Touched in public -- Fondled or Groped on the Trains

As you have no doubt heard, there are now Women-Only train cars on the some of the public and private train and subway lines in Tokyo - it's an attempt to prevent sexual groping (men abusing women or teenage girls). They operate these cars mainly during peak rush hours. Yet, I wonder if the authorities realize that they may be encouraging male-male groping behavior by reducing the ratio of women on train cars.

  

When I live there and travel in Tokyo, I found it somewhat erotic - although more frequently just plain frustrating and irritating -- to be crammed together like sardines in a train car. Especially during morning rush hour, there is invariably a time when your body or someone else's in pressed up against your front, back or side. Most people try to appear oblivious and just pull in their appendages, and bear it (not bare it), but there seem to be quite a few men (both str8 and otherwise) who seem to enjoy it.

I have had my share of being groped or at least rubbed provocatively by Japanese men on trains. Some of it, of course, is completely accidental. However, there were times when it definitely was not so innocent or at least was mutually

pleasant -- to put it mildly. One time I could feel the guys cock rubbing against my leg - I am taller than many Japanese men (although younger men are getting taller and taller as the years go by). He was obviously enjoying the sensation because as we rode along and the train just got more crowded, he proceeded to get a full on erection.

Another, I was on the Keio line leaving Shinjuku at night and it was very crowded. A young guy seemed to not only welcome having me pressed up against him, but he turned himself so that our crotches would be pressed together. This wasn't actually either of us groping, but the force of the bodies and the movement of the train keep us both aroused as we were smashed together at the groin.

There is an urban myth among gays in Tokyo that men who are seeking mutual accidental encounters (rubbing, groping or even stealthful mutual masturbation) will congregate in the last car (or is the first car). Once I saw a tall foreign guy in overalls apparently getting a hand job from a shorter Japanese man in the last car on the Chuo (Orange) train.

Finally, there used to be a wild event on or near Halloween (Oct 31) weekend on the Yamanote train (green circle line around central Tokyo). 

Each year a while back, hundreds of people in costumes (mainly foreigners) would all meet at Shinjuku station at 9:00pm and then jump all together in the same train. The mass of bodies would literally fill up the cars like morning rush hour,

then at the next stop, everyone would scramble out of the trains car, and then rush like mad to change cars -- sort of like musical chairs. I participated once and ended up being videoed on the national television news (since the media decided to show up and film the event). The JR authorities did NOT appreciate it much at all -- especially since some 'regular' passengers were bumped into or caused inconveniences (like not being able to get off the train). There was also a lot of trash (beer cans, wigs, and pieces of costumes) left on the trains - because most everybody was drinking or already drunk by the time the wild train parade got going (typically on a Friday or Saturday night). One guy who I befriended while riding this mad Halloween train rush, was wearing nothing but a yukata (casual cotton kimono) and proceeded to show me that he had nothing on underneath it. I found that to be so hot - he was using the event as an opportunity to flash. Nowadays, the train authorities have put a stop to the Halloween parade - after a few years, they figured out when it was going to happen so they brought

in a lot of cops to stand guard around Halloween weekend. Also the number of party animals has dwindled since Japan has undergone quite a long economic recession - there are just not a lot of young party-going foreigners around since good jobs are harder to get these days.

Still I have no doubt the train-groping will continue to go on. It's just too tempting and almost impossible to avoid really since so many people are crammed into a small space. Fortunately, it mainly only unbearably crowded in the rush hour morning commute. The leisurely mutual brush-up-against-you teases are still likely to occur on the afternoon and evenings.