Japanese Trains so efficient, you can set a clock by them.

http://9den.ms11.net/yamanote_clock/...e_clock_w.html Clock shows the current time, and which trains are at which station. You can skip forwards or backwards to see when a train will arrive/depart a station, and when the train you are catching will arrive at the station you want to go to. I want one of these in wristwatch or pocketwatch form. (already in "alarm clock" form)

For those of you unfamiliar with the technological marvel/cultural phenomenon that is the Yamanote line, here are a few factual tidbits: The Yamanote line is a 34.5km bi-directional light rail commuter line that encircles central Tokyo in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. Its first leg was completed in 1885 and it was completed as a closed loop in 1925. It's operated by JR East and as it is essentially the "flagship" commuter line in the Tokyo metro area, it generally has the newest trains and technology. The longest uninterrupted stretch of the line (station to station) is 2.2km An estimated 3.5 million passengers ride every day on Tokyo's Yamanote Line, with its 29 stations. For comparison, the New York City Subway carries 5.08 million passengers per day on 26 lines serving 468 stations. Each train is approximately 200 meters in length. During rush hour a train departs every station roughly every 3 minutes. It takes 58 minutes to circle the whole loop, in part to the new Automatic Train Control software which allows for higher speed, a denser timetable, and a smoother ride. Most Stations on the Yamanote line have a "departing melody" for each platform in both directions that play at the station when the doors open. HERE is a pretty good documentation on the Yamanote line stations, including some of the departing melodies and pictures. The colo(u)r of the line on all the trains, signage, maps, and that clock is Yellow Green #6 (Munsell code 7.5GY 6.5/7.8). The Yamanote line has its own video game train simulator for the PS2 A cool video showing the whole loop at 10x speed Too many people!

TS,

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

I particularly liked the accelerated tour of the Yamanote-sen - a good way to waste seven minutes!

I used to love jumping on the Yamanote-sen at one stop, travelling a couple of stations, jumping off and exploring somewhere that was unfamiliar to me. I can remember being seduced by the romantic sound of "Uguisudani", or "Valley of the Nightingales", only to find that in reality it was (inevitably) an unattractive and crowded complex of poorly-built love hotels huddled around the station. I far preferred Ueno (many hours spent browsing and people-watching around Ameyoko and wandering around Ueno park and the galleries and museums), Shinjuku (great shopping, great food and another great park), Kanda (secondhand bookstores) and Harajuku (peoplewatching, another great park, antique fair in temple grounds and actual, Italian style coffee at a little cafe a couple of minutes' walk from the station).

I took the punctuality of the trains so much for granted that I can remember feeling irritable when I had to wait more than five minutes for a train on one occasion!

wow. thanks for the good info.

definetly one of the places to visit

double

I rarely find myself taking the Yamanote when in Tokyo, except just to ride around and relax.

The rail network in Tokyo is truly phenomenal. It is by far the most complete, efficient, and accessible rail/subway system in the world. Here are some different maps of the system, which I find marvelous and wonderful in their complexity.

Tokyo Slim is a 列車オタク!

Ahh Hibiya line.

Originally Posted by Nantucket Red

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Tokyo Slim is a 列車オタク!

I was sitting next to an otaku (ie an obsessive nerd) at an Australian wedding recently. He had spent several years in Japan teaching English and it seems that he had learned the entire Tokyo rail system (both JR and metro lines) off by heart during his time there. His "party trick" was to ask people where they lived in Tokyo and to then recite the station nearest to where they lived, the line it was on, and any connecting lines. He was overjoyed when he learned that I had lived in Japan and that my wife's family still live in Tokyo, and he immediately started to interrogate me about the station nearest their house.

I shoved a drink into his hand, muttered my excuses, and made sure that I kept my wife and myself away from him for the rest of the night....

Originally Posted by j

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Ahh Hibiya line.

The closest station to me is Hatchobori (roughly midway between Ginza and Akihabara).

Hat-cho-bo'di-des!

Due to economics, Minami-senju is my home station. One Cup FTW.

Originally Posted by Journeyman

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I shoved a drink into his hand, muttered my excuses, and made sure that I kept my wife and myself away from him for the rest of the night....

Great story! I can definitely relate. There's an Aussie guy on one of the Japan boards I post on who is in the midst of a project to ride every train line in Tokyo from end to end. An exercise in ritual boredom, if you ask me. Or to use a phrase borrowed from a book called Wicked Japanese, 水滴で頭に穴を開けられたような心持です。 "It feels like having a hole bored in my head by drops of water."

Granted, the Yamanote line is at least interesting because it is above-ground and you can see the different characters of the various areas of Tokyo.

Damn it! I want to go to Tokyo!

Jon.

Call me Otaku if you want, but you are posting on a men's clothing forum where people frequently refer to SHOES as Appreciation.

Originally Posted by Tokyo Slim

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Call me Otaku if you want, but you are posting on a men's clothing forum where people frequently refer to SHOES as Appreciation.

osnap