Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Contents
- 1 Odakyū-sen
- 2 Shinjuku Station
- 3 Shinjuku
- 4 Mukōgaoka-yūen North
- 5 Mukōgaoka-yūen South
- 6 Mukōgaoka-yūen Platform
- 7 January Monday
- 8 Odakyū Notables
- 9 Odakyū Line Sounds Familiar
- 10 Train Notices
- 11 Odakyū Commercials
- 12 February Tuesday
- 13 Odakyū Keitaispracht
- 14 By-line, Setagaya Line
- 15 March Wednesday
- 16 Odakyū Day-out Sendagi
- 17 Shimo-Kitazawa
- 18 Bicycle!
- 19 Odakyū Bike Interview – Toda-san
- 20 International Interlude via Narita Airport
- 21 Keitai Train Culture
- 22 April Thursday
- 23 Odakyū Tamagawa
- 24 Station Sights
- 25 Odakyū-sen, Yoyogi-Hachiman Eki
- 26 May Friday
- 27 Mukoōgaoka-yūen, Day for Night
- 28 Odakyū Day-out, Hakone
- 29 June Saturday
- 30 Odakyū Commercials
- 31 Odakyū Smokes
- 32 By-line, Nambu Line
- 33 Odakyū Bag Watch
- 34 Seijo Times
- 35 Odakyū Day-out, Yokohama
- 36 July Sunday
- 37 Odakyū Trains of Thought
- 38 Train Signs, Train Sounds
- 39 By-line, Tama Express
- 40 August Monday
- 41 Odakyū Day-out, Chiba
- 42 September Tuesday
- 43 Odakyū Lady-grooming
- 44 Odakyū and Near-Odakyū Women’s Hairday
- 45 Odakyū Evenings-out
- 46 October Wednesday
- 47 Odakyū Day-out, Ibaraki
- 48 Chikan! Odakyū Misbehaviour
- 49 November Thursday
- 50 Odakyū Blues
- 51 Odakyū Men’s Haircut
- 52 Odakyū Day-out, Ō-Sumo
- 53 December Friday
- 54 Odakyū Store
- 55 Odakyū Bookshelf
- 56 Last Train
- Glossary
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Contents
- 1 Odakyū-sen
- 2 Shinjuku Station
- 3 Shinjuku
- 4 Mukōgaoka-yūen North
- 5 Mukōgaoka-yūen South
- 6 Mukōgaoka-yūen Platform
- 7 January Monday
- 8 Odakyū Notables
- 9 Odakyū Line Sounds Familiar
- 10 Train Notices
- 11 Odakyū Commercials
- 12 February Tuesday
- 13 Odakyū Keitaispracht
- 14 By-line, Setagaya Line
- 15 March Wednesday
- 16 Odakyū Day-out Sendagi
- 17 Shimo-Kitazawa
- 18 Bicycle!
- 19 Odakyū Bike Interview – Toda-san
- 20 International Interlude via Narita Airport
- 21 Keitai Train Culture
- 22 April Thursday
- 23 Odakyū Tamagawa
- 24 Station Sights
- 25 Odakyū-sen, Yoyogi-Hachiman Eki
- 26 May Friday
- 27 Mukoōgaoka-yūen, Day for Night
- 28 Odakyū Day-out, Hakone
- 29 June Saturday
- 30 Odakyū Commercials
- 31 Odakyū Smokes
- 32 By-line, Nambu Line
- 33 Odakyū Bag Watch
- 34 Seijo Times
- 35 Odakyū Day-out, Yokohama
- 36 July Sunday
- 37 Odakyū Trains of Thought
- 38 Train Signs, Train Sounds
- 39 By-line, Tama Express
- 40 August Monday
- 41 Odakyū Day-out, Chiba
- 42 September Tuesday
- 43 Odakyū Lady-grooming
- 44 Odakyū and Near-Odakyū Women’s Hairday
- 45 Odakyū Evenings-out
- 46 October Wednesday
- 47 Odakyū Day-out, Ibaraki
- 48 Chikan! Odakyū Misbehaviour
- 49 November Thursday
- 50 Odakyū Blues
- 51 Odakyū Men’s Haircut
- 52 Odakyū Day-out, Ō-Sumo
- 53 December Friday
- 54 Odakyū Store
- 55 Odakyū Bookshelf
- 56 Last Train
- Glossary
Summary
Odakyū speeds. No mistaking the heavy rhythmic thud of the various Romance Cars. White. Red. Brown, Blue. Especially if you are at either of the two Mukōgaoka-yūen level crossings. Discernible thump. The Expresses, at speed, chug more than a touch frenetically. If you are aboard and it is racing, there are several well-known sharp swerves. Brace. Hang on the strap. Grab the handrail. Lean on the door. The Locals, true to name, have a take-yourtime feel. Gentle rail jogs, with longer pauses at some station to let the speeders by (The Rapid Express, The Tama Express, the regular Expresses). Odd, how after time you get to know by sound what Odakyū train is en route. Train recognition by ear rather than eye. Familiarity. Your train the same?
Given the inevitable occasional Odakyū Line delay (ressha ga okurete imasu) due to some technical glitch or the egregious ‘personal accident’, the company (like all others) has a means of helping ‘prove’ that lateness for work or class or anything else was the fault of the train service. In Japanese chien shōmeisho. A ticket is handed out with marked time-panels saying how much the train has run late. One is supposed to hand in the paper at the workplace or wherever. Nice touch, especially if you really are anxious to make good within office or workplace, Japan after all a society built on punctuality and the clock. Out of interest rather than necessity at Yoyogi-Uehara I took one of the tickets today…it supplies a happy reminder of when you had that cast-iron excuse to avoid school games or not to have to attend the dentist.
Music Odakyū? Aboard the Express today there was a gathering of school-age youngsters carrying musical instruments. A huge base, violin case (lettered with Tokyo New City Orchestra), and a flute in its own case. Daily you see people following scores with their finger (and occasionally silent-mouthing chorus words). Which makes you think how much music is everywhere attended to and available in Japan.
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- Tokyo CommuteJapanese Customs and Way of Life Viewed from the Odakyū Line, pp. 163 - 164Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2011