Welcome Aboard - Beyond Yokosuka: Discovering Tokyo's Hidden Gems Through Stamp Collecting

Photo By Taylor Ardito | CHICHIBU, Japan (December 28, 2023) - A Seibu Railway conductor inspects the exterior of a Lavie Red Arrow Limited Express train while it is parked at Seibu-Chichibu Station. Located in the mountains to the West of Tokyo, the station is one of the locations required for the 2023-24 Tokyo Stamp Rally Event. Train stamp collecting is a hobby across Japan and anyone can participate in the event. One of the featured lines for the event is the Keikyu Line, the train line most commonly used by personnel assigned to Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) due to the proximity of the stations near the base. Jimmuji Station, the closest station used by Sailors living in the Ikego Housing area, is one of the stations that have a custom event stamp. For more than 75 years, CFAY has provided, maintained, and operated base facilities and services in support of the U.S. 7th Fleet's forward-deployed naval forces, tenant commands, and thousands of military and civilian personnel and their families. (U.S. Navy photo by Taylor Ardito)  

YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JAPAN

02.02.2024

Story by Taylor Ardito 

Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka

Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) is an installation that has a wide range of fun activities to take advantage of during free time, but once you step beyond the gate, you enter a world of seemingly endless possibilities. From hiking picturesque dormant volcanoes to riding go-karts through the bustling streets of Tokyo, Japan has something for everyone to enjoy.

Stamp collecting is one popular hobby in Japan for those who like to travel, explore, and enjoy a challenge. Stamp collecting allows enthusiasts to document their travels as they explore the country while participating in a popular Japanese tradition. The hobby consists of finding the location of various custom stamps and then stamping them in a collector’s book. Stamp collectors attempt to collect stamps from a specific theme to get all of them. There is a wide range of stamp-collecting theme locations, from post offices, shrines, castles, and train stations.

Train stamps, also known as eki stamps in Japan, appeal to both stamp-collecting communities and train enthusiasts. People around the country travel far and wide from station to station, collecting unique ink stamps representing individual train stations.

Japanese trains and stamps have become popular due to Japan's vast and efficient train network. Railroad tracks span cities across Japan, connecting them with the Shinkansen bullet train network. The Tokyo area alone has 179 stations and an average of 6.84 million daily users.

Several different rail companies across the nation operate Japanese train lines. In an effort to compete with each other and encourage people to visit the less busy stations, many rail companies began adding unique aspects to their brand. Some companies have signature trains like the Hello Kitty Bullet Train, while others have created collecting cards to appease their customer base. These unique marketing campaigns have added to the popularity of Japanese trains and collecting their stamps.

Once a year, 10 rail companies in Tokyo come together to offer a Stamp Rally event. The event is 10 weeks long, and people have the opportunity to collect a total of 20 unique limited-time ink stamps from across the Tokyo metro area. Participants attempt to collect two stamps from two designated stations for each of the 10 companies. After collecting two stamps from one company, the participant takes their Stamp Rally book to an authorized hobby train store so the stamps can be verified. Then, the participant is given limited-issue train stickers from that company. If a participant collects all 20 stamps and all 10 limited-issue stickers, they are entered into a raffle where 10 people are selected to receive a gift from one of the rail companies.

The location of stations for the Stamp Rally is all across Tokyo, bringing the participants to the far outskirts of the city and the little nooks and crannies of the less traveled areas. With so many places to go in such a large area, the event is similar to a large-scale scavenger hunt where planning becomes critical.

I stumbled across the rally book at my local station on my way to work and was instantly intrigued. The pictures of trains on the cover caught my eye as I walked past the shelves of pamphlets, tourist information, and advertisements that I usually ignore on my routine commute. When I picked up the book and looked at the pictures, I wondered how much fun this quest would be. Little did I know I was embarking on a complex adventure that is geared towards the experienced Japanese stamp collector and train enthusiast.

A few days later, I sat down to examine the book fully, using my phone to translate the characters into English to find some of the stations on a map. After a bit of translating, plotting some points, and taking notes, I fully realized the extent of the challenge. I spent hours plotting all the points and creating a route plan, gathering information for my journey to the far corners of one of the most significant metropolitan areas in the world. My plan was simple: split the city into three sections and attempt to accomplish one section per day.

I gathered my rally book, which was now full of handwritten notes, translations, and maps. I packed a bag with supplies, grabbed my camera and notepad, and set off on a mission to document the experience of being an adventurer within my own city.

I set out from Yokosuka shortly after sunset on the first day, heading for my first and furthest point, Seibu-Chichibu Station, a beautiful station 3 hours away from Yokosuka that's nestled away in the countryside mountains to the West of the city.

I have always been interested in trains and their lines, but I set out on this journey with an explorer’s mindset to see parts of Japan I have never seen, not caring so much about the trains themselves. If anything, I was interested in the massive amounts of planning, coordination, and infrastructure it takes to maintain the modern marvel of the Tokyo Metro system. I always needed to understand the fascination with trains that true enthusiasts have.

At Seibu-Chichibu Station, I began to understand why some people are so intrigued with trains. I got off the train, looking around with one thing in mind, "where is the stamp." Standing on the platform, I noticed some people walking towards the front of the train, where several parents with their children were taking photos of the train. I did not realize that I spent the last hour on the Laview Red Arrow Limited Express, a uniquely designed train that debuted in 2019 as the new flagship for the Seibu Railway Company. The young children were full of excitement to see the train up close from the outside as it stayed parked at the last stop of the line. In turn, the parents were equally excited to see the pure joy pouring out of these children. Trains and stamp collecting are hobbies that can bring a family together, a group activity that all can enjoy.

After I got my stamp from the front of the station, I headed back to take some pictures of the train after the crowd had cleared. The conductor noticed me taking photos and approached me with a gift. He handed me a trading card with a picture of the same train I was photographing. In my broken Japanese, I thanked him and told him I traveled far up into the mountains strictly for the stamp. He seemed pleased that I took an interest in the hobby and told me to wait a moment while he searched through his standard-issue waist pack. I waited patiently and confused until he took out and handed me a stack of cards, each with a picture of a different train. He had brought me deeper into the hobby by introducing me to train cards. The pleasant interaction had initiated a side quest on my journey, train card collecting.

I finished two of the 10 lines on the first day and collected some more cards along the way. I went back home to process some of my photos and prepare for the second day of my adventure.

I covered a lot of ground on the second day, starting from Yokosuka, going to Narita, and then making about a dozen stops along the northern and central parts of the city. I collected eight stamps and went to three hobby train stores. From electric model trains to train-themed action figures, these stores have everything for a train enthusiast. After going to five hobby stores in two days, I noticed a trend: all the stores were always packed with customers. Kids and their parents buying Shinkansen toys, grown men navigating their electric model trains on an interactive railroad replica spread across a massive table, and collectors verifying stamps crowd narrow aisles of the stores. The stores were always filled with customers regardless of location or time of day. I began to see how popular hobby trains are in Japan and the different approaches to getting involved in the train culture. At one of the stores, I bought a train-themed folder to not only better organize my notes and maps but to feel a little more connected to those who are fully invested in the hobby I was just starting to understand and enjoy.

On the third day, I left early in the morning, knowing full well I was behind schedule and had a long day ahead of me. I started out by heading towards Ikego to collect the first stamp of the day at Jimmuji Station. From there, the voyage turned into a hectic endeavor, going from station to station, train to train, and constantly transferring from line to line. I ran through stations collecting stamps and catching trains with no time to spare. Each transfer was a frantic dash to keep schedule as I searched for the right trains and platforms; every point I needed to go to required two or three transfers on a never-ending loop. The stations were a blur, and all started to look the same in my mind. I had been to so many that they had all blended together into one unidentifiable part of my memory. The only time I had to relax and think was when I was riding on the trains.

My spirits began to lift in the evening as I approached the end of my journey. I would look out the window on every train I was on, taking in the vast city from the views on the elevated tracks. Each line had a different view of the city, each unique in its own way. The moments of high stress traveling through the stations were interlaced with a calm feeling of awe as I looked out of the train windows and marveled at the sights, trying to grasp how massive Tokyo is. There are so many people, history and culture, dozens of big urban sprawls, hundreds of suburbs and unique neighborhoods, and so many lives living together across a single vast distance, all connected by one train network.

After three long days of collecting train stamps all over Tokyo, visiting dozens of train stations far and wide, and riding 29 different train lines connected through controlled chaos, I fully understand the fascination with trains and the desire to document travels across them.

• Date Taken: 02.02.2024
• Date Posted: 02.05.2024 05:01
• Story ID: 463141
• Location: YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP