Riding the trains in Tokyo is a real unique experience. The JR Line Rail Pass, once purchased, allows free access to many parts of Japan through a complex network of trains and train stations.
Japan Railways
Many signs are in English, and some of the announcements for upcoming stops are in English as well. However, not many of the attendants speak English at all. Though, they are very friendly and helpful.
The number of people riding the trains during rush hour is somewhat hard to comprehend. It seems like everyone there is running from train to train, crossing back and forth through the stations, rushing up and down the stairs and packing the trains to full capacity, in the sense that not another single person can fit in.
I had an experience where the train doors opened and my wife ran in with a group of others, but I could not see how to squeeze in when my wife’s hand shot out from the middle of the crowd and pulled me into the train, to the dismay of the three other people now closely pressed up against me, and me pressed up against the door that I just narrowly got through.
But the amazing thing in all of this rushing and hurrying and intensity, is that nobody talks on the train, at all. Nobody uses a cellphone, except quietly searching the internet. The only thing that is heard is the train and the announcements for the next stop.
Riding the train, by itself, is a very interesting and rare experience for us people just visiting.