(Miyanaga-san on the far left, waiting for the train to arrive into platform)
Japanese trains have a reputation for being clean and efficient. We spoke to Miyanaga-san, who helps look after the cleaning teams about the work that goes into keeping the trains on-time and shiny, and how they have been upping their game.
(Tidying the train for its next journey at Shinjuku station)
Hi Miyanaga-san! Thanks for taking time out of your day to talk to us. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hello! I work at the JR East Environment Access Shinagawa Office which takes part in cleaning JR East trains and stations. I’ve been working for the company for coming up on 8 years, and generally am responsible for getting new staff settled in as well as training and development. Thanks for having me!
Not at all! Could you tell us what an average day looks like for you?
It varies slightly depending on the day but generally speaking I go round checking the station interior trains that have pulled in for cleaning and see how the various cleaning teams are doing. I then develop the cleaning teams by, monitoring each employee’s quality of work and giving team the right instructions. If we have a new joiner, I’ll also look after their induction training, but there are also times when I’ll need to get to work myself, and on those days I’ll do the cleaning on 13 different Express Services on the Joban line as they pull into the station and get ready to shuttle off on their return journey again.
(Staff cleaning a chair on the platform)
With the number of international visitors rising in recent years, you must come into contact with a lot more tourists than you used to. Is there any particular approach for welcoming visitors from abroad?
We work closely with a consulting agency specifically for this, whose staff often come and visit the office, and that’s generally when we get training on welcoming visitors from overseas. We also have non-Japanese staff in the office, and we routinely work with them to develop phrases etc. that you might need when providing customer service, and then work with the staff in situ to help them learn and use them.
Do you have any particularly fond memories or anecdotes from your time working with the JR East Evironment Access cleaning teams?
One that I particularly remember making me smile was when there was a small child trying to get off the train. There was a bit of a gap between the train and the platform, and I helped them get off safely, they turned to me and said ‘arigatou!’ (‘thanks!’). I was so happy!
What is it that makes your job worth doing do you think?
For me, it’s watching the staff that I train go on to blossom and excel in their roles. One part-time employee that I had trained in the past actually said to me: “thank you for being such a great teacher – I'm so thankful I had you to look after me!” and that made me feel like it had been worth it persevering with the job, even when it was hard, and that I hoped that the next person would go on to succeed, too. It kind of became my raison d’etre, or maybe my ‘ikigai’ as we say in Japanese.
What’s the most difficult or time-consuming part of the day-to-day cleaning?
It’s when you’re working one of those trains that’s running behind schedule. It is difficult because cleaning the trains in between journeys is a job that places a premium on speed and making sure you tick off everything on the checklist to provide a safe and comfortable environment for the next customers, within the new tighter time frame.
(Ameya-Yokocho in Ueno area)
JR East also looks after Ueno station which can often see over 180,000 people pass through it in any one given day. Japanese train stations have a reputation for having extremely punctual services but how much time do you have to finish each clean of the train exterior and interior and how many people are involved?
The number of staff members attached gets switched up depending on the situation but, normally, cleaning the inside of the carriages will need about 10 people, with 2 separate members of staff to look after the toilets. In terms of the time we get given, it’s just shy of 15 minutes.
The efficiency of the Japanese lost and found services is pretty well known even outside of Japan but what would you say is the average number of lost objects on a daily basis? Are there any particular places that things tend to get left accidentally?
On the weekends and national holidays, there’s definitely a noticeable trend, with a lot more passengers who aren’t as used to riding the train. We get a lot of wheelie suitcases in the luggage racks, phones left on the window sill, as well as commuter passes and things like that. All that gets sent straight off to the lost and found desk ASAP once that cleaning round has been finished.
(A cleaning team member disinfecting the station. The bib reads 'Currently on Disinfecting Duty')
We’re now all living in new times when it comes to hygiene and sanitation but have there been any new measures introduced since the global pandemic?
We’re now not only scrubbing, tidying and sorting; we’re also disinfecting. We’ve been upping our game with disinfectant cleaning products and putting up signs saying ‘In The Process of Sanitation’ to help reassure customers that we are working hard to provide a safe and stress-free environment for everyone on board and in the station.
Do you have a message for anyone planning a visit to Japan from the UK or other parts of Europe?
“You’re always welcome”
(A robot at Takanawa Gateway Station)
Finally, do you have any particular favourite stations, and why?
My two favourite stations are Takanawa Gateway Station and Ueno Station. Takanawa Gateway Station is so completely different from stations before it, with cutting-edge robots operating within the actual station. It’s the station of the future and I cannot wait to see how it continues to develop. Ueno station is one of Tokyo’s top terminus station. It is also the station where I learnt all the techniques I needed to know when doing the speed cleans. I received so many lovely words of thanks from the many passengers who passed through it and I’m really proud to say that I worked there. It’s my favourite station and one that will always be etched into my memory.
(Images credit: JR East Environment Access)
