Advanced Elevator Etiquette

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When I moved from Canada to Japan, a cultural difference that was immediately apparent is the over-abundance of awareness that Japanese people have for others around them.  In most cases, people will go to great lengths to avoid inconveniencing others.  For instance, noise is kept to a minimum.  Mobile phone ringers are permanently left in silent mode.  And even in a metropolis with millions of drivers, I get my hair cut more often than I hear a car horn.  If I had done this back in Toronto, I most certainly would have been perpetually bald.  When it comes to taking the elevator with other riders, there are several unwritten rules of conduct that we generally appreciate.  But the particular behavior I want to point out is at the end of the ride.  

I was in an elevator at one of the large department stores in Tokyo, and in the car with me were a mother and her young daughter.  Based on the buttons pressed, I could tell that they were to get off first, leaving me to continue my journey.  Once we reached their floor, the two stepped forward toward the door.  A quick, aimless micro-bow — the ubiquitous nod of the head used as a thank-you or greeting between strangers or acquaintances — by the mother, and the two were swiftly out the door.  But just then, a hand reached into the elevator and hit the close-door button.  The sliding doors promptly closed, reducing my wait time and saving me the effort of having to push the button myself.

The mother’s action brought my attention to a new level of awareness and courteousness and to a way of living that I wanted to adopt.  I was moved by the idea that there’s more that we can do for each other as a society, and it hadn’t even occurred to me.  Imagine the harmony of a society where everyone extends this level of courtesy to each other.  Not everyone here follows this protocol, but Japan is a country where this particular act, and others like it, are not considered unusual.

Have you ever tried this?  If you have, how did you feel afterward?  I felt joy from the thought that I may be helping to spread the contagion of courteousness.  I also felt a softening of my heart from performing a random act of kindness.  And because I didn’t see my fellow passengers as I left the elevator, I was left only with my imagination to play out their reactions.  I walked away smiling from the thought that I may have brightened their morning and that maybe, they might like humans just a little bit more. 

Oh, and one last thing, if you do try this, then make sure no one is getting off right behind you.  Miscalculate this little detail, and it could fly back in your face with a whole lot of awkward.