It’s Monday, which is the worst way to start the week, isn’t it? So, how about some heart-warming news to get things going?
Let’s see, what have we got? Oh, yes, a story about how, while alighting from a train in Japan’s Saitama Prefecture, a woman slipped and became pinned between the train and the platform.
Wait, that’s not the heart-warming part!
Around 9:15 on Monday morning at Minamiurawa Station, a woman in her 30s got the fright of her life when she slipped and found herself lodged between the train and the platform, pinned at her hips.
Fortunately, the station staff were paying close attention and caught the problem immediately, quickly announcing, “Someone is trapped!”
According to one Twitter user who was on the scene at the time, the station staff first asked passengers to move to the opposite side of the train, but when it became clear that merely shifting their weight to one side of the car wasn’t going to be enough to pull the unfortunate commuter free, staff called everyone off the train to help.
Fellow commuters then disembarked and pushed the train away from the platform with all their might, allowing the staff to free the trapped woman.
Once she was pulled to safety, the woman was taken to the hospital, though fortunately she had no visible injuries.
If you’re wondering how this could possibly happen, the East Japan Railway Company explained that the gap between the train and platform is about 20 centimeters (7.87 inches). Just enough for someone to get properly stuck, we imagine.
The company went on to explain that the train car weighed about 32 tonnes (about 35 US tons), including its base and wheels. However, thanks to the suspension, pushing on the car only moved the upper body, and didn’t affect the wheels’ placement.
Apparently, even with all this commotion, the train was only eight minutes late! We’re thinking the company should get a new logo, maybe something like: “East Japan Railways: getting you to work and giving you a solid workout!”
Japanese Internet users felt the cockles of their hearts warming:
This is such a great story!
This is really amazing.
I’m glad she wasn’t injured!
What a sense of unity. I wish I could have to been there. I wish I could have helped them push.
It’s a great story, but the photo is so surreal!
All that and only eight minutes late? Isn’t that amazing?
It looks like a festival!
Japan’s not finished after all!
Who the heck took this photo? If you have time to snap pictures, get in there and push!!
There’s always someone who’s got something to grumble about…
This isn’t the first time that someone has fallen from the edge of a platform in Japan. Just last month, a woman fell through the gap at Roppongi Station and ended up lying next to the train as it departed, having been mistaken for dropped luggage. Fortunately, that woman also survived unscathed.
Well, we hope you have a great Monday! If nothing else, you can at least be glad you’re not trapped between a train car and a platform!
Sources: Itai News 2Channel, Yomiuri Online, Twitter

Woman delivers baby on passenger train just outside of Tokyo
Elementary school girls rescue wheelchair-bound woman stranded on train tracks
Kyoto train station thanks commuters for saving life of passenger who fell on the train tracks
Woman in Tokyo gives birth onboard one of Japan’s busiest train lines
Attempted murder at a Japanese train station
7-Eleven Japan’s ramen-cooking robot whipped us up a bowl of noodles【Taste test】
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branches
Lacquerware supplier to emperor of Japan and Pokémon team up for new tableware
Hello Kitty Choco Egg figures are an adorable trip through three periods of Japanese pop culture【Pics】
Mr. Sato accosts award-winning actor Hideaki Ito【Interview】
Disillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in Tokyo
Man arrested for threatening a shrine in Kyoto because they used AI art
Japan’s otoshidama tradition of giving kids money at New Year’s gets a social welfare upgrade
Sanrio brings some smiles to Evangelion with new collaboration merch line【Photos】
Final Fantasy XIV’s Ul’dah city-state recreated in real world in massive diorama【Video】
Japan may add Japanese language proficiency, lifestyle classes to permanent foreign resident requirements
Starbucks Japan releases new zodiac chilled cup drink for 2026
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Starbucks on a Shinkansen bullet train platform: 6 tips for using the automated store in Japan
Is this the most relaxing Starbucks in Japan?
Large amount of supposed human organs left in Osaka marketplace
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Japanese train company is letting fans buy its actual ticket gates for their homes
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in Japan
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
Sanrio theme park in Japan announces plans to expand into a Sanrio resort
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
The top 10 annoying foreign tourist behaviors on trains, as chosen by Japanese people【Survey】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
“Get down!” Man leaps onto train tracks to save fallen woman
Commuter chaos at Shibuya Station after glass window breaks on door of crowded Japanese train
“Can you drop a bomb on America?” Japanese man shocks commuters from tracks of busy train station
Student gets locked inside Japanese station after the last train
Back to work, and back to packed commuter trains in coronavirus emergency state-Tokyo【Photos】
Drink hot sake at Tokyo train station’s “phantom platform”
Man boards women-only carriage on Japanese train, gets his glasses knocked off【Video】
Woman kills self jumping onto train tracks, delay causes conductor to jump off tracks at other station
Starbucks on a Shinkansen bullet train platform: 6 tips for using the automated store in Japan
Tokyo station platform to transform into sake bar with hot drinks, hot oden, and hot kotatsu
Shitty Shibuya – Dozens of human turds discovered on Tokyo train platform
Commuter chaos around Tokyo during peak hour after Typhoon Trami hits Japan 【Pics & Video】
Disturbing video shows man hitting woman for crossing her legs on Japanese train【Video】
Italian man kisses woman on train in Wakayama “as a greeting,” gets arrested instead of her number
Leave a Reply