![\"\"](\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Japan-kind-behaviour-nice-people-heartwarming-story-broken-leg-doctor-elevator-etiquette-manners-5.jpg?w=640\")
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The fate of the first to board has long been a problem in Japan, but this could be the solution.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n A curious thing happens in elevators<\/strong> \u2013 once you\u2019re in there, and someone who wants to board is about to miss the closing doors, you\u2019re able to extend a gesture of kindness by pressing the \u201copen\u201d button so they\u2019re able to catch the lift they otherwise would\u2019ve missed.<\/p>\n In Japan, though, this act of kindness can work against you, because an unspoken rule of etiquette dicates that the person closest to the buttons is in charge of operating them for everyone, like some sort of unpaid staff attendant<\/strong>. That means when you let someone in after you, you\u2019ll also be in charge of letting them out before you, as you hold the \u201copen\u201d button for others before stepping out of the elevator yourself.<\/p>\n \u25bc If you\u2019re standing in front of this panel in Japan, you\u2019re expected to press the open and close buttons as an act of courtesy towards others.<\/p>\n Generally, the lift operator is only mildly inconvenienced by this role, but there are times when it can be irritating. When you need to check out after staying on a high floor in a hotel, for example, you\u2019re likely to find yourself holding the doors open for people who get on at lower floors, so by the time you reach the lobby the lift is so crowded you\u2019ll be holding the doors open for everyone who gets out. That means you\u2019ll be the last to line up and check out behind your fellow lift companions, despite being first in the elevator.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u25bc What might be called the \u201cfate of the first to board\u201d is particularly painful in a hotel situation.<\/p>\n As a frequent hotel user, our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma has long pondered the inherent problems with lift etiquette, but has never been able to come up with any good solutions. The other day, though, something happened to him that that made him see the light\u2026and it touched his heart as well<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The event occurred when Masanuki was using crutches due to a foot injury, and a friend of his drove him to Starbucks. After getting out at the parking lot, a car pulled in right behind them, and when a couple got out of the car and headed towards the coffeehouse, they naturally passed by Masanuki, who was moving slowly due to his impairment.<\/p>\n Masanuki didn\u2019t mind \u2013 in fact, he was pleased that they\u2019d passed him as he didn\u2019t want to hold them up along the way. However, when he entered the store, he saw that the couple hadn\u2019t gone straight to the register as expected<\/strong>. Instead, they were looking at tumblers and coffee beans in the general goods section near the entrance. As he glanced at them, they turned, bowed slightly, and said to him: \u201cPlease go ahead and order<\/strong>\u201c.<\/p>\n The kindness of this couple took Masanuki by surprise, as he\u2019d initially thought they were browsing the shelves for coffee beans. However, after they gestured for him to go ahead of them, they lined up behind him empty-handed, proving they were just lingering at the coffee beans, waiting for him to step through the doors so they could take their place behind him in line.<\/strong><\/p>\n When Masanuki finished ordering, he turned and thanked the couple and when they went up to the register, the barista, who\u2019d seen what had happened, smiled warmly at the couple as if to thank them for being so considerate to a fellow customer. It was as if this one small kind gesture rippled through the entire cafe, spreading warmth and kindness to everyone in the vicinity.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u25bc Masanuki was so touched even his drink tasted more delicious.<\/p>\n This pleasant feeling was the complete opposite of Masanuki\u2019s experiences in a hotel elevator, where he can\u2019t help but feel slightly disgruntled whenever his lift companions queue ahead of him at reception. While he can\u2019t hold it against them, it\u2019s the way things happen, after all, here at Starbucks, this couple had not only seen him but made him feel seen<\/strong> \u2013 instead of taking advantage of his situation, or simply turning a blind eye to it, they acknowledged his place ahead of them in the queue and stepped aside to let him through.<\/p>\n Furthermore, the couple hadn\u2019t made a big deal of things \u2013 instead of stopping in the parking lot or at the cash register, they held back and browsed in front of the merchandise, creating a cushion between them so he wouldn\u2019t feel guilty or pressured by their actions. They made it seem natural and unfettered, in a way that acknowledged his situation without any sense of shame or pity.<\/p>\n \u25bc If only he could meet couples like this at the elevator.<\/p>\n While he\u2019s conscious of the fact that this couple\u2019s generosity was in large part due to his foot injury, Masanuki felt that this system of acknowledging the person ahead of you when the end goal is to queue<\/strong>, would work wonders for lifting everyone\u2019s spirits in an elevator scenario. Though he admits it would be hard to put into practice, especially with a full elevator, if just one or two people considered the plight of a lift operator, especially in a hotel when everyone is taking the lift to queue, it could have a ripple effect that leads to more awareness of the \u201cfate of the first to board\u201d an elevator.<\/p>\n Starting with awareness is the first step on the path to change, so Masanuki plans to lead by example, vowing to step aside for the lift operator next time there\u2019s a lineup at the end of the journey. And it\u2019s all thanks to the kindness of the couple he met at Starbucks, whose simple actions have left an indelible glow in his heart. Even in a country where consideration for the group is everything, this couple showed there are new levels to how you can express kindness, and he will forever pass it on in their memory.<\/p>\n Photos \u00a9SoraNews24<\/em> The fate of the first to board has long been a problem in Japan, but this could be the solution.\u00a0 A curious thing happens in elevators \u2013 once you\u2019re in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4346\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Japan-kind-behaviour-nice-people-heartwarming-story-broken-leg-doctor-elevator-etiquette-manners-4.jpg?w=640\")
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