• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

  • Photowalks
  • Book and Prints
  • Portfolio
  • About/Contact
  • Support
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • RSS

Apr 04 2005 6 Comments

Trains, trains, and even more trains

Whatever the medium, there’s an element of the geek in most of us. And personally, be it gadgetry, good music, or games, I’m well ensconced in the orbit of the otaku.

But then there are geeks, and there are geeks. Take 43-year-old Hirohiko Yokomi for example. His passion for trains (always suspect at the best of times) has resulted in him visiting every train station in the country. And with Japan’s extensive network, that works out at a whopping 9,843 stops.

It turns out that Yokomi-san’s locomotive love goes back to his childhood, as he enjoyed a view of the same train line from both his home and school. As he got older this interest steadily spiraled out of control, and progressed to memorizing station names, visiting famous stations, and of course spotting as many different trains as possible.

japanese train
A yellow train

This passion however never abated in the slightest, and after (perhaps predictably) finding himself without a regular job, Yokomi hit upon the idea of visiting every station operated by Japan Railways (JR). A challenge not to be taken lightly, as it means getting off at 4,635 stations. But our man wasn’t in the least bit intimated, and starting in February 1992, he didn’t complete his grueling task until October 1995.

But rather than this arduous journey diminishing his passion, Yokohomi was merely spurred on, and he eventually took the extraordinary decision of visiting all the other stations run by private operators. And on February 20th this year, he proudly disembarked to a cheering crowd of around 80 people at Jyoshu-Fukushima station in Gunma Prefecture. Notching up the unsurpassable figure of 9,843.

busy train japan
A busy train

But as hard as the journey was, it wasn’t all tedious travel and desolate local stations. No, far from it. Once Yokomi found a wallet containing 100,000 yen (500 pound). Although regrettably turning it over to the police caused a major interruption in his precisely planned schedule. And another time he was actually reported to the police himself, as a station employee found his sketching of the station decidedly suspicious.

shinkansen
A very fast train

For Yokomo-san however the whole thing was simply a labour of love. As “working out an efficient schedule is fun, like solving a puzzle.” And perhaps most telling of all, “I like the excitement of getting off at an unfamiliar station. When I’m the only passenger getting off the train and nobody is at the station, I feel special.”

Now if only I could apply a fraction of that enthusiasm to my daily commute…

Categorized: Travel

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hanuman says

    4/4/2005 at 10:52 pm

    You would think that this gentleman would try to find employment with the train industry, if he loves it so!

    Reply
  2. Nacente says

    4/5/2005 at 6:09 am

    What this man says is really pleasant.

    Reply
  3. Maktaaq says

    4/5/2005 at 9:41 am

    Send this guy to Canada!

    I work in a train museum in a train station and goshfukkit if anyone walked in the door today. We need more visitors here and, if he wants to be the only one disembarking at a station, here he’ll feel special all right.

    This is a great story, btw!

    Reply
  4. Babo Mungmung says

    4/5/2005 at 10:04 am

    Indeed,

    With all those ‘chikan-ning’ people on the train these days-

    -at least he isn’t harming anyone.

    well,

    I guess its a case of ‘oyaji-no-romann!’
    -someday I want to find an oyaji no romann too!

    Reply
  5. tim t. says

    1/5/2006 at 8:30 am

    by god! if only amerika could have a train system a quarter as good as japans!

    Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Tokyo Times