Which side of the escalator do you stand on?

 

Which side of the escalator do you stand on?

When riding an escalator, people in Tokyo stand on the left. People in the Kansai region stand on the other side.

Although no one can say for sure the reason for this however, there are theories. 

One theory is that Tokyo had lots of samurais who preferred to stay on the left side so that they could draw their swords quickly if need be.

 

The other theory is that many merchants lived in Osaka and they liked to stay on the right to protect their money and other belongings by holding on to them with their right hand.

 

However, recently it was pointed out that walking on the escalator is dangerous, but Japanese people still use the escalator with one side open because we dislike having strangers next to us and most of us adjust ourselves to others. I guess Japanese people are shy.

How about in your country? If you'd like, please send me a message! 

I hope you’ll have a great time in Japan！

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