Train fans behaving badly in Japan - 15th April 2022

Japan's railways are well-known, with train fans outside as well as inside the country. Its trains are famous for being reliable and for their modern technology. In Japan, trainspotting is a popular hobby. Most behave well. But now one small group is different.

These are 'toritetsu' or train photographers. These fans are all trying to take the best train pictures. The competition means there are sometimes arguments or fights.

Trainspotter Tsutomu Okawa is disappointed with some fans' terrible behaviour.

Tsutomu Okawa: "I hear some fanatic train fans went overboard and even stopped a train. It's too much, too heated. Train companies have also had to give warnings that some fans' behaviours may be dangerous. I myself want to show train operators that some fans like me are well aware of safety when taking pictures. In that way, I want to remove the impression that the 'toritetsu' fans are notorious."

In Japan, there are about five million train lovers. They watch or ride trains. Sometimes they collect the beautiful train station lunches.

70 year old Masao Oda's been a trainspotter for years. He's also tired of the way some fans are behaving.

Masao Oda: "The number of train fans has increased since digital cameras became mainstream. Now anyone can take train photos with a digital camera. People flock to a place like this more casually, not like before when we had to get a position very early in the morning. And we have better tripods too. Now we are banned from using ladder steps or tripods at a platform. The manners have gotten worse for sure."

Many railway companies are now stopping trainspotters from getting onto the train tracks. But the enormous East Japan Railway has a different solution. It's using the photos which the toritetsu take. By putting them on social media, they hope to create a fan community to encourage better behaviour.