Hisakyu's Railway Guide

December 7, 2006 7:02 PM

Hisakyu's Railway Guide
posted by hama7 (21 comments total)

Ah, an oldie but a goodie if you're a train buff. For those too lazy to click on the link, it contains lists of rail stations organized by company and line, complete with photos of the station, the sign, and the platform.
posted by armage at 7:12 PM on December 7, 2006

Trainspotting is surprisingly big in Japan.
posted by clevershark at 7:16 PM on December 7, 2006

Thanks for this. I have a train mad husband who will enjoy it.
posted by Zinger at 7:22 PM on December 7, 2006

damn. you just made me sentimental for kyushu
posted by localhuman at 7:23 PM on December 7, 2006

The Train Spotting Simulator.
posted by arse_hat at 7:42 PM on December 7, 2006

good, but i don't see a single F40PH.
posted by StrasbourgSecaucus at 7:53 PM on December 7, 2006

Wonderfully obsessive. This is good.
posted by teferi at 7:53 PM on December 7, 2006

It took me a while to figure out what "toppage" was and what it had to do with railways.
posted by smrtsch at 7:55 PM on December 7, 2006

I occasionally made good use of this site when I lived in Tokyo... it was a good way to keep track of what stations were on what line, what transfers were available, etc. That, and and there were times I couldn't remember the name of a station, yet remembered what it looked like (I'm good at recalling scenes and places).

My home station was the second one on this list.
posted by jal0021 at 8:18 PM on December 7, 2006

No trains, just stations... what's the point?

Now, if you live in Toronto, there's the TTC Subway Efficiency Guide that really gives you some insight on how to minimize your travel time using station layouts... few subway riding experiences (to a nerd like me) beat the thrill of getting off the train right next to the up-escalator. Especially in rush hour.
posted by anthill at 8:37 PM on December 7, 2006

jal0021, god, what a horrendous mishmash of kanji Keisei Makuhari-hongo is.
posted by Mil at 8:37 PM on December 7, 2006

You can buy books like that in Tokyo, anthill. I memorized exactly which doors I had to use on each train to make transfers in the least time possible on my commute. And since the trains always run on time you can always make the connections.
posted by armage at 8:44 PM on December 7, 2006

Cool stuff, armage. We sure don't have that problem in Canada. The emphasis on schedules in Japan is certainly strong though.
posted by anthill at 9:12 PM on December 7, 2006

I made my mother laugh last week. I called her and chewed her out. "YOU are the reason that I just seriously considered spending almost three hundred dollars on a model train set." (We lived in a house next to the tracks when I was little)

I settled on a tiny HO set instead of the big Lionel setup I lusted over.
posted by mrbill at 9:22 PM on December 7, 2006

Sugoi! Thanks, hama7. They even have recordings of all the station names on the lines, like mine.
posted by greasepig at 9:25 PM on December 7, 2006

If you're like me and can't get the Japanese train arrival/departure music out of your head, this site has just about everything.
posted by azuresunday at 9:53 PM on December 7, 2006

Impressive amount of work put into it, it even has the sounds of each station, since the jingles differ.

But, where does the special trains, like SunrizeExpress, and Cassiopeia fit in? Guess his focus is lines and stations, not the trains.

Anyone know if you can book a trip, or view, of the maglev test track up by Fuji?
posted by lundman at 12:19 AM on December 8, 2006

Here's contact information and a test schedule for the next month (Japanese) for the Yamanashi test track. However, as far as I know, free test rides are limited to Yamanashi prefecture residents and government officials. Wouldn't hurt to give them a call, though.
posted by armage at 4:29 AM on December 8, 2006

This is an amazing site, thanks hama7!

My station, humble little Uguisudani on the Yamanote line, has a particular distinction: bordering all along one side of the tracks and visible from the platforms is the edge of an enormous graveyard. All along the opposite side of the tracks and also visible from the platforms is a large cluster of love hotels. On the one side, sex. On the other, death. Perhaps Tokyo's most bittersweet and poetic train station: Uguisudani.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:32 AM on December 8, 2006

Flapjax . . . That's funny, the spot between two hills where the village-within-a-city that I live in is, is also called Uguisudani, but not in Tokyo. And I thought we were so special down here . . .
posted by Absit Invidia at 7:32 AM on December 8, 2006

Oh man. This is great. I particularly am enjoying the train sounds... takes me back. Thanks.
posted by dead_ at 10:07 AM on December 8, 2006