It’s already late January—time really flies. Before we say goodbye to the first month of 2025, I’d like to share one more scene from Tokyo’s railways during the New Year season.
Please take a look at the top photo. You can see a Tokyo Monorail train with a yellow plate on the front. This is trainset 10081 of the EMU Tokyo Monorail 10000 series, running along the Haneda Airport Line.
Let me briefly review the line. The Haneda Airport Line is a monorail route connecting downtown Tokyo with Tokyo International Airport (Haneda). It opened in 1964, making it the second-oldest monorail line in the Tokyo area. The 10000 series is the newest generation, consisting of six cars. Its body is made of aluminum and features bolsterless bogies. The trains are equipped with IGBT–VVVF (variable-frequency drive) control systems, and the green stripe above the windows adds a refreshing touch to their appearance.
The yellow front plate is especially eye-catching—it displays “2025” in a design inspired by snakes, as this year marks the Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac.
Meanwhile, the photo below shows trainset 10041 of the same series. Its body color has been restored to the original design used when the Haneda Airport Line first opened. On the front, it carries another type of plate celebrating the 2025 New Year.
In the background, you can spot the Tokyo Skytree, a 634-meter-tall broadcasting tower that stands about 14 kilometers northeast of the line. It’s well known as the tallest freestanding broadcasting tower in the world.
Trainset 10041 (foreground) and Tokyo Skytree (background)