Posts Tagged ‘Tobu Kameido-Line’
Rape Blossoms by The Railway Tracks
Contributed by yellowlibra, 30/03/2010 at 11:34 The Tobu Kameido line, which I’m greatly indebted to. A one man operation (OMO), double-carriage train that runs in 10-minute intervals. A local line that takes its own time shuttling back and forth between Kameido and Hikifune. A rail service whose vibe, unlike the likes of JR and the subway, evokes an immediate sense of familiarity among its passengers. High-schoolers on their way to and from school; the slightly oversized plushies dangling from their cellphones have a soothing effect on me. Housewives, children in tow, heading home after their grocery runs; salarymen, worn out by sundown. In this train with but two carriages, I get a glimpse of the lives of the people living close to me, just like that. Seeing how the pleasant weather had made a rare appearance today after so long, I walked to the station alongside the railway lines. As my eyes fell on the rail track near the crossing, my thought turned to the rape blossoms that I always admire from the train. I stopped by and looked over the fence. “Oh, yes. They’re blooming alright,” I thought to myself. But you know what? As much as I would love to stare at them forever, I prefer the sudden, brief cheer brought on by a fleeting glance of yellow, as a rape blossom field whizzes by. Rape blossoms disappearing into the distance from the window of a swaying train. That’s my favorite spring-time scenery.
