Trains

Probably not the post you were hoping for (yes, the post on sumo will come eventually), but I was inspired by this wikipedia article to write about trains. (That's my station in the picture.)

I use public transportation every week. Every Thursday I use the trains to go to Ota for my cooking class. Every weekend I usually go into town, or else on a mini-trip to Tokyo. That means, that one of my most valued local sites is the Kizaki train station.

Kizaki station, which was built in 1910, is a seven minute bike ride from my apartment. It is a small station, though definitely not the smallest in Ota. It services about 2,250 people a day, has two platforms, two or three attendants, and electronic ticket machines. However, it still has small town touches. The building is made of wood. The station is not raised. You have to walk on the tracks to cross to the other platform. There are no shops either in the station or around it. During most of the day, trains come only once every hour.

I am, however, lucky to have it. While Ota has a bus system it is tragically underused and inconvenient. The bus stop nearest me only comes twice a day. Despite my love of buses in the States, I have never ridden a public bus in Japan. I simply cannot figure them out. Thankfully, the train system is not so confusing. I was intimidated at first. My first week in Japan I avoided Kizaki station. But soon, out of necessity, I overcame my reluctance.

I ride my bike to Kizaki from my apartment. There is bike parking on the north side of the station. No matter the hour, there are always more than a hundred bikes there. I find a spot, hopefully next to a railing so I can remember where I parked my bike when I return. I walk past the lone house, which has sells spots under a covering in its back yard to people who want to keep their bikes safe from rain. I then cross over the tracks to the station house. The ticket machine is touch sensitive. The fare to Ota is only 160 yen. If I am going somewhere other than Ota, I don't even bother to look up the price. I simply buy the cheapest ticket. I will be able to pay the remainder at whatever train station I get off at. After I have my ticket, I cross back to the other side to wait for my train. At a three minutes til the train, an attendant, dressed in a tan uniform with white gloves, leaves his office, grabs a red flag and joins us on the platform. He will make sure that everyone who wants on the train gets on safely, and that those who get off have paid to use to the train. It's a good system, and rarely fails. I have yet to see a late train in Japan.

I have yet to make a long distance trip on a train. I think before my time in Japan is done I will go across this island by train. It's actually not much less expensive than flying, but the trip, I think, will be much more enjoyable.