Are there any slangs that only rail-fans can understand in your country? In Japan, yes there are. For example, I have already introduced “hansha-tetsu” that means a rail fan who loves reflection images of trains, in this blog. Today, I’m going to introduce another slang, “yami-tetsu”. Yami-tetsu means a rail fan who loves train photos taken in the dark. Actually, I'm also a yami-tetsu beginner.
One picture is worth a thousand words. Please look at the top photo. This is the easiest image shot by a yami-tetsu. You can see a red-colored mystical train, the EMU Tokyo Metro 2000 series, which stands out against the darkness. Actually, this “simple” photo was taken by “thinking outside the box”. The gimmick is as follows. The 2000 series is a subway train. As I posted before, subway trains are annoying for rail-photo lovers. The major problem is its dark environment on the underground track. In that regard, Yotsuya station is OK, as it's exceptionally located on the ground. It’s bright and idealized to shoot trains during daytime. Even so, I went out of my way to shoot it in the dark evening, and unexpectedly shot a mystical image.
Another example is the photo below. It was taken on the underground track in Shinyokohama station yard. This spot is one of my recommended spots for yami-tetsu rail fans as the tunnel is illuminated by colorful lights. I could shoot a mystical image of the EMU Tokyo Metro 9000 series directly operated onto the Tokyu line.
Yami-tetsu… it seems quite profound.
