One of the first things in Japan that caught my attention were trains and also the amount of train geeks around here. A general passion for trains exists in Japan. Train geeks collect books about trains, they travel just to have the opportunity to “try a new train” or to visit a particular train station, they collect pictures of trains and they even know the inner workings of trains and how a certain engine works. At the beginning I was surprised by all these obsessions but little by little I am finally getting it: using every day a train line that transports more people a day than ALL New York lines, using ALWAYS train stations as meeting points, using train stations as a starting point to decide where to buy/rent a house, seeing how all the activity-life-restaurant-businesses gather almost always around train stations… These are facts that have made me realize that it is not only an obsession of some people; trains are a fundamental part of Japanese society and everyday life.
In big bookstores there’s always a section with books and magazines about trains, these are some pictures that I took in Kinokuniya, my favorite bookstore:
Plenty of magazinees about trains and railroads.
The book with the Galaxy Express 999 cover is a boring train schedule catalog.
All this books are about trains!
This book had tons of maps with every minimum detail on how railroads are placed in some stations in the north of Tokyo.
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4 replies on “Books and magazines about trains”
Yep… the ammount of books and magazines in Japan is appalling.
I wish I could read japanese. But just out of curiosity, on my trip to japan I visited several book stores and magazine stands… you could always find like 20 magazines for every subject.
And some magazines for very very specific stuff… like trains! xD
yeah, I’m one of those train geeks.
I always try to spend time aboard trains as much as possible.
Timetables aren’t boring, I’ve spent countless of hours reading both JR & Odakyu timetables.
Any online shops selling those books?
I’m very interested in that track diagram book.
I think the trains are fascinating, but not the same point as many others in Japan.
Although, I did find it interesting to note there is a test called the Timetable Searching Profiency Exam or (時刻表検定試験).
Apparently there are other people like Ekowc who find it fun to read timetables?
You seem to have a fantastic number of magazines.
Personally I am a railway historian and would like to get in touch with PRESSE EISENBAHN.
Can you please give me theit email address?
Thank you