Why Are Japanese Trains So Quiet?

The short answer

Talking is not forbidden on Japanese trains, and chatting quietly is perfectly normal. But rail companies have asked passengers for many years not to make phone calls on board, and many people put their phones in manner mode (silent mode, so the ringtone does not sound).

On top of that there is an unwritten rule that order in the carriage is kept by strangers not intruding on each other. Loud voices, phone calls and sound leaking from earphones are disliked because they break that "quiet".

Chatting is fine, calls are not

The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) says that talking quietly on a train is fine, but explains that speaking on a mobile phone on trains and buses is generally frowned upon, however quietly you do it.

JR East, using the same wording as 37 rail operators in the Kanto, Tohoku and Koshinetsu regions, has since 1 October 2015 asked passengers: "Near the priority seats, please switch off your mobile phone when the train is crowded. Elsewhere, please set it to manner mode and refrain from making calls." You will often hear this in announcements and see it on stickers inside the train.

JR Hokkaido also asks passengers to use manner mode and avoid calls, noting that not only voices but also ringtones and the beeps of pressed buttons disturb the people around you. NTT Docomo likewise advises switching to manner mode on the shinkansen (bullet train) and other trains, avoiding calls and following the rail company's rules.

The rules have changed with the times

In the past, the request was "Please switch off your mobile phone near the priority seats", whether the train was crowded or not. This was out of concern about the effect of radio waves on medical devices such as heart pacemakers. According to the Nikkei newspaper, the rule was relaxed because advances in phone and medical device technology made interference less likely, and because more people now used smartphones for the internet rather than for calls. In the Kansai region, 25 operators including JR West switched first to "only when crowded" from July 2014, with the Kanto region and others following the next year.

The one thing that has never changed is the etiquette of not making calls. According to a report by TV Asahi, the idea that "short calls in a quiet voice could be allowed" was once raised in the National Diet (Japan's parliament), but opinions on the street were divided. Some people said a quick call is fine; others said it bothers them to hear only one side of a conversation.

TV Asahi reported that in a 2023 survey by the Association of Japanese Private Railways, "call voices and ringtones" ranked 4th among annoying behaviours related to mobile phone use. There has even been a case where passengers argued over a phone call on board and the shinkansen was delayed as a result.

Why are phone calls so disliked?

Daisuke Tanaka, a sociologist who studies the history of railway manners, points out that calls are disliked not just because they are grating noise. There is the awkwardness of hearing the private conversation of a stranger who happens to be on the same train. When you overhear someone's personal information, he says, it becomes hard to keep the mental distance you normally keep from strangers.

According to Tanaka, order in Japanese train carriages is kept less by actively doing good things than by avoiding things that bother others. He says this is reflected in the fact that the survey run for more than 20 years since the 2000s by the Association of Japanese Private Railways, the industry body for private railways, takes the form of a "ranking of annoying behaviour". In it, "making noise on board", "using mobile phones" and "sound leaking from earphones" are grouped as manners that keep the carriage quiet.

In other words, it is easier to understand if you think of it not as Japanese people being especially reserved, but as a shared understanding that strangers stay comfortable by "not getting involved" with each other.

What puzzles foreign visitors

In the Association of Japanese Private Railways' survey for fiscal 2025 (5,202 respondents), the top annoying behaviour overall was "coughing or sneezing without regard for others", 2nd was the way people sit, and 3rd was "noisy conversation and horsing around". Note that the association represents private railways and similar operators; most JR group companies are not members.

In the same survey, 77.1% of respondents said they had been bothered by the behaviour of foreign visitors, and the top complaint there too was "noisy conversation and horsing around" (69.1%). Travelling puts you in high spirits, but loud voices from a group stand out. 2nd was how luggage is carried or placed, and 3rd was the way people sit.

Views from people who have come from abroad vary. In TV Asahi's reporting, people from Qatar and Brazil said "in my country people talk on the phone freely on trains", while a person from the United States liked Japan's quiet carriages, saying "you can even read". Spain apparently has special quiet carriages called "silence cars" where calls are banned, and one of the foreigners interviewed said Japanese trains are as quiet as those special carriages.

Quiet goes hand in hand with crowd etiquette

The private railways' survey shows concretely what Japanese passengers care about. On seating, it lists spreading, stretching or crossing your legs, and putting bags on seats instead of moving up. On getting on and off: stopping by the doors instead of moving further in, boarding before people have got off, and pushing others aside. On luggage: keeping a bag on your back and the handling of wet umbrellas.

What they all have in common is "do not take up too much space" and "do not block the flow of the people around you". If you see keeping quiet as part of this idea of "not intruding on other people's space", the atmosphere in Japanese trains becomes easier to grasp. The list of questions has also grown over the years: coughing and sneezing were added in 2019, and strong scents such as perfume in 2023.

Tips for fitting into a quiet carriage

If you really must answer a call, the safe option is to say briefly "I'm on the train right now" and call back after you get off. On limited express trains and the shinkansen, it is usual to leave the passenger cabin and talk in the "deck", the space by the doors, and Kintetsu Railway also asks passengers on its limited expresses to use the deck for calls.

When boarding, line up beside the doors and let people get off before you get on. The basic rule for priority seats is to give them up to older people, pregnant women, people with disabilities and others who need them. In a crowded carriage, holding your backpack in front of you or putting it on the luggage rack will be appreciated by those around you.

Tips

Put your phone in manner mode when you board. Avoid calls, and if something is urgent, call back once you are off the train.
Chatting with friends is fine, but keep your voice to a level only the person next to you can hear.
When the train is crowded, you are asked to switch your phone off near the priority seats (on many rail lines in Kanto, Kansai and elsewhere).
To make a call on the shinkansen or a limited express, leave your seat and move to the deck.
Watch out for sound leaking from your earphones, and always mute videos and games.
In a crowded carriage, hold your backpack in front of you or put it on the luggage rack. Do not stop near the doors; move further in.