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A post to the Yomiuri Shimbun’s reader forum “Otekomachi” has sparked debate on 5ch’s Newsplus board: a woman wrote that she deliberately stands still on the right side of escalators to protest people who walk on that side. Cities like Nagoya and Saitama Prefecture have already passed ordinances banning walking on escalators, and escalators themselves are actually designed for two people to stand side by side — but “leaving one side open” has become an entrenched unwritten rule of etiquette over the years. On the thread, opinions clashed between those who say leaving a side open is “reasonable, out of consideration for people in a hurry” and those who argue that “walking itself is dangerous and violates the ordinances.” The discussion also touched on regional differences — in the Kansai region, including Osaka, it’s the opposite side that’s left open.
Otekomachi — Come to love every version of yourself
“Walking on the right side of the escalator is rude”: Woman who deliberately stands on the right sparks debate : The Yomiuri Shimbun
Otekomachi is the Yomiuri Shimbun’s reader-submission site, where countless opinions pour in every day. It’s a space for honest exchange, where users respond candidly to thread starters who share what’s on their mind. This time, we introduce a post from a woman fed up with the number of people who walk on the right side of escalators. She says that when she rides an escalator herself, she deliberately stands still on the right. How did other Otekomachi users react, and what do experts on public manners have to say?
Source: yomiuri.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
At Shin-Osaka Station and Itami Airport it's about 50/50
First time going to Osaka, that was the single most surprising sight I saw
The ones walking in Nagoya are monkeys who came in from Gifu or Mie
Lol, the premise is wrong right off the bat
What's the premise, then?
Doesn't seem like manufacturers built these assuming people would walk on them
I figured if everyone just rode up in two lines it'd actually work out faster overall.
If you want to walk, just take the stairs
That's exactly the kind of situation where standing on the right makes sense. Pretty common sight
The people standing in that line aren't in a hurry to begin with. It's more "I'll yield the space since someone else might be rushing." It's not just raw time efficiency — the relative value each person places on their own time factors in too. If you're going to conclude it's "faster overall," you need to account for the fact that a second doesn't weigh the same for everyone.
Saitama Prefecture has an ordinance for it too
The whole "debate" is kind of beside the point
Standing side by side with a total stranger on an escalator is rough
It just feels cramped
Feels like a lot of Japanese people are like that
Foreigners don't care about that stuff and just casually stand next to you
You stand staggered — offset from each other
Thing is, there's no actual obligation to consider that in the first place
Not being able to think "use the wide stairs if you're in a hurry" — that's rock bottom as a human being
Turning something that much of a hassle into yet another unwritten rule is a real pain
Normal people have a personal space bubble and unconsciously avoid crowding others
Not being able to get that is, in a way, kind of abnormal
That depends on the location, doesn't it
Where you're supposed to pack in close, just pack in close
Taking the "normal person" that weirdos like you talk about as the standard
and inventing bogus etiquette out of thin air — that's literally what "manner instructors" do
I doubt you'll get this, but if you walk on the escalator
(or even run, why not), you'll reach where you're going faster.
Isn't that a good thing?
Going up is still fine, but going down — what happens if you trip and drag other people down with you?
Sometimes the stairs are actually faster
If they'd all been single-person width, none of this would be an issue
True idiots will just shove past and climb up anyway
There are people out there who casually do things a normal person can't even imagine doing
With single-person width you can't hold your kid's hand while riding, which is dangerous
Also hard to bring a cart or trolley on
Especially on really long escalators.
Wish they could just make it mechanically impossible to walk up.
They should make a bar pop out to block it or something
Honestly, I could never work up the nerve to stand still on the right there
If they'd just play an announcement saying "please stand in two lines, left and right," nobody would have grounds to complain
There's nothing wrong with people in a hurry walking up it
I don't get what the problem is
Overseas has nothing to do with it
By the escalator's own design specs, walking on it is prohibited
The issue is presumably that it's dangerous,
but I can't wrap my head around someone like the woman in Re: #1 deliberately creating a hazardous situation for herself
https://i.postimg.cc/W3CBcYwS/Fatguy-Escalator.gif
Background and Key Points of the Debate
In Nagoya and Saitama Prefecture, ordinances banning walking on escalators have been in effect for several years now, and railway companies are increasingly urging riders to “stand still, don’t walk.” Escalators were originally designed for two people to stand side by side, and the custom of “leaving one side open” is nothing more than a habit that emerged organically among users — not something manufacturers ever intended. The thread’s disagreement centered on a clash between those who see leaving a side open as “consideration for people in a hurry” and those who see walking itself as dangerous and a violation of the ordinances. Regional differences also came up, since in the Kansai region, including Osaka, it’s the opposite side that gets left open. Falling while walking can cause accidents that drag in other riders, and underlying the way this kind of debate keeps recurring is a difference in values over whether to prioritize “efficiency” or “safety.”
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Newsplus) thread ““Walking on the right side of the escalator is rude”: Woman who deliberately stands on the right sparks debate.”
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