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How honest is Japanese society? So honest this train station is fine with a non-closable “gate”

Casey Baseel Sep 16, 2015
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A while back, we talked about how it’s common in Japan for people to place dropped property in a place where it’ll be easy to spot when the owner retraces his steps looking for it. There’s hardly any fear that anyone else will take it, whether the item in question is as cheap as a mitten or something much more valuable.

But such admirable conduct isn’t limited to private citizens’ interactions with one another. A recently tweeted snapshot of a train station ticket gate has been getting laughs in Japan for its unusual design, and while it is kind of funny-looking, it also shows the extremely honest character of Japanese society.

The norm for ticket gates in Japanese stations is to have the machines arranged so that there’s a narrow lane between them. As you approach, you wither feed your ticket into the slot or touch your prepaid IC card against the sensor, causing the knee-high partitions to swing open and allow you to pass through.

Things are a little different in Mie Prefecture’s Kuwana Station, though.

https://twitter.com/keihandensha/status/642674798514999297

The station is jointly used by JR (Japan Railway), Kintetsu, and Yoro Railway. Pictured above in a tweet by Twitter user @keihandensha is the transfer gate between the Kintetsu and JR Lines for passengers with IC cards. And yes, both the pink and blue-colored units are equipped with swing-out barriers, but as you can see, they’re not nearly long enough to actually prevent anyone from walking between them.

https://twitter.com/keihandensha/status/643061228756058112

Just to be clear, customers do have to pay for the transfer. In the photo above, the IC card sensor is clearly visible on the top of the unit, and the large poster on the wall instructs those transferring to the other company’s trains to tap their cards against it as they pass by so that they can be charged the correct amount.

▼ There aren’t any collapsible floor panels or kneecap-scorching laser beams in place to punish would-be fare jumpers either.

https://twitter.com/keihandensha/status/643063305553100802

It’s not clear why Kuwana Station has such an unorthodox transfer gate, but what is certain is that the management trusts commuters and other passengers to not sneak a free ride, and apparently that faith is justified enough to keep the extra-wide, unlosable “gate” in place. We’re sure travelers with baby carriages, large rolling suitcases, and visiting sumo wrestlers are happy to have the extra space, while anyone who appreciate courtesy and morality enjoys seeing human decency in action whenever they make the transfer.

Source: Togech, Twitter/@keihandensha
Insert images: Wikipedia/BJP039