One-fifth of Japan’s residents live in greater Tokyo, and 8.7 million people have to ride the metro every day. Rush hour is so crowded that white-gloved workers help shove people onto the trains, leading to another unique term, tsukin jigoku— commuting hell.
I can't help contrast this with the image of a relaxed, civilized Japan from 130 years ago depicted in Thomas Stevens's "Around The World on a Bicycle"
Progress, amirite?
