The other day, I headed to Shinjuku to take care of some personal business. When I arrived at my nearest station on the Odakyu Line, I immediately noticed something unusual. Many passengers were standing around the concourse, looking puzzled. Was something wrong?
When I looked up at the platform display, I finally understood the reason. Please take a look at the top photo. The trains were heavily delayed. It was already past 11 o’clock, yet the train scheduled to leave at 9:43 had not even arrived at the station. To make matters worse, the next train’s destination wasn’t Shinjuku but Kyodo — just one station away. Due to a signal system malfunction, train service between Kyodo Station and Shinjuku Terminal had been suspended.
But please don’t worry — railfans are always optimistic! I’m one of them, too. I quickly changed my mindset and decided to make the best of the situation. First, I took a photo of the platform display showing the rare destination “Kyodo.” Then I moved on to Kyodo Station, looking for more unusual scenes. Please take a look at the photo below. It might look ordinary at first glance — an Odakyu 3000 series EMU running on the track — but for me, it was a little treasure. The train was switching from the express track (on the left) to the local track (on the right), a sight I rarely see at this station.
I couldn’t finish my personal business as planned that day, but I was satisfied — after all, I got to witness some rare and fascinating railway scenes.
