Free soba and tempura in exchange for getting on the train a
little later could be a tasty offer for Tokyo commuters who are
sick of the “subway sandwich,” which has nothing to do with
bread and everything to do with having your face smashed into a
stranger’s armpit for the duration of your ride. The city’s
transit system is so overloaded at peak hours, it has to hire
literal “pushers” who physically cram as many people onto the
trains as they can. Now, they’re hoping to tempt commuters on
the frenetic Tozai line to help ease up the crunch.
As reported by the Japan Times, the Tokyo Metro Co. has
launched a new program that rewards early birds noodles rather
than worms. A two-week pilot program asks passengers to
voluntarily stagger their commutes during morning rush hour in
exchange for coupons for free meals at Metro An, a soba noodle
shop affiliated with the transit company.
To participate, commuters have to sign up for the campaign and
register their card information in advance before participating
for 10 consecutive weekdays. And yes, there is a catch:
volunteers will only get the coupon for a free bowl of noodles
and tempura if 3,000 people participate. If only 2,500 sign up,
they’ll just get noodles. If it’s only 2,000, they get a single
piece of tempura. The trial runs through February 1st, so it
remains to be seen whether a whole lot of people are going to
alter their schedules and receive nothing but a piece of
breaded shrimp for their efforts.
Of course, the Tokyo crunch is no joke, and less crowding is a
reward in its own right. If you’ve never seen the in action,
check out these videos demonstrating exactly how pushers make
sure every single subway car is packed with human sardines and
you’ll get the idea.
A series of sweaty portraits entitled “Tokyo Compression”
captured by Hong Kong-based German artist Michael Wolf further
illuminate the issue. Wolf minces no words on just how wild it
gets, saying “Man is responsible for this himself – a dreadful
system for people, and by people.”
Top photo by
Takeshi Fujisawa/Flickr CC by 2.0
