Some odd Japanese customs

Hi All,

I've lived in Japan now for a while and many of the customs have now almost become second nature. The only one I still find strange is the fascination of some of the men and taking photos of trains. Am I the only person who has noticed this also??

The only one I still find strange is the fascination of some of the men and taking photos of trains.

Despite not being a custom, its also not unique to Japan. Trains and train fans go hand in hand together the world over.

And from another perspective, its also not particularly strange for photographers to specialize in one subject, say trains, or insects, or travel photography... ;)

Good point. Train spotters can be found in any country, but it seems to be much more popular here. I am trying to work out if its just more people pet square km, people are more interested in trains, its more socially accepted than in the west or a combination of these factors. I still cannot remember travelling on a train at a weekend and not seeing people taking photos.

I don't live there and I always take photos of trains when I go there. It's interesting to me and sure to be interesting to those who take the photos. I don't see what the big deal is. If you went to an airport, you'll see plane aficionados who take photos of planes.

I would not be surprised if the number of train fans in a country relates somewhat proportional to how prevalent trains are in that country.

Trains are very prevalent in Japan. Therefore, you have lots of train fans. The country where I am from - Switzerland - also has a dense, well served train network. I grew up surrounded by trains. All boys played with model trains. There were barely any boys not fascinated by trains. Hence, there are lots of train fans in my country as well. Some are organized in clubs who travel together through the country or even abroad just to see, ride and photograph trains.

But on the other hand, in a country where there are almost no (passenger) trains, it is only natural that you won't see many train fans.

I was born and raised in Europe, so I naturally used many trains since I was a child. I now live in Western Canada where we have very few passenger trains and no subways, so when I go to Japan and Europe I take lots of photos of trains, trams, subways..
Do YOU have trains in your home town?

My favorite train site on the internet is: http://www.denshaotaku365.com/

Please have a look!

I never knew there would be so many responses. One thing I should say is that I am guilty of taking the odd train photo but many people in Japan have it as their main hobby. For example, it is very common to have many people taking photos of trains at a local station for most of the weekend on the platform or by the side of the road with a tripod in country areas. In my home country, most kids like trains but tend to grow out of it as its seen as a kids hobby and not an adults one. What I guess I want to know is this passion more of a Japanese thing of doing what you want if it hurts no one, or is it just as common overseas. I have travelled to many countries but have never come across a hobby that seems as common as this one. On a sofe note, another interesting hobby in Japan is to travel great distances on a train and then get off at a station close to the firsy stop on another line, thud onlu costing 200 or so yen. Supposeably there are whole books showing different possible routes

I can only speak for Europe and the USA, but in both places there are numerous monthly magazines about trains that are made NOT for people that do not work for rail companies or train manufacturers but FOR people who take trains regularly and want to know all about technical details about trains.

Kids may like to look at trains, but it takes an adult to understand about how they are made, the differences between this and that engine, coaches etc.

By the same token there are lots of monthly magazines for cars fans--they too take photos of all sorts of cars, mostly cars that aren't average cars.. depending on their individual tastes (vintage cars are especially popular).

There are also lots of monthly magazines for planes fans, for boats fans, for architecture fans (mostly read by people that aren't architects o builders), for history fans, for food fans that will never make complicated recipes....

and the list goes on...

Frankly I am surprised by your surprise... you must be a very young person..

They are so-called Tet-chan, the Tet part being short for "tetsudou (railway) mania."

I guess it was natural for that hobby to become popular in Japan where both railways and cameras had been advanced and common for decades. Many high schools and universities have official club activities focusing on them, so it always had been easier for fans to collect information.

It's like Beatlemania, except that railways can't do world tours.

Hmm, I think you should talk to some of these photgraphers to understand what drives them. We can only speculate on the nature of their interest.

There is a quite senior and respected Judge who sits in my state who is said to be a trainspotter. And my wife loves the various trains, she is always keen to get a ride on the Nozomi each trip and wants to try the new shinkansen line with the western bidet toilets in it. We essentially arrange our journeys around the good trains, if we can.

Thanks for the constructive replies. I guess I did want to get into the head of one of these tet-chan members. Unfortunately my Japanese is limited so I guess I was hoping that one might be on this forum - you never know. One of my students you could call a tet[chan person, but his background which I cant talk much about limits this how much I can speak to him about it. All new staff and students are taken back by the strength of his passion, and many see it as highly odd if they have just moved to Japan. However, its common here thus my wanting to know more of the Japanese perspective.

mfedley,

Perhaps we were carried away by your word "customs," but if you're talking about the extremely unique weirdness of these people, you're on the right track (no pun intended) on becoming Japanese.

It's no secret that the majority of the Japanese find tet-chans to be someone you don't want to be. In other words, there are tons of locals who love trains, railways and photography (including myself, perhaps) but find tet-chans weird. These people would not merge with tet-chans moreover would become one. They would either discreetly share their hobby or become attached to trains in different ways (ie. simply ride them or at least don't carry around tripods).

Tet-chans are generally nerdy or geeky to say the least. Of course, the characteristics of this hobby makes them so, or should I say that the nerdier people are more fit for this hobby in which you turn into a sort of a walking encyclopedia of everything railways. And again, other fans avoid tet-chans, so eventually, tet-chans become this sort of a huge group of nerdy males.

But let us also keep in mind that there are many people who are openly tet-chans but are more social and normal. All in all, the majority of Japanese grow up living close to railway stations and tracks. It's one of the first entertainment you encounter in your life.

"Railways can't do world tours." Uco at her finest!

Thanks for your reply Uco. I think it's fair to say my general question has now been answered.