OKAY YES this is absolutely asinine and I know it, but also it made me literally whoop out loud and scare my dog so here you go!

The fucking Toden, baby! Why yes, I AM an adorable tram(p) that roams suburban Arakawa, hurtling back and forth between Rocco's Pizza in Oji and my beloved dinky shitamachi neighborhood at mindbending speeds in excess of 13 km/h! I miss those days! I miss the incessant dinging noise. I miss the elderly passengers and their tiny overstimulated grandchildren and all the advertisements for enka singers and medical clinics. Constantly getting passed by mamacharis and loving every minute.

Most of my 10 years in Japan, including my time in Fukushima, I’ve lived near a Joban Line station. I’ve spend a looot of time making fun of it (the Slowban Line, the No-ban Line) and being inconvenienced by it (what should have been a 2.5-hour trip took eleven. full. hours. aaand that was because of “strong wind"). But at the end of the day, I know it is a good train line, that it is trying its best, and honestly, it is a really nice feeling to see this last stretch reopen. It is a nice feeling to hear names like Namie and Tomioka in a positive context. I hope it will bring the intended tourism and revitalization in the long run, even if travel is not very likely right at this moment.