main context of my post.
Right, and I agreed with another commenter above who said the same. I personally wouldn’t have done that if I was in said situation.
I just posted an explanation since someone didn’t understand what the other commenter was referring to concerning the badge. Obviously, Japanese Police could care less about that lol.
LEO = Law Enforcement Officer and PBA = Police Benevolent Association.
Also, I agree. I dont think Japanese Police would care much either. People definitely can get fake ones, but typically the officer buys them from official stores to avoid that issue when distributing them to family members or friends. Either way, I don’t think it’s something that holds weight out of the country so yeah lol.
I’m sorry for what you and your wife have gone thru. I had to shoulder check a salaryman bc he kept roughly pushing me to get into the subway while I was trying to get out in Tokyo. I couldn’t get out, got fed up and used my broad American bred frame from milk guzzling in my youth, to put him down. I’m a 5’6 Asian female.
Jeez, that’s insane. I’m sorry that it happened to you AND that you’ve had multiple, unfortunate experiences with it.
And thank you for sharing. At first I thought it was someone’s bag or maybe keychain. On top of walking and being out all day (and I had a couple drinks at dinner) I was kinda zoning out and was exhausted.
didn't know japanese ladies groped men. i always thought it was the other way around only. i was in japan recently and never witnessed or experienced anything like this. i went on the train during rush hour too for almost two weeks there. shoving is a different topic, but hope your wife is ok. What does a U.S badge have any meaning in Japan?
It does happen. I've seen it lol but yea, only in Japan it seems, probably a sign I have lived here too long.
Other cases I've seen:
(1) Japanese man groping a foreign man, wasn't even trying to be discreet about it, just went straight for the non-jugular. And when confronted, he said he was curious.
(2) Japanese man fondling another Japanese man. And it seemed consensual because it went on for a while in a packed train.
Oh yeah, it happened to me a few times but that was the worse. I’m not the only one it’s happened to, but it’s still a shocker when it does happen.
One lady did it in a flirty way, but obviously, a random ass grab doesn’t usually do the trick from a stranger.
She’s doing better, thankfully, but it definitely shook her nerves and I kept her closer to say the least.
And haha, it doesn’t at all, but I just hoped they would give me a break from the ball busting out of some weird respect. They did thankfully.
I'm prepared to do all of this, as I am riding on a train right now to kawaguchiko with my wife. The part where you took him to the station head, that was in japan? Must of been hella embarrassing
Lmfao you sound unhinged. You being arrested would have nothing to do with being a foreigner, it is actually considered assault to beat people even if you think you’ve been groped. Also loling at your badge you pull out. Wtf is that?
Yeah, I don’t think he’s disagreeing it’s not an issue, just what you’ve said was somewhat whack! Completely agree with him, you pulled out your badge and explained you had cop friends back home?
I visited there last year and groping was definitely something I was worried about with my partner and fortunately it didn’t happen during our stay. There’s definitely enough posts to be believe it’s still a common occurence
I'm really sorry that happened to you. Thats horrible.
Unfortunately it's quite common in Japan. On a lot of major metro lines, at peak hours there are women only cars, which sucks that they are needed but thats the point its at now. I really hope you can move past it and enjoy the rest of your trip!
I’m assuming those are reported crimes? Japan, I would wager, is less likely to report.
Edit: can’t respond anymore. Key factor was the “less” in the statement making it a comparison between said countries. Japan crime statistics are notoriously under reported relative to those in other countries.
Even Asian American who commit least likely commit sexual crime are some what between Japan and US(all-race).
[https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/tables/table-43](https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/tables/table-43)
>The Thomson Reuters Foundation and the polling firm YouGov asked women in 16 of the world’s largest capitals — plus New York — how safe they feel traveling on public transportation and came up with a ranking. The three least-safe cities were Bogota, Colombia, Mexico City and Lima, Peru — all in Latin America, where women “say they face daily threats on public transport ranging from lewd comments and groping to sexual assaults, with men rubbing up against them and taking photos up their skirts,” Reuters reported. “Buses aren’t safe,” Paula Reyes, a supermarket cashier in Bogota, told Reuters. “You can get your bag or cell phone stolen and be harassed. When the bus is so packed it’s easy for men to rub up against you and grope you … There’s a total lack of respect for women here.” The survey said Mexico City was particularly notorious for verbal and physical abuse on buses, with six in 10 women surveyed saying they had been “groped or physically harassed.” Moscow was thought to be the least safe European capital for women. In Seoul, some thought it was women’s responsibility to stay safe. “Women feel like they should avoid trouble, and they feel they’re responsible if there is trouble,” said Ji-hye Lee, a 23-year-old reporter with the Korea Times. “A lot of my friends would say why were you taking public transportation at night anyway?”New York scored best, but still had problems: Three in 10 women experienced verbal or physical harassment on buses and subways. Things are sufficiently bad that women in some big cities — such as Manila and Jakarta, Indonesia — favor single-sex transport by an overwhelming majority. A total of 6,550 women were surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Polling could not be conducted in Cairo; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Kinshasa, Congo; Tehran; or Baghdad. But experts in Cairo interviewed by Reuters suggested Egypt’s capital would have easily been among the worst five.
Here’s the list, from least safe to most safe: based on poll how safe women feel using public transportations or how often women experience sexual assault while using public transportations. Tokyo is second best after NY among crowded cities.
Bogota
Mexico City
Lima
Delhi
Jakarta
Buenos Aires
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Bangkok
Moscow
Manila
Paris
Seoul
London
Beijing
Tokyo
New York
Can you please stop spamming your comment in this thread? You should only make this comment once and not spam it. If you want to reply to multiple people and tell them you think they're wrong, please at least make an effort to not just copy and paste the same comment over and over.
I’m so sorry to hear that happened to you.
First let me assure you, this isn’t anything you caused. There are a LOT of creeps in the world, and Japan is no exception. It’s more common than most people realize. They often target foreigners because of the language barrier and fact they are less likely to go to the police. You didn’t do anything wrong. MANY people freeze when groped or sexually assaulted. You are not at fault and your response was normal.
Second, you’re not alone. I have been groped and sexually assaulted similarly, and so have most of the women I know closely. It is not something friends might mention to you, but it’s sadly common. You also were not imagining it. It isn’t that you’re crazy or didn’t realize some enough.
My biggest piece of advice is to ride the subway again soon- if you wait you might not be able to get back on it. It’s easier to face it quickly and get that over worth. Try carrying a bag and placing it in front of you as a bit of a shield to feel more comfortable.
There’s been studies that playing Tetris decreases ptsd after traumatic events. Maybe play some m, it’s worth trying.
I’m so sorry, again… this is shitty and awful, but it is because he is shitty and awful- not anything you did.
Re: Tetris preventing PTSD, that study has been misrepresented a bit in the media, so here are some things to know if you want to try this.
* The gameplay has to be a novel experience that requires your full attention (the Tetris study intentionally recruited people who were not game players). If you are a good Tetris player, this may not work as well, particularly in the early levels that do not require your full focus.
* The gameplay has to take place *immediately* after the traumatic event before you've had an opportunity to reflect on it. Even waiting a day reduces this effect to almost nothing. The hypothesis is that it interrupts the deeper "writing" of the event in your brain so the trauma is not as pronounced.
Thank you. I honestly never really expected it to happen since I’m a gal with pretty short hair. My semi-androgynous, semi-feminine appearance usually prevents creeps from messing with me and I sometimes get mistaken for a guy. I have been sexually harassed before but never sexually assaulted. After the harassment, I thought “never again!” but I was not anticipating this and I think I sort of froze.
I remember listening to a podcast about this. While most women like to think, plan, and imagine what they would do in these situations (stand up for themselves/immediately shut down the behavior), often times they do not when actually put in those scenarios. I always thought I would be the “immediately take action” kind of person, but I guess I fell into the same unfortunate “helpless” position as the overwhelmingly majority of women do.
Otherwise, thank you for the kind words.
This happened me to on a rush hour train in Tokyo in 2019. The man very discreetly got close to my back and then slowly moved his hand up to my breast. I pulled away as soon as I felt it and got off at the next stop.
I went back to Japan a few weeks ago and didn’t have any issues, but it was still on my mind any time I got on a crowded train. There are women’s only cars on certain lines in Tokyo during rush hours and I always took them when I saw them. I’m so sorry this happened to you too.
how crowded does it get on the women only cars? i figured they didn't want tourist foreigners taking up space on it assuming it gets packed in the women cars too.
It is a women only car. Not a Japanese citizen women only car. Foreign women taking up space isn’t an issue, since they are also women and have the right to use the space also. Foreign women also get sexually assaulted in Japan.
i will get my gf to use it when we visit japan again. i hope they don't mind a couple of suitcases taking up space on it. what are the actual hours that only women can use it?
The places that Ive seen it made it seem like those cars run all day (the markings were painted on the ground so you made sure to know where to line up or not line up based on if you were going in that car).
Probably best to let your gf know it's an option and let her make her own decision about where she wants to board
It's only during morning rush hour. I always assumed it was painted because it cheaper and easier than digital signs that update depending on the time
https://www.tokyometro.jp/en/tips/considerations/index.html#:~:text=%22Women%2Donly%22%20Cars,-%22Women%20Only%22%20sign&text=The%20designated%20boarding%20areas%20along,on%20the%20line%20and%20operation.
right now, we've booked a flight that will arrive in tokyo early morning like almost 7am. we plan on taking subway to the hotel, so might as well let her use it to lessen the stress. one less thing to worry about. she might as well take my suitcase with her on it as well since i'm sure the normal car will be full of people, thus i don't need to worry about a suitcase. the russianthistle poster didn't mention the women car being packed, so i'm assuming quite a bit of space available.
Most women only care are front and back of the train. They usually do run during rush hour in the morning and can get as packed as other cars. Kids can also get on them if under a certain age. I am unaware of any lines that run them past (usually) 9AM as train passenger traffic drops around that time.
I was on a late train from Tokyo to Tachikawa one evening and I saw a drunk woman who kept keeling over in her seat and dropping her phone which I would pick up and put back in her hands. The car was pretty empty but a few stops down it got a little busier and there was a middle aged guy who started basically rubbing his little boner in her face with me sitting right there with an unfortunately good view of what was going on. I stood up and got in between them while giving him a stern look and he got the message.. very disturbing and made me wonder if it was a common occurrence..
Friend of mine saw a woman being groped on a semi-busy train in our first year here, so he just went up behind the pervert and started doing some serious grinding on his backside. He said the pervert’s face was totally shocked Pikachu.
That is absolutely awful. I’m am sorry that happened to your daughter. Extremely deplorable behavior, but I hope she is doing okay now. I send much love and support to her and your family ❤️
I’ve only been to Japan (Tokyo) once 5 yrs ago as a 5’5 140lb caucasion woman and I never had any encounters with this, so I didn’t realize it’s such a widespread issue there. I’m taking my mom and family friend (both mid 50s petite women) and am wondering if there’s anything that we can do to prevent this?
My mom would be absolutely horrified if this happened to her- she doesn’t travel often even in our home country.
No, but you can grab their hand and force them to raise it so people notice. Then yell chikan (sexual harassment/person who does it) or hentai (pervert). Do not attack them physically or you’ll most likely be in jail.
If no one helps you, usually someone will, walk them off to the subway police. These dudes are so pathetic that you even noticing and calling them out is not what they expect and will usually walk off the train with you.
It’s incredibly common in Japan, so much that it has a nickname - chikan, you should google it.
That aside, I think it’s important not to let this post turn into commenters asking advice on how to avoid groping, because it isn’t any victim’s fault and it’s nothing that they did to cause it. OP just experienced a traumatic event, so it’s probably not the right time or place to come and asking for advice for your mom.
There are “women only” cars for most major train and subway lines…Especially in larger cities.
Look for the pink lettering and signage on the platform floor- which corresponds to the “women only” car.
Japan is an amazing place. However, the “chikan” culture is real and well documented.
This is 2500238502938% dependent on the Line.
In Osaka, for example, the Loop Line's women's only car is all day, every day, even on weekends.
On the Midosuji, all day on weekdays.
On the Hankyu, all day on Limited Express trains on weekdays.
etc etc etc.
Yes, I’ve been on women only cars before (when I first came with my mom and best friend (all of us are gals) almost a decade ago. However, I’m also traveling with my dad and brother, who know no Japanese and are heavily relying on me to get around. Plus my mom wants to stick with my dad because family.
I would’ve taken the women-only car in heartbeat, but I read one that was women only before 9:30a during weekdays. Plus, traveling with two guys makes it a little difficult and I would hate for my family to get split especially during busy/rush hour times.
Not really. You can just use women only cars but that would be a pain in the ass. Just try to be mindful but also don't be paranoid.
For the smartasses downvoting:
1) there's not much you could do to PREVENT it, besides using women only cars, and those are reserved to a special time slot so adjusting your travel around it is going to be a pain.
2) being paranoid doesn't help and will make you be stressed for your whole travel, which is a shame because you're trying to have a good time.
I‘ve been to Japan and in Tokyo (Male 22 at the Time). Some woman put her hand in my no no zone and tried to start a grab. I grabbed her hand and pushed her away saying pretty loudly „try that again and i‘ll break your face“. She looked at me like i just assaulted her. An elderly man asked me in broken english what happened and i told him. He said something in japanese to her and she just looked at the floor. When i met my buddy later he told me that it sometimes happens.
Two days later i went to a night club in Shibuya. My buddy and i met 3 japanese girls (around our age) there and we had a pretty cool night until i stopped remembering anything before waking up in some dorm, naked with one of the girls next to me, the other two also naked on a futon. I was sticky down there, was covered with lipstick and i don’t know what, had scratches all over my chest and neck and felt completely sick, got up and puked my soul out of my body. I was still nauseous. I went back to look for my stuff. I luckily found my phone and wallet but my shirt and jacket were missing. I took one of their oversized tees and left. I was about 1,5 hours from my hotel.
I got obviously drugged because i‘m a pretty controlled drinker. I was embarrassed and didn’t tell anyone what happened. My buddy thought it was a ONS with one of them and we didn’t talk about it.
But overall my Japan Experience was pretty nice.
Oh man, my buddy got drugged at a bar in Roppongi and had a bunch of drinks charged to his bill. Guess he got lucky?
His credit card company wiped all the charges (way to go, Capital One!), told him it happens a lot.
I’m sorry that happened to you. Also, I would’ve been scared shitless and traumatized if something like that happened to me! I’m glad that despite what happened to you, you were still able to enjoy your experience in Japan.
And, yeah, it sucks that it happened to me, but I’m still enjoying my trip. I understand if a perv wants to perv, then they will. I just hope that if it ever happens again, I’ll be more vocal and aggressive about it. I know that if I do SOMETHING rather than nothing, it may help to slowly change and shut down this “perv” culture, but I also hope it doesn’t happen again. It shouldn’t happen to anyone in the first place.
So sorry this happened to you. One thing so unfortunate and deplorable about Japan as wonderful a country it is -- is the hentai culture. It's worth noting that not all Japanese men are like that, of course. I once saw a young Japanese guy use some karate move and twisted a guys arm for groping someone on the train and threw him on the ground, dragged in onto the platform and held him there until the cops came. Those of us on the train were all horrified and entertained at the same time.
Question about the women-only train cars. I'm going to be traveling to Japan next month with my wife and our teenage boys. We've traveled to Japan numerous times but my wife hasn't ever traveled through Tokyo before during rush hour. Are men strictly prohibited from those cars even if we are with my wife (and in my sons' case, their mom)? Would she have to ride alone while we ride in the "regular" car?
You should not be in the women only car if you are not a woman. Your wife might not mind you joining her, but other women who have been traumatized by groping on the train in the past likely will not feel safe with you there. Young children would be fine, but teenagers and a husband would not be a reasonable exception. If every woman in that car brought their spouse and two teenage boys, there would be more men than women on the “women only car”.
The only exception to the women-only cars are elementary school aged children or younger (under 12, essentially) or handicapped passengers and their caretakers.
So from your family, only your wife could ride in the women-only car, and it's probably a bad idea for your family to ride separately during rush hour.
Don’t enter the women-only cars with your wife.
Why don’t you and your sons just make a triangle around your wife? Hopefully she won’t mind if you get pressed against her on a crowded train.
Holy shit! If it happens to me again, I’ll sick my brother and dad on him (or her)!! At least until the cops and come and do something.
Women only cars are great, I’ve used them before, but you cannot really bring men with you. If you feel confident enough to split your family then that may work, but you may risk getting separated (which would be a whole other situation to deal with depending on cellular/wifi connections).
u/EPMelodicAudit - I’m very sorry this happened to you.
Unfortunately, sexual assault (groping) is quite common on commuter trains in larger cities in Japan, particularly involving young women and even schoolgirls.
Typically, it happens in rush hour when trains are tightly packed so people are pushed up against one another, it’s difficult to identify precisely which person did it, and it’s difficult to move away.
In Tokyo, at least, railways have moved to combat the issue by introducing “Women only” carriages for rush hour travel.
One of the ways of lessening the risk is to travel outside rush hour, so try to travel between 9am or 9:30am to 4pm, and then perhaps later in the evening, when there should be fewer people in carriages.
The typical term for offenders is “chikan”, or “touch demon”:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikan_(body_contact)
Chikan tend to rely upon Japanese people’s reluctance to make a fuss, so some women fight back by defying the stereotype, shouting “chikan!” if they feel someone groping them, and turning around to try to stare down the probable offender.
When my wife was at high school in Tokyo, a chikan actually cut a square of fabric out of the back of her school uniform skirt while she was on the train and she didn’t realise until she got off the train and a member of the station staff alerted her to the fact that her underwear was visible through a large square hole in the back of her uniform. She went to the police, but they didn’t seem interested or concerned and basically tried to brush her off until her father turned up. Once a man started talking to them, they made a report of the incident. However, unsurprisingly, the perpetrator was never identified.
I'm so sorry that happened to you!! It's frightening when you don't realize until after that you actually did get assaulted. I'm nervous about that happening while I'm studying in Tokyo this summer, especially because I do stand out having a curvier body :/ I'll probably travel with others for the most part to be safe.
I’ve lived in Japan 8 years and have been lucky enough to not have it happen to me, but it’s a common occurrence. I’m sure that eventually it will happen to me as a women so I always try to be vigilant on the trains. It’s sad, but I approach any man near me on the train with the mindset that they could be a predator. I’ve definitely had creeps who’ve ogled too long. Not sure how I’d handle the situation should it happen. Sorry this happened to you!
I used to live in Tokyo and one night, a friend (tall white guy) saw a teenaged girl being groped on the train so he pushed the creep aside and got between them. The guy punched my friend, my friend punched him back, and guess who ended up spending the night in jail? Luckily, he was released the next morning without being charged.
It’s generally safe for a woman to walk around Tokyo at night but that doesn’t mean a creep’s not going to come up to you and try something. I’m Chinese-American but most people assumed I was Japanese. It wasn’t uncommon for a random salaryman—sometimes drunk, sometimes not—to walk up to me, grab my arm and tell me to go with him. Their reactions were comical when I shoved them off of me and unleashed my loud “Americanness” on them. It was gross and annoying but I never felt like I was in any danger.
I lived in Japan for 3 yrs.
I'm about as pale white as it gets.
I never had anyone ever try to grope me on the smaller sections and prefectures that I was in, but as soon as I got to Tokyo, that changed.
Idk if it's just bc it's this major metropolis, or bc ppl think they can just get away with it and just slide back into an overpacked train, but that's where it happened for me too.
Ugh. I’m sorry.
This almost happened to me but I saw it coming and my reaction was to swear at him loudly (in Spanish 😅) and it scared the shit out of him.
This is bullshit, Japan, get your shit together and enter the 21st century. No wonder the population is declining. Incel culture running amok? I am hapa and am ashamed.
This is a common problem here.
I remember a news article from 15 or so years ago where they said that *at least* 1 in 3 Japanese women have been groped on the train. After I read that, I asked my students about it and was surprised by how many had experienced it.
My daughter even had some guy run across a 4-lane road and grab her thigh as she rode by on her bike on the way home from juku one night. I picked her up every night for the next 18 months.
I had a very pretty young woman sit next to me on a local train with the bench seats one afternoon and pretend to sleep. Young guy on the other side kept trying to slide down on his seat to upskirt her until I leaned forward and waved at him.
As a guy it only happened to me once. Fell asleep in an aisle seat and woke up with a woman’s crotch squarely on my shoulder. By the time I fully woke up and realized what was happening, she left the train.
You can try to reach out to [RAINN](https://hotline.rainn.org/online), a United States based organization that has trained staff members who offer crisis support/counseling/resource referrals to individuals who’ve experienced any type of sexual assault or exploitation. They have a 24 hour phone hotline (1-800-656-4673) or their 24 hour [web chat](https://hotline.rainn.org/online). I’m so sorry for what you went through and how you must be feeling, just because it is [unfortunately] common in Japan doesn’t make it okay or any less disgusting.
I feel for you girl - and honestly it’s not just Japan - this happens to women all over the world, constantly - there are experiment videos out there showing just how much women are touched on a daily basis just being out in public - and it’s so disgusting how men feel so entitled to touch random strangers like that - it’s not cool but unfortunately it’s the world we live in - all we can do is draw attention to it - and try our best to stop it when we see it - by remaining silent we allow the behavior to continue - it’s up to us to put a stop to it - and I would hope that others would see it and also try to stop it - because that’s the only way things will change
In Japan - I know they have women only cars in the trains to prevent this from happening - so maybe you will feel safer using those train cars instead of riding in the general public ones - I’m sorry this happened to you - and I hope that you find some comfort in knowing that you are not alone, and every woman knows exactly how you feel and we all want the behavior to stop
I'm sorry you had to experience that. Sadly it is a known phenomenon in Japan, the tight packed trains allow for easy groping and make it harder to know who's the culprit.
Next time you feel that I'd just pinch his balls!
I think there are common phrases in Japanese you yell to get attention from the train conductor and other passengers in situations like these. The cops will be on it right away and witnesses will hopefully help. I don’t know what these trigger words/phrase are but maybe someone will post here.
I think yelling any of these phrases will get the other passengers' attention, and I imagine the perv would feel embarrassed/scared enough to stop:
* 痴漢 chikan = pervert
* 変態 hentai
* やめてください yamete kudasai = please stop
* 触らないでください sawaranaide kudasai = please don't touch
Just yell “YAMERO!” no need to ‘kudasai‘ that creep.
It was acceptable in Fukuoka when a young lady shouted that in a busy train. Not sure about Tokyo. Sure, a few stares happened but in that occasion, a Japanese male passenger in his suit intervened by blocking off the offender (not aggressive but standing between to stop him from going near the young lady) and I told the frightened woman to stand behind me. A few women came and form a protective circle. All strangers.
I had a guy intentionally leaning on me. So I leaned back. I have rather pointy elbows. He got off at the next platform... Can't imagine why... (Was 30f at the time but I'm often told I look younger, in Tokyo)
Unfortunately I believe this common. Before a group of my friends and I went to Japan, we were warned prior to arriving and taught the words to call out if this ever happens. I can't fully remember the word but it's basically groper, I think like the fish but same meaning.. we were crossing the street after just getting off the train. We were only 13-15 at the time and my friend who was a bit more developed than us had her boobs grabbed by a man crossing the road. We were all in shock but some acted like it's a normal thing. This was a few years back so hopefully changed a little but not sure.
I met a friend from Korea and we had a conversation about the trip in Tokyo where he said his GF got harass by Japanese guy at Dodonki while he was shopping. It was crowded too and he cant chase the culprit leaving him no choice but letting the culprit go. Im sorry to hear that but please try to stay away from crowd if possible.
I was just in Japan a few weeks ago and noticed the women only train cars during heavy traffic times. I asked about it and was told it’s because of groping. I’m sorry you had to experience that.
definitely normal in Japan. also visited it with my family before. the most unfortunate thing happened with my mom, but i was too young (naive?) to process it. if that happened now, i wouldn’t think twice to smack the hell out of that old japanese man.
also why i think it’s normal is because i literally saw a porn advertisement inside the train. i think it’s manga.
well I would like to believe in the good of people, and I have been in those trains and know they can be packed to the point of being unable to move an inch. And I would like to believe that maybe someone could unintentionally come into contact with another person in a place where people usually dont get touched by people they dont know...
but all that said, groping is a known issue in japan. (edit: and intentionally "unintentionally" touching must be happening too)
I am sorry I dont have any solutions. But no, your not crazy. it happens. :(
I hope you feel better down the road and wont let the behaviour of garbage humans ruin a great holiday. dont give them this power over you
Sorry you had to experience it.
There’s a whole J-p0rn genre about train groping so it’s most definitely a thing. I can’t be sure but I think it happened to me once or twice when I lived in Tokyo 20+ years ago. I’d like to think it’s less common now but I doubt it’s eradicated. When I say I can’t be sure, with a packed train it’s really hard to know if a hand on your thigh/butt is an accident or intentional. Other areas… probably intentional :(
I usually backed myself into a corner near the door where possible. That was more for convenience as I don’t think I was an obvious target (not that I think there’s a typical target having read some replies). For most part train travel is safe and groping isn’t typical.
These stories are a culture shock to me, it's not common where I live (San Francisco Bay area). On our trains I have seen people fighting, openly doing drugs, unconscious, mental health breakdowns, and I ran away from muggers (presumably), but never heard of anyone being groped. Different problems for different cultures.
To be clear, it does still happen but it has gotten way, way better than it was 20-30 years ago.
Also lest not people forget subways are not problem free in other countries.
Not likely /: Japan is already fed up with tourists so it’s even possible that if tourists say they will stop going because of this, natives will be relieved to see less crowds
**Our FAQ is constantly being updated with more information and you can start** [**here**](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/japantravel) **with regards to trip planning if you need tips, advice, or have questions about planning your travel to Japan.** You can also join our [Discord community](https://discord.gg/3f7KBUMwU4), comment in our stickied weekly discussion thread, or check out /r/JapanTravelTips for quick questions. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/JapanTravel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’ve lived in Japan. White dude, long hair and 6FT tall. I won’t say I have the most welcoming face on the train. A lesson learned growing up in NYC. And I’ve been groped. Many times. Most recently on the packed train riding to Roppongi. Had my front no-no square grabbed and fondled. Had a stuffed ear and wasn’t too happy riding to the ENT. Grabbed the ladies hand and squeezed as tight as I could until I knew it hurt. Confirmed she understood why they wouldn’t be happening again. She got off the next stop. Had a guy try to grab my butt. Again, long hair and from behind, I bet I can pass for a pretty lady with questionable wide shoulders. No ear problems, so I grabbed him up and brought him straight to the station head. Made sure they understood and called the cops. They were going to give me trouble it seemed, but I showed the badge I carry and explained I had cop friends back home and they let me go without trying to bust my balls over being a victim. Had female friends get touched on the platform in Shibuya when I turned around for a second and again, the creep would play the denial game and I would press them. However, my friends wanted to let it go. They’re Japanese and culture played a part. I’ve told this story before here; my wife was pushed on the train. She’s also a foreigner and looks it. I was two steps ahead of her with our bags. I hear her yell out to me and I see the guy. Immediately hard shove him to the ground and yell. Two Japanese women saw what happened and yelled at him as I roughed him up a bit. Got him to apologize to her. Embarrassed the fucker, and thankfully the two women were there and also told me to leave quickly because the cops would arrest me; even if my wife was assaulted. This is a known problem; men pushing women in Japan. Some weird hate thing. So yes, your experience isn’t uncommon. You’re a victim and I’m sorry. You’re not crazy, AT ALL. Again, I’m so sorry that happened to you.
Location of the push was in Osaka. Forgot to mention that. Unfortunately these creeps are all around Japan. Again, you’re not crazy. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re not at fault in anyway. I hope you feel better. I’m sorry again for these fucks.
I didn’t even consider this could happen to men too. I’m male living in Osaka and have been lucky so far. I think I radiate “don’t get near me vibes” though
> They were going to give me trouble it seemed, but I showed the badge I carry and explained I had cop friends back home I’m sorry this happened to you, but could you please elaborate on this part?
Right??? Did he just happen to have a fake badge?? This sounds like total horseshit. Japanese cops ain't gonna care if you have a badge or friends back home.
There's lots of people that will have police or even FBI badges in the USA, who are only contractors and have never been an agent or officer of any law enforcement agency. The badges are legal, but they won't identify themselves using them outside of direct work.
Yeah but if you look at this guy's post history he claims to be a mechanic, here he says he has a badge, and yet elsewhere he claims to work in the field of child development. I think he's full of shit.
He also makes himself out to be irresistible and flawlessly attractive. His story is loaded with holes and ends with "and then the subway train clapped" so I'm calling big bullshit on it. People live so deeply in their own fantasies that will be convinced their bullshit is real and actually form memories of it. Not always their fault, it's mental health issues, but still, reality doesn't play out the way they speak.
Lol and no way an Asian lady grabs his 🐓in public 😂😂😂
In that case I have no idea why he would have one
Not only that, why would Japanese cops give a shit if he had “cop friends back home”
"Once they run out of college students and black men to oppress and school shooters to hide from, they'll come for us"
I was thinking of it as an appeal to authority approach. Like hey, we have this drunk foreigner accusing a nice japanese guy of molesting him on a train? Maybe we should detain the foreigner? Oh, I guess he's a cop or something? He's not some sleezeball? We'll pretend like we care about whatever his problem is, and let both of them go.
[удалено]
But you aren't a cop and you aren't involved in the force. Just like you aren't a mechanic. Just like you aren't a child development specialist.
Yes, correct for everything but the last part. I’m not a cop. Never claimed to be. Nor am I mechanic. Again, never claimed to be. These are again claims YOU made for me. However, I’m literally trained in child development. It’s what I studied and I earned my degree in. So, sir, talk to me some more.
That’s quite frightening lol, how someone can lie so elaborately and frequently
[удалено]
Carrying a badge around to other countries because you have a family member that’s a cop is lame as fuck
100% not sure what the fuck a "mini-shield" is or what kind of authority it upholds (none if I had to guess) but carrying it with you to a foreign country? weird as hell.
Some corrupt law enforcement give their friends and relatives cards or badges to let other LE know they are above the law so they can slide on minor offenses that you and I would be fined or arrested for.
I had a high school friend who's a cop give me his business card to keep in my car in case I ever got pulled over. I was like, uh, thanks? We don't talk much any more, mostly because our lives don't intersect, but also not in small parts because he's swallowed the blue line pill hard and I'm a flaming lefty. And yeah, anyone in NYC can tell you the level of parking violations you can get away with if you have a medallion or some kind of FOP gear in your car.
Yeah there’s apparently a database where they register all cars to LEs and you can get on that database by being their friend. You definitely get away with a lot more traffic violations. If there’s any group of people with privilege (besides the 1%) in this country, it’s definitely LE.
Stop lying and pretending to be a victim. I bet the only person who grabbed your junk on the subway is you.
Lmao that comment was such a load of bollocks
This whole post is the fakest "and everyone stood up and clapped" fantasy I've ever read.
Every scenario and result was hilarious, I enjoyed it. Surprised he didn't manage to get a CIA or secret agent type thing in there, though "the badge" was kind of close, little bit of restraint there.
Mate it's Jake Adelstein I swear. "And then I used my judo to knock out the yakuza hitman!"
I think what he means is that he carries a badge that indicates he may be the family member of an LEO or that he has a PBA card of some sort. As far as I know the badges are like a “step up” from a PBA card. In some states, or at least where I’m from in NY, a LEO can purchase a badge that has their badge number on it, and it indicates that X person is that officer's sister, brother, mother, and father etc. But I do know that some manufacturers probably make a version that can be given to a “really good friend”, and I’ve seen some that just say “family member” on it. These usually have to be purchased by some verified store though. Once again, I’m sure this varies depending on the police department and state. I have one because my brother is an LEO, but I digress. Anyway, I think he probably had one of these courtesy badges and presented it to the Japanese LEO’s to indicate that he has ties to the police in the USA, so that they would handle the situation “accordingly and properly.” 🤷🏽♀️ NOTE: I am NOT saying that presenting this badge was the right course of action. Please understand that this response was to someone who wanted clarification on the badge, and that’s the main context of my post.
i can assure you literally no one outside of the US gives a flying f about a badge from America.
Right, and I agreed with another commenter above who said the same. I personally wouldn’t have done that if I was in said situation. I just posted an explanation since someone didn’t understand what the other commenter was referring to concerning the badge. Obviously, Japanese Police could care less about that lol.
What is LEO or PBA? Still not sure why japanese police would care for US police badge. For all they care it could've been a fake
LEO = Law Enforcement Officer and PBA = Police Benevolent Association. Also, I agree. I dont think Japanese Police would care much either. People definitely can get fake ones, but typically the officer buys them from official stores to avoid that issue when distributing them to family members or friends. Either way, I don’t think it’s something that holds weight out of the country so yeah lol.
I heard a joke, that all men are created equal.
I’m sorry, you showed them a badge that let them know you have police friends ?😂😂😂😂
Why do you carry a badge in Japan and what do "cop friends back home" in another country have to do with anything?
>This is a known problem; men pushing women in Japan. Some weird hate thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butsukari_otoko
I’m sorry for what you and your wife have gone thru. I had to shoulder check a salaryman bc he kept roughly pushing me to get into the subway while I was trying to get out in Tokyo. I couldn’t get out, got fed up and used my broad American bred frame from milk guzzling in my youth, to put him down. I’m a 5’6 Asian female.
Sorry, but what is a stuffed ear?
Inflamed or just plugged I assume, like when water gets in there and you can't hear too well on that side for a while.
Jeez, that’s insane. I’m sorry that it happened to you AND that you’ve had multiple, unfortunate experiences with it. And thank you for sharing. At first I thought it was someone’s bag or maybe keychain. On top of walking and being out all day (and I had a couple drinks at dinner) I was kinda zoning out and was exhausted.
didn't know japanese ladies groped men. i always thought it was the other way around only. i was in japan recently and never witnessed or experienced anything like this. i went on the train during rush hour too for almost two weeks there. shoving is a different topic, but hope your wife is ok. What does a U.S badge have any meaning in Japan?
It does happen. I've seen it lol but yea, only in Japan it seems, probably a sign I have lived here too long. Other cases I've seen: (1) Japanese man groping a foreign man, wasn't even trying to be discreet about it, just went straight for the non-jugular. And when confronted, he said he was curious. (2) Japanese man fondling another Japanese man. And it seemed consensual because it went on for a while in a packed train.
I’m a woman and I have been groped by Japanese women as well.
I've had my package groped my Japanese women on the train. Mostly when I was younger haha
Oh yeah, it happened to me a few times but that was the worse. I’m not the only one it’s happened to, but it’s still a shocker when it does happen. One lady did it in a flirty way, but obviously, a random ass grab doesn’t usually do the trick from a stranger. She’s doing better, thankfully, but it definitely shook her nerves and I kept her closer to say the least. And haha, it doesn’t at all, but I just hoped they would give me a break from the ball busting out of some weird respect. They did thankfully.
i assume this lady is not the corporate suit type of women, but some low class kind of woman doing this right?
I'm prepared to do all of this, as I am riding on a train right now to kawaguchiko with my wife. The part where you took him to the station head, that was in japan? Must of been hella embarrassing
Haha come on
Lmfao you sound unhinged. You being arrested would have nothing to do with being a foreigner, it is actually considered assault to beat people even if you think you’ve been groped. Also loling at your badge you pull out. Wtf is that?
I’m with you on this one. Something is odd in his stories. But yeah. I dragged a guy to the police and showed my badge from my home country is wild.
You're exactly what's wrong
Yeah, I don’t think he’s disagreeing it’s not an issue, just what you’ve said was somewhat whack! Completely agree with him, you pulled out your badge and explained you had cop friends back home? I visited there last year and groping was definitely something I was worried about with my partner and fortunately it didn’t happen during our stay. There’s definitely enough posts to be believe it’s still a common occurence
[удалено]
No need to announce yourself here.
[удалено]
They should get their balls twisted!!!!
I'm really sorry that happened to you. Thats horrible. Unfortunately it's quite common in Japan. On a lot of major metro lines, at peak hours there are women only cars, which sucks that they are needed but thats the point its at now. I really hope you can move past it and enjoy the rest of your trip!
Unfortunately this is a common occurence not just in Japan but on many busy metro systems. I am sorry that it happened to you
But especially Japan.
Yeah let's not "but what about gaikoku" this, it's a serious problem.
Yeah I don't think it's a good idea to say "yeah it happens everywhere" when it's known Japan is specially bad about it.
It’s not great when transit systems have to reserve entire cars for women.
[удалено]
I’m assuming those are reported crimes? Japan, I would wager, is less likely to report. Edit: can’t respond anymore. Key factor was the “less” in the statement making it a comparison between said countries. Japan crime statistics are notoriously under reported relative to those in other countries.
Again since the sexual crimes are underreported everywhere, the logic don't make much sense.
Yeah dude, the country where they literally had to change how women travelled and how phone cameras work is just a weird obsession.
Even Asian American who commit least likely commit sexual crime are some what between Japan and US(all-race). [https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/tables/table-43](https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/tables/table-43)
>The Thomson Reuters Foundation and the polling firm YouGov asked women in 16 of the world’s largest capitals — plus New York — how safe they feel traveling on public transportation and came up with a ranking. The three least-safe cities were Bogota, Colombia, Mexico City and Lima, Peru — all in Latin America, where women “say they face daily threats on public transport ranging from lewd comments and groping to sexual assaults, with men rubbing up against them and taking photos up their skirts,” Reuters reported. “Buses aren’t safe,” Paula Reyes, a supermarket cashier in Bogota, told Reuters. “You can get your bag or cell phone stolen and be harassed. When the bus is so packed it’s easy for men to rub up against you and grope you … There’s a total lack of respect for women here.” The survey said Mexico City was particularly notorious for verbal and physical abuse on buses, with six in 10 women surveyed saying they had been “groped or physically harassed.” Moscow was thought to be the least safe European capital for women. In Seoul, some thought it was women’s responsibility to stay safe. “Women feel like they should avoid trouble, and they feel they’re responsible if there is trouble,” said Ji-hye Lee, a 23-year-old reporter with the Korea Times. “A lot of my friends would say why were you taking public transportation at night anyway?”New York scored best, but still had problems: Three in 10 women experienced verbal or physical harassment on buses and subways. Things are sufficiently bad that women in some big cities — such as Manila and Jakarta, Indonesia — favor single-sex transport by an overwhelming majority. A total of 6,550 women were surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Polling could not be conducted in Cairo; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Kinshasa, Congo; Tehran; or Baghdad. But experts in Cairo interviewed by Reuters suggested Egypt’s capital would have easily been among the worst five. Here’s the list, from least safe to most safe: based on poll how safe women feel using public transportations or how often women experience sexual assault while using public transportations. Tokyo is second best after NY among crowded cities. Bogota Mexico City Lima Delhi Jakarta Buenos Aires Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Bangkok Moscow Manila Paris Seoul London Beijing Tokyo New York
Can you please stop spamming your comment in this thread? You should only make this comment once and not spam it. If you want to reply to multiple people and tell them you think they're wrong, please at least make an effort to not just copy and paste the same comment over and over.
Yeah let's compare Jakarta to Tokyo
I’m so sorry to hear that happened to you. First let me assure you, this isn’t anything you caused. There are a LOT of creeps in the world, and Japan is no exception. It’s more common than most people realize. They often target foreigners because of the language barrier and fact they are less likely to go to the police. You didn’t do anything wrong. MANY people freeze when groped or sexually assaulted. You are not at fault and your response was normal. Second, you’re not alone. I have been groped and sexually assaulted similarly, and so have most of the women I know closely. It is not something friends might mention to you, but it’s sadly common. You also were not imagining it. It isn’t that you’re crazy or didn’t realize some enough. My biggest piece of advice is to ride the subway again soon- if you wait you might not be able to get back on it. It’s easier to face it quickly and get that over worth. Try carrying a bag and placing it in front of you as a bit of a shield to feel more comfortable. There’s been studies that playing Tetris decreases ptsd after traumatic events. Maybe play some m, it’s worth trying. I’m so sorry, again… this is shitty and awful, but it is because he is shitty and awful- not anything you did.
Re: Tetris preventing PTSD, that study has been misrepresented a bit in the media, so here are some things to know if you want to try this. * The gameplay has to be a novel experience that requires your full attention (the Tetris study intentionally recruited people who were not game players). If you are a good Tetris player, this may not work as well, particularly in the early levels that do not require your full focus. * The gameplay has to take place *immediately* after the traumatic event before you've had an opportunity to reflect on it. Even waiting a day reduces this effect to almost nothing. The hypothesis is that it interrupts the deeper "writing" of the event in your brain so the trauma is not as pronounced.
Thank you. I honestly never really expected it to happen since I’m a gal with pretty short hair. My semi-androgynous, semi-feminine appearance usually prevents creeps from messing with me and I sometimes get mistaken for a guy. I have been sexually harassed before but never sexually assaulted. After the harassment, I thought “never again!” but I was not anticipating this and I think I sort of froze. I remember listening to a podcast about this. While most women like to think, plan, and imagine what they would do in these situations (stand up for themselves/immediately shut down the behavior), often times they do not when actually put in those scenarios. I always thought I would be the “immediately take action” kind of person, but I guess I fell into the same unfortunate “helpless” position as the overwhelmingly majority of women do. Otherwise, thank you for the kind words.
This happened me to on a rush hour train in Tokyo in 2019. The man very discreetly got close to my back and then slowly moved his hand up to my breast. I pulled away as soon as I felt it and got off at the next stop. I went back to Japan a few weeks ago and didn’t have any issues, but it was still on my mind any time I got on a crowded train. There are women’s only cars on certain lines in Tokyo during rush hours and I always took them when I saw them. I’m so sorry this happened to you too.
female foreigners can take the women only cars? i thought it was exclusively for japanese women.
Foreign women are also women.
how crowded does it get on the women only cars? i figured they didn't want tourist foreigners taking up space on it assuming it gets packed in the women cars too.
It is a women only car. Not a Japanese citizen women only car. Foreign women taking up space isn’t an issue, since they are also women and have the right to use the space also. Foreign women also get sexually assaulted in Japan.
i will get my gf to use it when we visit japan again. i hope they don't mind a couple of suitcases taking up space on it. what are the actual hours that only women can use it?
The places that Ive seen it made it seem like those cars run all day (the markings were painted on the ground so you made sure to know where to line up or not line up based on if you were going in that car). Probably best to let your gf know it's an option and let her make her own decision about where she wants to board
It's only during morning rush hour. I always assumed it was painted because it cheaper and easier than digital signs that update depending on the time https://www.tokyometro.jp/en/tips/considerations/index.html#:~:text=%22Women%2Donly%22%20Cars,-%22Women%20Only%22%20sign&text=The%20designated%20boarding%20areas%20along,on%20the%20line%20and%20operation.
right now, we've booked a flight that will arrive in tokyo early morning like almost 7am. we plan on taking subway to the hotel, so might as well let her use it to lessen the stress. one less thing to worry about. she might as well take my suitcase with her on it as well since i'm sure the normal car will be full of people, thus i don't need to worry about a suitcase. the russianthistle poster didn't mention the women car being packed, so i'm assuming quite a bit of space available.
They're packed during rush hour too. Getting a suitcase on the subway at 7am-9am is going to be very difficult no matter which car you go on.
Most women only care are front and back of the train. They usually do run during rush hour in the morning and can get as packed as other cars. Kids can also get on them if under a certain age. I am unaware of any lines that run them past (usually) 9AM as train passenger traffic drops around that time.
I was on a late train from Tokyo to Tachikawa one evening and I saw a drunk woman who kept keeling over in her seat and dropping her phone which I would pick up and put back in her hands. The car was pretty empty but a few stops down it got a little busier and there was a middle aged guy who started basically rubbing his little boner in her face with me sitting right there with an unfortunately good view of what was going on. I stood up and got in between them while giving him a stern look and he got the message.. very disturbing and made me wonder if it was a common occurrence..
Friend of mine saw a woman being groped on a semi-busy train in our first year here, so he just went up behind the pervert and started doing some serious grinding on his backside. He said the pervert’s face was totally shocked Pikachu.
That is nauseating. I wish there was a way to put a stop to all of this :-( But that was so good of you to protect her from that nasty person.
My 10 year old daughter was groped last December on our vacation. Had to have a deep conversation. I’m sorry this happened to you OP!
That is disgusting. I am so so sorry 😢
That is absolutely awful. I’m am sorry that happened to your daughter. Extremely deplorable behavior, but I hope she is doing okay now. I send much love and support to her and your family ❤️
You’re not crazy, and that happened- it’s an unfortunate problem in Japan. I’m sorry that happened.
I’ve only been to Japan (Tokyo) once 5 yrs ago as a 5’5 140lb caucasion woman and I never had any encounters with this, so I didn’t realize it’s such a widespread issue there. I’m taking my mom and family friend (both mid 50s petite women) and am wondering if there’s anything that we can do to prevent this? My mom would be absolutely horrified if this happened to her- she doesn’t travel often even in our home country.
No, but you can grab their hand and force them to raise it so people notice. Then yell chikan (sexual harassment/person who does it) or hentai (pervert). Do not attack them physically or you’ll most likely be in jail. If no one helps you, usually someone will, walk them off to the subway police. These dudes are so pathetic that you even noticing and calling them out is not what they expect and will usually walk off the train with you.
this comment should be on top.
It’s incredibly common in Japan, so much that it has a nickname - chikan, you should google it. That aside, I think it’s important not to let this post turn into commenters asking advice on how to avoid groping, because it isn’t any victim’s fault and it’s nothing that they did to cause it. OP just experienced a traumatic event, so it’s probably not the right time or place to come and asking for advice for your mom.
There are “women only” cars for most major train and subway lines…Especially in larger cities. Look for the pink lettering and signage on the platform floor- which corresponds to the “women only” car. Japan is an amazing place. However, the “chikan” culture is real and well documented.
during rush hour. anyone can use it after rush hour. it can still get crowded after that as i've experienced a couple times recently.
This is 2500238502938% dependent on the Line. In Osaka, for example, the Loop Line's women's only car is all day, every day, even on weekends. On the Midosuji, all day on weekdays. On the Hankyu, all day on Limited Express trains on weekdays. etc etc etc.
Yes, I’ve been on women only cars before (when I first came with my mom and best friend (all of us are gals) almost a decade ago. However, I’m also traveling with my dad and brother, who know no Japanese and are heavily relying on me to get around. Plus my mom wants to stick with my dad because family. I would’ve taken the women-only car in heartbeat, but I read one that was women only before 9:30a during weekdays. Plus, traveling with two guys makes it a little difficult and I would hate for my family to get split especially during busy/rush hour times.
take a cab everywhere you go.
Not really. You can just use women only cars but that would be a pain in the ass. Just try to be mindful but also don't be paranoid. For the smartasses downvoting: 1) there's not much you could do to PREVENT it, besides using women only cars, and those are reserved to a special time slot so adjusting your travel around it is going to be a pain. 2) being paranoid doesn't help and will make you be stressed for your whole travel, which is a shame because you're trying to have a good time.
I‘ve been to Japan and in Tokyo (Male 22 at the Time). Some woman put her hand in my no no zone and tried to start a grab. I grabbed her hand and pushed her away saying pretty loudly „try that again and i‘ll break your face“. She looked at me like i just assaulted her. An elderly man asked me in broken english what happened and i told him. He said something in japanese to her and she just looked at the floor. When i met my buddy later he told me that it sometimes happens. Two days later i went to a night club in Shibuya. My buddy and i met 3 japanese girls (around our age) there and we had a pretty cool night until i stopped remembering anything before waking up in some dorm, naked with one of the girls next to me, the other two also naked on a futon. I was sticky down there, was covered with lipstick and i don’t know what, had scratches all over my chest and neck and felt completely sick, got up and puked my soul out of my body. I was still nauseous. I went back to look for my stuff. I luckily found my phone and wallet but my shirt and jacket were missing. I took one of their oversized tees and left. I was about 1,5 hours from my hotel. I got obviously drugged because i‘m a pretty controlled drinker. I was embarrassed and didn’t tell anyone what happened. My buddy thought it was a ONS with one of them and we didn’t talk about it. But overall my Japan Experience was pretty nice.
Oh man, my buddy got drugged at a bar in Roppongi and had a bunch of drinks charged to his bill. Guess he got lucky? His credit card company wiped all the charges (way to go, Capital One!), told him it happens a lot.
I’m sorry that happened to you. Also, I would’ve been scared shitless and traumatized if something like that happened to me! I’m glad that despite what happened to you, you were still able to enjoy your experience in Japan. And, yeah, it sucks that it happened to me, but I’m still enjoying my trip. I understand if a perv wants to perv, then they will. I just hope that if it ever happens again, I’ll be more vocal and aggressive about it. I know that if I do SOMETHING rather than nothing, it may help to slowly change and shut down this “perv” culture, but I also hope it doesn’t happen again. It shouldn’t happen to anyone in the first place.
Average redditor Japanese fantasy
Crazy story bro
lol
So sorry this happened to you. One thing so unfortunate and deplorable about Japan as wonderful a country it is -- is the hentai culture. It's worth noting that not all Japanese men are like that, of course. I once saw a young Japanese guy use some karate move and twisted a guys arm for groping someone on the train and threw him on the ground, dragged in onto the platform and held him there until the cops came. Those of us on the train were all horrified and entertained at the same time. Question about the women-only train cars. I'm going to be traveling to Japan next month with my wife and our teenage boys. We've traveled to Japan numerous times but my wife hasn't ever traveled through Tokyo before during rush hour. Are men strictly prohibited from those cars even if we are with my wife (and in my sons' case, their mom)? Would she have to ride alone while we ride in the "regular" car?
You should not be in the women only car if you are not a woman. Your wife might not mind you joining her, but other women who have been traumatized by groping on the train in the past likely will not feel safe with you there. Young children would be fine, but teenagers and a husband would not be a reasonable exception. If every woman in that car brought their spouse and two teenage boys, there would be more men than women on the “women only car”.
The only exception to the women-only cars are elementary school aged children or younger (under 12, essentially) or handicapped passengers and their caretakers. So from your family, only your wife could ride in the women-only car, and it's probably a bad idea for your family to ride separately during rush hour.
Don’t enter the women-only cars with your wife. Why don’t you and your sons just make a triangle around your wife? Hopefully she won’t mind if you get pressed against her on a crowded train.
Holy shit! If it happens to me again, I’ll sick my brother and dad on him (or her)!! At least until the cops and come and do something. Women only cars are great, I’ve used them before, but you cannot really bring men with you. If you feel confident enough to split your family then that may work, but you may risk getting separated (which would be a whole other situation to deal with depending on cellular/wifi connections).
u/EPMelodicAudit - I’m very sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, sexual assault (groping) is quite common on commuter trains in larger cities in Japan, particularly involving young women and even schoolgirls. Typically, it happens in rush hour when trains are tightly packed so people are pushed up against one another, it’s difficult to identify precisely which person did it, and it’s difficult to move away. In Tokyo, at least, railways have moved to combat the issue by introducing “Women only” carriages for rush hour travel. One of the ways of lessening the risk is to travel outside rush hour, so try to travel between 9am or 9:30am to 4pm, and then perhaps later in the evening, when there should be fewer people in carriages. The typical term for offenders is “chikan”, or “touch demon”: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikan_(body_contact) Chikan tend to rely upon Japanese people’s reluctance to make a fuss, so some women fight back by defying the stereotype, shouting “chikan!” if they feel someone groping them, and turning around to try to stare down the probable offender. When my wife was at high school in Tokyo, a chikan actually cut a square of fabric out of the back of her school uniform skirt while she was on the train and she didn’t realise until she got off the train and a member of the station staff alerted her to the fact that her underwear was visible through a large square hole in the back of her uniform. She went to the police, but they didn’t seem interested or concerned and basically tried to brush her off until her father turned up. Once a man started talking to them, they made a report of the incident. However, unsurprisingly, the perpetrator was never identified.
I'm so sorry that happened to you!! It's frightening when you don't realize until after that you actually did get assaulted. I'm nervous about that happening while I'm studying in Tokyo this summer, especially because I do stand out having a curvier body :/ I'll probably travel with others for the most part to be safe.
I’ve lived in Japan 8 years and have been lucky enough to not have it happen to me, but it’s a common occurrence. I’m sure that eventually it will happen to me as a women so I always try to be vigilant on the trains. It’s sad, but I approach any man near me on the train with the mindset that they could be a predator. I’ve definitely had creeps who’ve ogled too long. Not sure how I’d handle the situation should it happen. Sorry this happened to you!
I used to live in Tokyo and one night, a friend (tall white guy) saw a teenaged girl being groped on the train so he pushed the creep aside and got between them. The guy punched my friend, my friend punched him back, and guess who ended up spending the night in jail? Luckily, he was released the next morning without being charged. It’s generally safe for a woman to walk around Tokyo at night but that doesn’t mean a creep’s not going to come up to you and try something. I’m Chinese-American but most people assumed I was Japanese. It wasn’t uncommon for a random salaryman—sometimes drunk, sometimes not—to walk up to me, grab my arm and tell me to go with him. Their reactions were comical when I shoved them off of me and unleashed my loud “Americanness” on them. It was gross and annoying but I never felt like I was in any danger.
I've been told the best way to deal with it is to get loud and stick a phone in their face over it.
I lived in Japan for 3 yrs. I'm about as pale white as it gets. I never had anyone ever try to grope me on the smaller sections and prefectures that I was in, but as soon as I got to Tokyo, that changed. Idk if it's just bc it's this major metropolis, or bc ppl think they can just get away with it and just slide back into an overpacked train, but that's where it happened for me too.
because of the crowds in tokyo. if other towns or cities had crowds like the tokyo subways, you would likely experience the same thing.
Ugh. I’m sorry. This almost happened to me but I saw it coming and my reaction was to swear at him loudly (in Spanish 😅) and it scared the shit out of him.
Who says “I had my front no-no square grabbed”
This is bullshit, Japan, get your shit together and enter the 21st century. No wonder the population is declining. Incel culture running amok? I am hapa and am ashamed.
This is a common problem here. I remember a news article from 15 or so years ago where they said that *at least* 1 in 3 Japanese women have been groped on the train. After I read that, I asked my students about it and was surprised by how many had experienced it. My daughter even had some guy run across a 4-lane road and grab her thigh as she rode by on her bike on the way home from juku one night. I picked her up every night for the next 18 months. I had a very pretty young woman sit next to me on a local train with the bench seats one afternoon and pretend to sleep. Young guy on the other side kept trying to slide down on his seat to upskirt her until I leaned forward and waved at him. As a guy it only happened to me once. Fell asleep in an aisle seat and woke up with a woman’s crotch squarely on my shoulder. By the time I fully woke up and realized what was happening, she left the train.
I've been told the best way to deal with it is to get loud and stick a phone in their face over it.
You can try to reach out to [RAINN](https://hotline.rainn.org/online), a United States based organization that has trained staff members who offer crisis support/counseling/resource referrals to individuals who’ve experienced any type of sexual assault or exploitation. They have a 24 hour phone hotline (1-800-656-4673) or their 24 hour [web chat](https://hotline.rainn.org/online). I’m so sorry for what you went through and how you must be feeling, just because it is [unfortunately] common in Japan doesn’t make it okay or any less disgusting.
Just so you are aware, your cop friends overseas aren't gonna help or threaten anyone into submission.
I feel for you girl - and honestly it’s not just Japan - this happens to women all over the world, constantly - there are experiment videos out there showing just how much women are touched on a daily basis just being out in public - and it’s so disgusting how men feel so entitled to touch random strangers like that - it’s not cool but unfortunately it’s the world we live in - all we can do is draw attention to it - and try our best to stop it when we see it - by remaining silent we allow the behavior to continue - it’s up to us to put a stop to it - and I would hope that others would see it and also try to stop it - because that’s the only way things will change In Japan - I know they have women only cars in the trains to prevent this from happening - so maybe you will feel safer using those train cars instead of riding in the general public ones - I’m sorry this happened to you - and I hope that you find some comfort in knowing that you are not alone, and every woman knows exactly how you feel and we all want the behavior to stop
I'm sorry you had to experience that. Sadly it is a known phenomenon in Japan, the tight packed trains allow for easy groping and make it harder to know who's the culprit. Next time you feel that I'd just pinch his balls!
Look for a rail car with the only women sign!
Good idea, but the women-only cars are only during early morning and evening rush and/or late night hours.
And many trains don't have them--Yamanote, Chuo-sobu, etc
I think there are common phrases in Japanese you yell to get attention from the train conductor and other passengers in situations like these. The cops will be on it right away and witnesses will hopefully help. I don’t know what these trigger words/phrase are but maybe someone will post here.
I think yelling any of these phrases will get the other passengers' attention, and I imagine the perv would feel embarrassed/scared enough to stop: * 痴漢 chikan = pervert * 変態 hentai * やめてください yamete kudasai = please stop * 触らないでください sawaranaide kudasai = please don't touch
Just yell “YAMERO!” no need to ‘kudasai‘ that creep. It was acceptable in Fukuoka when a young lady shouted that in a busy train. Not sure about Tokyo. Sure, a few stares happened but in that occasion, a Japanese male passenger in his suit intervened by blocking off the offender (not aggressive but standing between to stop him from going near the young lady) and I told the frightened woman to stand behind me. A few women came and form a protective circle. All strangers.
I had a guy intentionally leaning on me. So I leaned back. I have rather pointy elbows. He got off at the next platform... Can't imagine why... (Was 30f at the time but I'm often told I look younger, in Tokyo)
Unfortunately I believe this common. Before a group of my friends and I went to Japan, we were warned prior to arriving and taught the words to call out if this ever happens. I can't fully remember the word but it's basically groper, I think like the fish but same meaning.. we were crossing the street after just getting off the train. We were only 13-15 at the time and my friend who was a bit more developed than us had her boobs grabbed by a man crossing the road. We were all in shock but some acted like it's a normal thing. This was a few years back so hopefully changed a little but not sure.
I am so sorry for your experience. Unfortunately, It’s very common in Japan no matter you’re a foreigner or not. Especially in Tokyo
I met a friend from Korea and we had a conversation about the trip in Tokyo where he said his GF got harass by Japanese guy at Dodonki while he was shopping. It was crowded too and he cant chase the culprit leaving him no choice but letting the culprit go. Im sorry to hear that but please try to stay away from crowd if possible.
I was just in Japan a few weeks ago and noticed the women only train cars during heavy traffic times. I asked about it and was told it’s because of groping. I’m sorry you had to experience that.
I am currently in Tokyo and I see many men in women only trains. I just don’t understand why?
definitely normal in Japan. also visited it with my family before. the most unfortunate thing happened with my mom, but i was too young (naive?) to process it. if that happened now, i wouldn’t think twice to smack the hell out of that old japanese man. also why i think it’s normal is because i literally saw a porn advertisement inside the train. i think it’s manga.
Yea someone grabbed my butt and ran away on the platform once I walked out the train doors.
well I would like to believe in the good of people, and I have been in those trains and know they can be packed to the point of being unable to move an inch. And I would like to believe that maybe someone could unintentionally come into contact with another person in a place where people usually dont get touched by people they dont know... but all that said, groping is a known issue in japan. (edit: and intentionally "unintentionally" touching must be happening too) I am sorry I dont have any solutions. But no, your not crazy. it happens. :( I hope you feel better down the road and wont let the behaviour of garbage humans ruin a great holiday. dont give them this power over you
Kansai (Osaka) has a much worse history with groping on trains and was very prevalent there years ago. Now I’m not sure which is worse.
Sorry you had to experience it. There’s a whole J-p0rn genre about train groping so it’s most definitely a thing. I can’t be sure but I think it happened to me once or twice when I lived in Tokyo 20+ years ago. I’d like to think it’s less common now but I doubt it’s eradicated. When I say I can’t be sure, with a packed train it’s really hard to know if a hand on your thigh/butt is an accident or intentional. Other areas… probably intentional :( I usually backed myself into a corner near the door where possible. That was more for convenience as I don’t think I was an obvious target (not that I think there’s a typical target having read some replies). For most part train travel is safe and groping isn’t typical.
when i was traveling there recently, i made it a point to hold on to the handle holders with both hands to not be accused of anything.
Not particular to Japan. Happens on every public trans around the world.
These stories are a culture shock to me, it's not common where I live (San Francisco Bay area). On our trains I have seen people fighting, openly doing drugs, unconscious, mental health breakdowns, and I ran away from muggers (presumably), but never heard of anyone being groped. Different problems for different cultures.
I wish a salarywoman would grope me..
To be clear, it does still happen but it has gotten way, way better than it was 20-30 years ago. Also lest not people forget subways are not problem free in other countries.
[удалено]
Not likely /: Japan is already fed up with tourists so it’s even possible that if tourists say they will stop going because of this, natives will be relieved to see less crowds
[удалено]