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Life on Trains. |
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Life on the Trains
Why I love trains. |
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Access Covers |
Train life is lived in packets of time and space. And, I do mean lived. Every day from 4 a.m. until after midnight, everyone gets on board in the costume of the moment, carried along in the random company of fellow travelers from Boarding time to Arrival time, and from point Get On to point Get Off. Let's start our ride with the Enoshima Special-a short narrowest-gauge jaunt through the backyards of Kamakura along the beach to Enoshima island and Fujisawa. Our conductor relaxes in his natty attire. Cheerful iconography sets the tone. |
Trains
On a comfortable June evening, a blonde mop-maned man reads his paper, next to a sedately black hatted oldster, next to a young salaryman, unseen by the elegantly attired young lady on her way to...an appointment? assignment? restaurant? Everyone is in costume, hair in place, and on their way. (keitai) |
Shinagawa station-the modern glitzy side recently grafted onto the older, comfortably decrepit station. Passersby are seized by the promise of a "LoungeFoodium." Is this a Roman style food pit with long padded seats to lay upon and gaze down at the spread? Those word choices! I am not convinced this one is successful. "Queen's Isetan" though, promises a royal and lavender field day. The French are not forgotten with a sultry "atré" vous. (keitai) |
Ochanomizu (water for green tea) station along the Kanda-gawa river. The Hijiribashi bridge even has its own collection of fans who meet to draw the bridge and the surrounding area. My personal experience: crossing the Kanda on another bridge, being promptly roasted alive in the summer sun. No trees or protection here. However, I enjoy the painterly view while rushing to the sheltering shadows of the station. |
The costume show on the trains. These two are dressed up as pink maids or gingham and lacy petticoats dolls, I guess. One sports a medical mask for allergies, not anonymity. What are their dayjobs? Gotta love it. This level of blatant innocence has long vanished from my own experience, like may be when I was eight, no, make that five. (keitai) |
Japanese Advertising of the Weird |
IKE * DON! "Ko-Se-Tai-Re!"
You may not be aware but National Health Insurance in Japan is really great! Plenty of western doctors and "nurses." Tokyo train advertisment found on Halloween's Day 2000. |
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