Urban Stress Relief or Sexual Molestation - Riding Tokyo's Trains

[Reposted from a separate blog entry]

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 lived there and travel to 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 (altthough 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 have 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 overall apparently getting a hand job from a shorter Japanese man (last car on the Chuo
(Orange) train.

Finally, there used to be a wild event on or near Halloween (Oct 31) on the Yamate train (green circle line around central Tokyo). Each year, hundreds of people in costumes would all meet at Shinjuku station at 9:00pm and then jump all together in the same train (literally filling up the cars like
morning rush hour, then at the next stop, everyone would rush like man 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 -- 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 wide 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.
Male-Male Sex in Public Places
Japanese men are not completely bashful - while modest in daily life, they certainly are not adverse to getting their rocks off and men of all persuasions will sometimes have sex in public trysting spots -- called 'hatten basho.' These cruising areas are sometimes in posh locations or in department stores and shopping centers, at public parks, and at the local swimming pools and gyms or sports clubs.