Astronerdboy linked that old and moldy video clip that I saw years ago. It made circles anew recently thanks to Failblog.
When I lived in Japan, I never went out and about during the morning or evening commute times simply because there is NO way I would ever put up with this (and yes, I heard stories about this kind of crowding way back then). How would you like to be packed in like this?
In the U.S., there's a push in some big cities for more light rail systems and while I have no problem with light rail as such per se, this is worse than being in rush-hour traffic. At least there, I'm sitting comfortably in my car. ^_^;
Light rail in the U.S. is just a huge bonghole. In San Jose, CA, for example, for the cost it takes to run the stupid light rail, every rider of the darn thing can be given a leased BMW X3. Now think about the safety issues operating that rail and all the real estate wasted by the tracks (they are colocated with car traffic in the downtown, but not elsewhere). And it's not like San Jose was jammed to begin with. It's just a horrible waste and retardity [1].
I heard it's the same in Houston. Let's ask Ubu Roi!
Mass transit only makes sense where it's truly massive. Remember the story of Yurikamome, a rubber tire train running across the bay between Odaiba and some place a bit north of Shinagawa. Originally intended for tourists visiting the Maritime Museum, it ran at huge loss until zoning laws[1] were changed to allow business development in Odaiba. These days it brings a bit of a profit with commuters and may return the investment in another 25 years or so. The HQ of the company in Dai-Guard is located in Odaiba, and the main character commutes by Yurikamome. I rode it to TAF, it was nice... and packed. Of course it shold be, or else it would not be profitable.
As for the original trip, we rode Yamanote from Ueno to Tokyo Station in the morning once, just to get the taste of it. It was a good life lesson for Ana-sempai, I think.
[1] There used to be a blog by a bus driver in San Jose who keept carping how unfair the whole thing was, and how many buses could've been run for all the money sunk into the light rail. I tend to agree, a better bus service in San Jose would be much better for the citizens, although perhaps not for contractors and politicians whom those contractors contribute.
[2] For some reason, some believe that Japan does not have zoning. But it does.