Railroad as a Culture

The train culture remains one of my greatest fascinations with Japanese railways. On one hand, technology and technical development surrounding railroads are nonetheless fascinating. For instance, the introduction of the Dream Express (Shinkansen) was an inspiration for the world to this date for being an engineering miracle. About ninety years prior to Shinkansen’s appearance, the Tokaido Main Line already offered long distance rail service to the majority of the Japanese population. In short, railroad is of utmost importance in the country’s development. As mentioned in the previous journals, railroad has come to be an integral part of the nation since the Meiji Restoration. On the other hand, far from being only a mode of transportation and cash cow for business giants, railroad has evolved into a cultural phenomenon.

Regarding perspective, I figure the following example would be a telling one. One day, I got off the train at Shojaku Station as usual, about to make my way toward the classroom not far away from the station. At the end of the platform near the exit, I saw a kid, roughly 6 or 7 years old, holding a tiny, yellow camera. I was intrigued by the kid and stopped some distance away from him. Looking up closely, it turned out that he was pointing the camera at the Hankyu train I just rode, which was about to make its way to the next station following the iconic door ring. He looked at the passing train intently, and so was I. Expectedly, I was also late to class that day. Don’t get me wrong, my interest in trains came before encountering this kid. The following day, I witnessed two middle aged men, standing on the platform on the far end, holding their digital camera with a long lens, shooting the trains coming out of the train shed. That particular instance, though, made me realize how profound the train has influenced Japanese culture.