Last Saturday morning I was leaving a party at 5 A.M. in Shibuya and decided it would be nice to come back home to Shiki with the new Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin line which was opening the very day and interfaces with my usual Tobu Tojo line for an almost direct trip to and from Shibuya (I just have to hop from one side of the platform to another at Wakoushi) in a breeze.
So my girlfriend and I arrived at 5:30 after being guided by cops that were all over the station for the opening and got there to climb in the first train to arrive at Shibuya station and reversing for the journey back to Saitama.
Ruiko said:
Do not under-estimate the Japanese Otaku…
Remembering this saying by a good friend of mine, I wasn’t surprised when that first train came in Shibuya station packed full of weirdos with backpacks and cameras (the classic Otaku costume). They came out of the train clapping and cheering, taking photos of each other in front of the driving cabin and macroing on every little details of the new train and station.
After the flow ebbed, we climbed on the train and were followed by a dozen of guys who must’ve missed the very first train. Losers… One of them was recording the trip and announcements with a microphone, bobbing his head to each of the stations’ distinctive music as if to music from heaven… One of them had long pommeled hair and wore a flowery dress…
I didn’t take any photos of them as my girlfriend was afraid I would get shanked by one of the weirdos like what happened in Akihabara 2 weeks ago, but I do have some photos of the brand new piece of station in Shibuya.
I also live in Shiki. I take the tobu-tojo to Ikebukuro between 7-8 AM, lining up for a local so that I can sit and use the time for something constructive and to avoid early-morning sardine imitations. With the fabulous fukutoshin now in operation the number of locals starting at Shiki has been cut by 2/3. so the lines for the Ikebukuro -bound local trains get real long real quick. Also, throughout the day there are fewer semi expresses running. I wish they had never dreamt this one up, or at the very least, started the trains from Wakoshi.
well, it’s true I go to work farther up Saitama-ken (Shinrinkoen to be precise) so I don’t really care what happens to trains in the morning
however, the weekends when I go out shopping in Shibuya or Shinjuku, the new line is a blessing