Technique for getting a vacant seat

If there is a seat where nobody is seated when you get on the train, you are lucky and you can sit there. (Before you sit there, please look for a person who needs your seat. See "Priority seats.") Even if there are not any vacant seats, wait for a moment with patience. Soon another passenger arrives at his/her station and gets off, and then there leaves a vacant seat. However, you cannot always sit on the vacant seat in those cases:

• A passenger left his/her seat and got off, but the seat was right behind you. So a person who stood just near the seat and was facing it sat on it. Though both the person and you were near the seat, you couldn't get the vacant seat.
• You and another person stood in front of one seat, and a third passenger sat on the seat. Then the passenger got out of the train and left a vacant seat in front of you! But you started wondering whether to sit on it or not, because of your standing position. You awkwardly spent a moment, and then the person finally sat on the seat.
• You stood right in front of the end of a long seat (Now let's temporarily call "a seat at the corner."). One passenger (A) sat on the seat at the corner, and another passenger (B) sat next to passenger A. Then passenger A left the seat and got out of the train. There was a vacant seat in front of you! You were the person who could be seated. However, as soon as you decided to sit there, passenger B suddenly moved to the seat which you just decided to sit on. What was worse, another passenger standing next to you sat on the seat which passenger B had sat on, because the seat in front of the other passenger became vacant. Finally you couldn't be seated.

You may have the similar experiences to what I have introduced above. And you subconsciously know some hints for getting a vacant seat, don't you?

1. Just before the train arrives at a station, you can tell which passengers are likely to leave their seats. (In other words, you look around unawares and find them.)
2. Junior or senior high students tend to be seated in a group. Especially they also seem to get out a train all at once.
3. Speaking of the Tōkyū Tōyoko Line, the front cars (cars No.1 and 2) are more crowded if the train is bound for Shibuya. Or else if the train is bound for Yokohama, the front cars (cars No.8 and 7) cars are also more crowded than cars No.2 and 1.
4. Also you know some station where many passengers get out of the train or a particular car.

These features of passengers' action are the hints to get a vacant seat for you. If you have already realized some of these features, you still subconsciously look for a vacant seat. As I take a train, passengers mostly seem to have the feature No.1. Getting into a station, their eyes certainly search for persons who may get off at the station. If you are seated, try to close your book or check inside of your baggage to behave as if you leave your seat and get off; somebody is surely watching you.

How to make use of the hints to get a vacant seat

Then how do we make use of these hints to get a vacant seat without fail? What can we do for getting a vacant seat? Although I introduce some technique which you can try only on the Tōkyū Tōyoko Line, other railways also have similar characteristics. I still hope the people who use other railways to refer to these techniques and find out their own way.

Also you know some station where many passengers get out of the train or a particular car.

That is partly because passengers tend to choose the cars which are the nearest to stairs or exits in their destinations. Especially if there is only one stairs or exit on a platform, the car which is the nearest to it can be comparatively crowded. I introduce two stations, supposing that the train is bound for Motomachi·Chūkagai.

Toritsu-daigaku Station

Though a local-service train only stops at this station, a lot of passengers get out of the car No.8. Toritsu-daigaku Station has only one stairs which is near to the car No.8. To get a vacant seat, you choose the car No.8 and patiently stand to arrive at this station. Many passengers get off at late night-time.

Kikuna Station

This station is not different from Toritsu-daigaku in the location of the exit. So you only have to choose car No.8. As the train arrives, the car No.8 becomes mostly empty.

Junior or senior high students tend to be seated in a group. Especially they also seem to get out a train all at once.

That is also a characteristic of the Tōyoko Line. (See the introduction.) To get a vacant seat, you just stand in front of the student until the train arrives at the nearest station to the students' school. You also need to recognize the stations by their school uniforms. I introduce two stations at which comparatively many students leave their seats.

Hiyoshi Station

This station is near two schools: Keiō High School and Nihon-daigaku High School. And both schools have many students.

Musashi-kosugi Station

Hosei Dai-ni High School and its junior high school are near this station.

On the basis of these features, try to sight on the seats which are soon likely to become vacant. You just stand in front of the seat. Then, you will surely get your seat and can enjoy your trip.

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Soliloquy of my Railway © Satoshi Oshio, 2005