railsquid's random Japanese train photos

[railsquid]

Hachiko Line 209-3500 series with an 85th anniversary headboard at Hachioji.

 

Hachioji, 2019-12-05 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Hachioji, 2019-12-05 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[railsquid]

Won't see these around much longer:

 

 

[chadbag]

On 10/24/2019 at 7:57 AM, railsquid said:

 

 

ef81-cassiopeia_omiya_2019-10-24_02 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

The rear loco appeared to be under power as well. The internet speculates this was a driver training exercise.

 

I just saw this (i know it is an older post).  That is EF 81 81, which is/was also used as the Imperial locomotive when needed.  I even have the KATO one!  Cool to see it, even if being used for normal use (I've seen it hauling freight etc).

[railsquid]

Today is Thursday, which means a chance to don the biohazard suit and play Dodge the Virus in central Tokyo.

 

Shinjuku Station, south exit, around 3:30pm this afternoon:

 

 

Never seen it so empty during normal business hours.

 

Same goes for the surrounding streets, where about 80% of businesses are closed, even most of Yodobashi Camera.

 

 

 

Not a train, but one noticeable difference is that Shinjuku is now under the new flight path for Haneda Airport, set up to increase capacity for the Olympics...

 

[Tonytramman]

London is as quiet right now

[railsquid]

Yeah, but the crazy thing is, Tokyo has managed this level of shutdown on an entirely voluntary basis, the so-called "State of Emergency" actually doesn't have any legal teeth to enforce any kind of lockdown...

[Tonytramman]

hard to imagine life before all this now! it's strange not going out and working from home and quiet streets. there is a fair amount of cars still but few people and public transport is practically deserted. 

[Claude_Dreyfus]

On 3/13/2020 at 4:27 AM, railsquid said:

Won't see these around much longer:

 

 

Regrettable, as I've always thought these were really smart looking units. The closest I got to one was seeing a set approaching Tokyo station whilst I was atop the Tokyo Tower! 

[Kiha66]

Very strange, thanks for documenting this crazy time Squid!

[railsquid]

Akihabara Station, 4pm on the first Thursday afternoon after the state of emergency was withdrawn.

 

akihabara-2020-05-28_16-00_01 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[railsquid]

Old steam locomotive plates on display in an office in Mitaka depot.

[JR 500系]

I saw on Yahoo Auctions people would pay a lot for these retired locomotive number plates!  🙂

[railsquid]

I ventured to (rather than through) Akihabara for the first time in this Brave New Era of facemasks, plastic sheeting and universal hand sanitizer dispensers.

 

 

All the shops I checked were open, albeit with slightly reduced hours. Not very busy mind you.

[Yavianice]

12 minutes ago, railsquid said:

All the shops I checked were open, albeit with slightly reduced hours. Not very busy mind you.

And probably 0 tourists. Must by idyllic. 

[railsquid]

2 hours ago, Yavianice said:

And probably 0 tourists. Must by idyllic. 

 

The hordes of duty free shoppers mass-blocking the pavement outside the various duty-free shops were certainly conspicuous by their absence.

[railsquid]

After more than a decade of development, the new east-west underground passage at Shinjuku is slowly taking shape (new stairway from the Yamanote Line platform):

 

[railsquid]

A raked of E235 double-decker SaRo cars passing by on the Musashino Line.

 

[railsquid]

On 7/5/2020 at 8:45 AM, railsquid said:

After more than a decade of development, the new east-west underground passage at Shinjuku is slowly taking shape (new stairway from the Yamanote Line platform):

 

 

It's been open for a couple of weeks:

 

 

 

though the expanded passageways behind the ticket gates under the platforms is still a confusing maze of under-construction.

 

It is no longer possible for passengers with Keio / Odakyu Line tickets to pass through the JR ticket gates to get to those lines.

[railsquid]

Socially distanced commuters, in more ways than one.

[railsquid]

yamanote-line-2020-11-13_01 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[miyakoji]

That apartment building appears to be sufficiently air conditioned.

[cteno4]

I think that bank of transformers next to the tracks to the right is specifically for that building. Not going to be fun to repair that roof! 
 

Tomix style exterior stair well in the background. Apt building looks strikingly like the little gree max crew barracks.

 

jeff

[railsquid]

That's actually a row of quaint little firetrap bars/eateries called "Shibuya Nonbei Yokocho", hence the large number of a/c units.

 

https://goo.gl/maps/4n2jGoDatSkJeBat6

[cteno4]

Love the tall skinny apartment building behind it, each tiny balcony is filled with ac units.

 

(Pan up, for some reasons streetview links at times are coming out looking at the ground!)

https://goo.gl/maps/D1HYbQBV2LujkKbL6
 

love that alley, great store fronts to model, too bad you can’t get far enough back to get decent front on shots of them.

 

and the alley is right around the corner from these, love japan!

 

https://goo.gl/maps/VU4PWqa98S6kXDaQA

 

jeff

[railsquid]

Slipping back in time a decade or three to 1990, the previous photo was taken standing just to the left of this shot:

 

 

and about 3 storeys higher than would have been possible back then.

 

From this video at 14:15: