Yamanote Halloween Train 2008?
With Halloween approaching, some of you are no doubt wondering about the Yamanote Halloween Train, an annual drinking party held on trains looping around downtown Tokyo. Last year’s explosion of 2-channel anger over the sight of drunk and rowdy foreigners in costume causing mayhem seems to have had an effect, since regular sources of information about the party no longer contain public postings about its time and date.
One Japanese blog has speculated that it will follow last year’s pattern, taking place on the Saturday night of the weekend before Halloween. If that is the case, costumed foreigners and their Japanese friends will meet at platform 13 inside Shinjuku station between 8 and 9 PM on October 25th (this Saturday). That seems like a reasonable prediction, since all the salarymen taking trains home on a Friday night would make it difficult to hold the party on the 31st.
Anyone out there got additional information?
Updates: Judging from a sudden increase in attempted submissions of hateful comments in Japanese and broken English, I can only assume that some Japanese blogs and possibly 2-channel have discovered this post. Not being able to read English or follow the links in this post, they seem to be assuming that Japan Probe is a participant/organizer of the Halloween party. Time to paste in the disclaimers from last year:
尚、ジャパン・プローブがこの企画の主催者及び後援者とは一切関係がない上、この企画に賛同するような発言も述べていない。この企画の存在をそのまま記載したにすぎないので、ご了承ください
And if you have information on when the party will happen and want to notify police about it, contact:
警視庁 03-3581-4321（代）
新宿警察署 03-3346-0110
渋谷警察署 03-3498-0110（代表）
新宿駅お客様相談室(鉄道警察) 03-3356-7505
More Updates:
Somebody claiming to be the official organizer of the party has posted information on it.
This Saturday
Oct. 25
9pm train
Shinjuku station
Yamanote line
Show up a few minutes early to make sure you get on the right train.
If you get confused at the station, just look for the hundreds of people in costume and follow the herd.The Halloween ride on the Yamanote line is possibly the most enjoyable part of the Halloween experience in Japan, and anyone looking to have some fun THIS Saturday, Oct. 25, join us at Shinjuku station for a ride on the 9pm train.
This is an event for both foreigners and Japanese people who are looking to have some Halloween fun. To add a little holiday spirit, most people wear some sort of a costume. This is a tradition that has been going on for years!
After the train ride, we will be attending a party at a club in Ikebukuro. Yes, there will be various parties at many different clubs in the Tokyo area this Saturday. You are free to join any of them you prefer. The Yamanote line is a circle, and we will be riding it from Shinjuku to Ikebukuro (the long way). If you would like to get off at any stop along the way, it is your choice.
We do not yet have the details for the party in Ikebukuro, this will likely be something that we hand out flyers for on the train.
I hope this clears up any of the confusion. See you on Saturday!
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Sounds like an amazingly fun experience. I wish I could be there, but I live in Michigan not Japan..
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It’s as embarrassing as those ultra-nationalist black vans that drive around: Loud, obnoxious, and selfish.
If they want to have a party, why not be civilized and rent out a warehouse where an event can take place instead of intentionally aggravating innocent commuters and destroying the image of foreign youth in Japan?
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1. Let the train fill up.
2. Let those inside the train sort themselves out into morons in some cars, normal people into others. If possible try to split the groups so that they are at opposite ends of the train.
3. Seal the doors on the moron-filled cars.
4. Drag those cars down to the docks, and load on the first container vessel out of Japan. Destination doesn’t matter, although the receiving country obviously needs a coastline and a good sense of humor. Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia – these will all work.
5. Bill the morons (or their next of kin) for the costs of the cars and transportation.
Problem solved!
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No, dump the carriages in the water. I really can’t stand these people.
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Yeah…they just sound like huge doinks. Halloween parties are fine, but having them on public transportation is just plain rude.
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Nah – North Korea. After Jenkins left, they need more idiots.
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I curse my skin upon seeing these baby-faced buffoons.
I mean, just look how ugly they are. That chick looks like my brother.
*Sicks up a little in mouth
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I have to say I’m against the whole Halloween train idea. Do they (foreigners) do this on trains in their home countries? If so, I haven’t heard of it. You’re not even allowed to eat or drink on trains here, and people actually follow that rule.
Yes, there are Japanese among the partygoers. So what? Considering that Halloween is a Western tradition, and the proportion of foreigners among the partygoers is much higher than their proportion in Japan’s general population, I think it’s obvious that the foreigners are behind it.
People like Samurai Dave need to realize that trains are for public transportation, not partying.
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Mmm.. sounds like fun, but just asking for JR to start busting down on this. These losers are going to get drinking on trains revoked! If I saw this, I’d definitely start complaining to the JR staff on board, or station master after disembarking. Come on you idiots, stop ruining Japan for us all, (if you like drinking in public, or drinking in a car while someone else is driving, or on the train, etc.)
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I just don’t see the point, everything else aside, it just doesn’t look like fun to me … maybe i’m getting old.
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I believe what you meant to say is “maybe I’ve grown up”.
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I hope they all fall onto the tracks.
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I was living in Japan last year at that time and at my company were a lot of other foreign interns who were participating in this event.
I was not really surprised about them participating because most of them were party people who went to Shibuya and Roppongi anyway on most weekends to spend 15000+ Yen each trip on getting into clubs and drinking. Still, I was very angry about them not thinking about what they are doing to other people who just want to use the train for transportation, the way it’s supposed to be used. ‘Having fun’ literally was the top priority for them and disturbing other people in the process seemed like a welcomed bonus to them.
This time, I’m not around but my girlfriend will have to use the train in evening, so she might encounter this year’s party group. While I didn’t hear anything about major injuries or accidents from last year’s party, I’m still very worried about her.
In my hometown there are train parties every now and then, maybe twice a year, but the people who organize it do this officially and in consultation with the train company. A special train just for partying is provided and people go funky mostly on this train only as far as I know (haven’t participated myself). I’d wish that something similar could be organized for the Yamanote line to keep the ruckus towards other people at a minimum.
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What JR East could consider doing is to set aside a couple of carriages on one train for the party (or even a whole train as it is off peak). Charge extra to the people wanting to use it as extra staff are required at the platforms, cleaning etc and then crack down on anyone partying on a separate train.
It will either be popular (but not cause major inconvenience) or because it is no longer “forbidden” soon end up being canceled.
Only problem is that maybe other people will want to do special events as well… hmm
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Why would anyone but drunken college aged kids from other countries want to have an event on the train? Trains are for shuttling people about town. This is the least attractive place to hold a “special event.”
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The thing is, there already are “party” trains – long tables in the cars, booths at either end, catering – that run between Shinjuku and, if memory serves, Hakone. Apparently they’re popular with large wedding parties.
Not the kind of thing Yamanote Halloween partygoers would have in mind, though, as the point is clearly to be obnoxious. You could toss in a different word at the end of that sentence, but it would die out right away without the dubious fun of bugging non-participating commuters or trying to shock non-participants. That it’s puerile and selfish is the raison d’etre.
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Impossible dude! Would you think JR would provide train for gaijins to party?
THe truth is that yamanote halloween is something that the police cannot do anything about. And the reason is that everyone who is in the trains HAS PAYED their tickets, which makes them normal CUSTOMERS!!!
THe fact that you are dressed up like a mummy or super-man or whatever doesn’t make it a crime or something to be punished. How about the HARAJUKU girls dressing awkwardly on a sunda afternoon inside the train? Crime?
People drinking inside the train, although it is frowned upon, it does not cosntitute a crime either. Otherwise the police has to arrest all the drunk salary man who drink inside the carriage. I have seen many doing that!
You may say, talking out loud disturbs other people… It is true… Including the high-schoolers who talk loud inside trains during the day time. And they are also in groups of 5 or 6. The difference is that we, halloween foreigners, are in a big number.
People doing crazy things inside the carriage like breaking things, climbing up to the baggage rest and etc… Yes, these ones are JERKS and should be arrested.
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Jerks happens to appear more in big groups. The more there is people in one group the lower the rationality of that group. The people there are not going to stop those jerks because they are part of them!
About this, if there was a bosozoku gang(biker gang) of more than 50 members hanging inside a train cart partying, they’d be alright to be loud, disturb other people around them? Fuck they could be stealing your stuff for their fun and none would stop them since they’re all having fun.
There’s a place and time for everything this isn’t part of them. Parties can me made in clubs for such times.
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Boo. We hate fun!
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You could always have someone dress up like Debito to make sure the party-goers aren’t kicked off the train in the name of discrimination.
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Or dressed up as Tama-chan the seal! Or maybe even dressed up as Debito dressed up as Tama-chan the seal!
(in best Max Smart voice) Would you believe a seal dressed up as Debito?
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How about “Boo, we hate douche bags.”? Seems to be a bit more fitting.
There is plenty of fun to be had elsewhere in Tokyo on Halloween.
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Oh great, I’m going to have to witness part of this since my friend and I are going to Shinjuku to drink all night.
I agree with the Japanese bloggers about this, and it’d be great if JR East cracks down it. They really do misrepresent foreigners here as assholes, and I know if I was coming home on the train from my job and some gaijin prick was being an ass on the train, I’d be angry too.
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Well, I don’t know for other places, but I know that in Paris (both in subways and trains), it’s quite common to see these kind of things in the subway:
- musicians, singers
- various “mobile art” performances
- parties (including locals and tourists) with or without alcool/music (for Halloween or various occasions)…
I used to enjoy the atmosphere in the public transportation system, and I clearly miss this idea that everything is possible (doing some art, meeting new people, singing, etc…). Japanese trains are nice (clean and punctual), but definitely for a Southern european, it feels quite sterilized (no life, no feeling, no diversity).
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Those performers are not spontaneous ones but have got official permission of the subway company. They have the card. reason why they’re pretty good over all.
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There are both authorized and non-authorized performances (sport events, new year, music day, 14th of July,etc…) in the Parisian public transportation system (I know it first hand, I used it for many years). And I never heard of any police intervention there.
There are authorized performers in the subway stations, but they are not allowed (theoretically) to play inside the trains.
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please, not again. when will they grow up? it is just not nice to do this kind of thing anywhere.
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I don’t see the big deal, since it only happens once a year.
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Yuck. I’m glad I was never so immature as to even vaguely want to participate in this.
Trains are packed, smelly, and dirty as it is. Who would want to spend more time on them that they don’t have to?
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someone should round up a couple hundred foreigners to go there and chant “GO HOME, GO HOME”
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It’s funny, one new years I was in Shibuya. All these people (mostly Japanese, not that it matters, but just saying) were chilling waiting for the count down, and the police come out and are all like, “No party here. Go home.” Needless to say, the party continued.
Maybe since I’ve never seen this, just seems like something is perfectly fine to do, like the above situation. It might be too big though and need to get out of sight of “normal” society. Like Burning Man. They should do the Gunma Party Train and just take the train up to some really remote 温泉街.
Anyway, if I was in Japan, I’d bring my camera and go in the interest of the media! Journalism must be served!
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People start to get worried when the Burning Man suddenly shows up in the middle of your local highway interchange blocking the HOV lane.
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take this party to your guesthouses, douche bags.
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dont party in the train…party on the train tracks…please?
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just throw a party at your guesthouses, douchebags.
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Oh no… I was going to use the train (after work) at the predicited day. Maybe I should switch to some Tokyo Metro lines.
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Maybe the police will decide to pull a post-Akihabara and come out en masse to round up all the assholes who just *might* be carrying a dangerous instrument.
That’s at least one very good way for the Japanese police to earn back my respect and admiration.
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Bring out the Kidotai as well. Major Lulz.
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Having 2ch bitch about something is not reason enough to cancel it, they’re mostly harmless anyway. So I suppose the event will still be held this year?
It’s kinda expected that there wouldn’t be much information about it anyway, since the whole thing is basically just a circlejerk among a few people, who try to pass it off as a “tradition”.
Seriously though, holding a halloween party on a train line… wonder how smashed they were when they thought that one up?
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“Seriously though, holding a halloween party on a train line… wonder how smashed they were when they thought that one up?”
Japanese Sake is one Hellava Drink!!
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Wow, most of the posters above should remove the big stick they have poked up their butt and have a bit of fun.
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I wouldn’t call the resulting animosity against foreigners “fun” (eg: Japanese choosing not to sit next to gaijin on public transportation).
No one is again’st having a bit of fun. Just take it to a more appropriate venue.
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they do it for the lulz
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The 2 channel complainers are just jealous of free spirited foriegners.They are so uptight and afraid of what other people think of them. They live in an emotional shoe box and they don’t want other people to have the fun they are afraid to have. Too bad!
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There’s a difference between “having fun” and “being jackasses”.
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Just be glad they don’t do the fire ritual on the train.
NOW THAT would give the 2 channelers something to be nervous about.
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“The 2 channel complainers are just jealous of free spirited foriegners.”
Oh yes, we free-spirited foreigners love to pull this shit all the time in our own countries. I can remember explicitly the rush of joy I felt about my nation’s freedom the last time a bunch of boozed hooligans jumped on a bus in my own liberal little patch of the Anglosphere and waved their willies around in front of my wife. I felt like bursting out in song to John Stuart Mill.
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Perfect response.
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All you guys bad mouthing this shit need to calm the f**k down!
Come on, people! This is the friggin YAMANOTE LINE! Ya know? That train line where a new train comes every 2-5 minutes? If you see it happening and you don’t like it, then fuckin wait for the next one you stuck up bunch of whining-netizens-you
Japan needs to lighten the fuck up sometimes and get a good taste of reality for when the next
natural-disaster/war/terrorist act comes around, then people might realize, “wow, those stupid gaijin being drunk and disorderly on that train last weekend was nothing compared to that Earth Quake that destroyed my home and killed my family…”
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“Japan needs to lighten the fuck up”
“Japan” is lightened the fuck up about this. If this were any other nation the police would be busting skulls and taking names.
“then fuckin wait for the next one”
Oh yeah, it is like your right to vomit everywhere, shake your willy around and act like an arse when people are trying to get from a to b. Stupid me. I forgot.
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I don’t know where you come from but there’s noway the police would intervene in Europe for just a group of noisy partygoers in the trains… They have much more useful work to do (like fighting crime!).
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“A is not as bad as B. Therefore A is good.”
Brilliant! I suggest you look up “Relative Privation” sometime later.
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Uh, I’m afraid but it doesn’t seem fun at all. They all look like losers to me.
I just want them to go back to their country and do whatever they want or just rent somewhere and do the party.
It’s not really nice to have that kind of party in a public tranportation, I’d be so annoyed or puke in a train if I see them doing that near me!
Could it be an annual event? If so, I just want JR workers or other authorities to stop it by all means necessary..
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Reminds me of the late night busses I used to take home from my university, and as the bus progressed through the stops along the route, it exponentially got more and more packed with drunkies. Half-way through, the bus is packed like crazy and every one of them start singing “OLE OLE! OLE OLEEEEEE!”.
It was hilarious, but at the same time, there were times were it was just plain annoying.
At the same time, props to them for using public transportation as opposed to drinking and driving.
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To curtail this “problem” Japan should ban drinking outside and have extra police called in when this type of thing happens. I mean Koban police dont do much anyway, have them come in, and actually enforce the job.
This type of thing would never happen abroad because the police would enforce the law, club or taser people.
This happens in Japan because the everyone knows (japanese and gaijin) know that even if a bomb goes off the police wont do shit.
Everyone wants to see how far they can push the rules of society, either abroad or in Japan.
You see salary men passed out, puking on the train, chikan, upskirt photos, girls doing makeup, kids using keitai in the priority seating area, all techinically “bending” the rules, but no one cares. Its all in the name of ambiguity.
曖昧 aimai – ambiguous is a good word I learned today.
So if this thing is an actually problem, then the law should be enforced, not just the police wagging the finger.
happy halloween.
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No wonder Japanese refuse service to foreigners and put signs like “Japanese only”…
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Yeah, because it couldn’t be because of the language barrier or anything
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What’s interesting about the comments on posts about this event is that most commenters, on both sides of the fence, come off sounding rather… unconvincing, to say the least.
Personally, I think riding during the morning rush is probably more traumatic, violent, and has more rude people. And it happens every workday morning.
I would hope that JR will see this coming and allocate their burlier staff members (there must be some somewhere, right?) to the Y to make sure things don’t get out of hand, but asking to get the whole thing shut down is like asking to get your own rights revoked (eating and drinking aren’t banned outright—have you ever seen signs to this effect?—they are tolerated when done responsibly).
I’m glad they don’t party on the tracks themselves, though. That would actually hold up the trains, and cause considerable trouble to thousands of people, and no one wants to be responsible for that, right?
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“eating and drinking aren’t banned outright—have you ever seen signs to this effect?—they are tolerated when done responsibly”
California has laws prohibiting drinking in public. I don’t know if Japan does, but if it doesn’t already, hopefully it will soon after events like these!
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This won’t happen because Japanese like to get belligerent just as much if not more than these people do.
Besides, I don’t see why we should ruin everyone else’s daily lives just because one group of people who are far from the majority have a party once a year.
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Hopefully it won’t. If some people abuse a right, fix the people, don’t remove the right. All that does is give you more legal power to go after them, when simpler charges should be enough. The fact that it is possible to walk down a street swigging in Japan is a freedom valued by many.
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I believe the idea was that they would party on the tracks, and the conductor would pour on the steam when they came in sight.
The only problem would be getting the dents out of the train.
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You are a Sanguinary High Priest of the Blood Angels chapter.
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Yeah, I know. People seem to party on the tracks once a week or so here in Tokyo. Disrupts the timetable just a tad.
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IMO these people should ALL be arrested for public nuisance. It is completely beyond acceptable and yeah I know it makes me sound like a “party-pooper”.
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Put me in the camp that thinks everyone’s overreacting about this – especially the 2ch crowd.
Indeed, this train doesn’t get any more crowded than the morning trains where the white-glove patrol comes out. I’ve both been on the party train (wanted to see it at least once) and been the one shoved into the morning train by the glove guy and not had enough room to breathe let alone move, and I’d take the party train any day.
I say let them have their fun, but crack down hard on anyone who breaks public property/gets naked/crosses the line of decency.
For those of you looking to offer a safer advantage, there’s a company in Tokyo that rents out a London double-decker bus for parties in 2-hr segments, drinks provided. Sure it’s smaller scale, but still a whole bunch of fun!
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True, the 2ch crowd seems to be the most vocal about this, but to me it feels like the people who are for this party are using the strong reactions from 2ch as a scapegoat to hide the fact that the majority of people (judging from the comments here) in general find this to be obnoxious and unnecessary, regardless of whether one posts in some anonymous online BBS.
There may be a xenophobic streak from 2ch that would feed to the already present animosity, but that has nothing to do with the fact that these partygoers are jackasses.
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See, I don’t really think they’re all jackasses… is it too much of a stretch for you guys to believe that this is just like many other things in this world where maybe half to most of the people that show up are just having fun while a handful of jackkovs get stupid and crazy and make the rest of them look bad?
And to those that say we should ban public drinking, or ban this or that because of a handful of unruly foreigners, I say that I’ve had to wait while the station guys cleaned up the spew stains *off a seat cushion* on the Toyoko line on last train and passed not one but *two* salarymen puking in different parts of the same platform at another station before.
Japanese people love to get belligerent as much as if not more than most foreigners here and probably wouldn’t react well to any curtailing on their drinking habits, whether public or otherwise… which is another reason I find it so odd that the 2ch-ers in particular are so vocal about this.
I’ve seen drink-related train delays before, put up with overly vocal drunken salarymen on trains, dodged puke puddles and overdrinkers passed out on platforms and these are all Japanese people. If you want to say that people drink to much in general, or that public drinking is bad then ok, but be consistent – if they can be stupid drunk 365 days of the year, then 1 hour on 1 day on 1 train, regardless of what line it is, doesn’t really stand out to me.
Like I said, take out the violent people breaking stuff and stripping, and you pretty much have any other Saturday night on the train, just with costumes. Give blame where blame is due.
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Well put
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You can phrase it however you want, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is a premeditated (if that’s too much a loaded word, “pre-planned”) act of unpleasant behavior. If I did find some individual online declaring that he/she will get smashed in public and will probably puke all over the train seats this evening, I would tell this person to knock it off and try to stop him/her. In addition, I think I’d be fairly pissed if this person was planning to do it on my commute.
From your tone, I think I can safely assume that you find drunks to be at least an unfavorable presence on public transportation, Japanese or not.
…if that’s the case, why the hell are you endorsing not one or two — but a whole trainload of people to take part in the act??
“I find drunks to be troublesome but since everyone else does it, it’s okay for me to do so as well!” doesn’t sound in the least bit cogent to me.
Well if that WERE the case, I guess I wouldn’t care as much. But that hasn’t been the true in the past, eh?
…and this is a personal observation, but the 2ch crowd are the self-righteous bunch who typically call for draconian measures against “undesirables” like belligerent public drunks in any case.
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First off, the number of people that are commuting home from work at 8pm on a Saturday night, while not non-existent are certainly few and far between. The vast majority of people at this time on Yamanote would be there for recreational purposes and usually are not particularly in a hurry, or at least not to the point where being delayed 5 mins. by either the party or waiting for the next train would result in.
Second, as I said prior I think that the majority of the people on this train aren’t really worse than what I’ve seen on the trains any other weekend, but there were a handful that I would say were out of hand or crossed the line, and these are the people that sour the whole thing. Take them out of the equation and I don’t really think the party is that bad of an idea.
As for not liking drunks, I myself go out and drink, so usually whenever I’m seeing people going beyond their means I’m at least buzzed myself, so I just roll my eyes and turn up the ipod, sometimes giving a slight snicker. As long as they don’t puke ON me or something then live and let live since one day down the line I might be the one that needs a little forgiveness.
Oh, and I agree with you that the 2ch-ers go rather overboard with their reactions on pretty much anyone, but I would be interested to see how if at all it would change their reaction if it were, say a “Yankee” crowd instead of a largely foreign crowd.
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For those of you looking to offer a safer advantage, there’s a company in Tokyo that rents out a London double-decker bus for parties in 2-hr segments, drinks provided. Sure it’s smaller scale, but still a whole bunch of fun!
Any fellow Probers care to sign-up for a Tokyo bus party? Hopefully it will be more civilized than the Yamanote-Yahooligans.
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What kind of sub-human trash would defend drinking alcohol and parading around nude on public transportation? Moreover, who would find it entertaining?
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exaaaaaaaaaaaaaactly!! I totally agree with you.
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I’m the sad kind of person who would say something really negative about them right in this topic but then if i were in Japan would probably actually go and watch them engage in their festivities -.-
That being said, they are being real..stupid heads.
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Oh my gosh, some people having a party. How rude.
People partying outside and drinking alcohol does happen in other countries. It is possible to drink alcohol sensibly, have a good time and stop before losing control. If you want to point at people drinking too much alcohol in Japan then nationality is not an issue, you can find plenty of drunken Japanese people.
Talk about overreaction, some people talk about mayhem and violence – someone please post links to evidence of this behaviour. There are numerous videos of this party from previous years on YouTube but I’ve never seen one with violence. If you call a large crowd of people on a train “mayhem” then you can find “mayhem” on most central Tokyo lines on any weekend evening.
And for what it’s worth; Japan is bigger than Tokyo and the Yamanote line. Most Japanese people have not heard of this halloween party and will not be judging foreigners by it.
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Some drunk people take the train to get home. That’s not a problem. The people who participate in this event intentionally hijack the train as a large group. Big difference there.
The problem isn’t limited to foreigners. ヤンキー do the same idiotic stuff, but in smaller groups. This yamanote event is as annoying as a bunch of bleach-punch-permed 17-year-olds with their modified-muffler crotch-rockets disturbing the peace at 4 a.m. They’re inconsiderate, and this event is to the same degree. They can’t or won’t acknowledge anything outside of their own narrow little world, and they take “freedom” to mean “the right to be an ass”. I think Oliver Holmes said it best with, “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.”
Can you find us one event similar to this that Japanese as foreign guests in another country have held? I’m not claiming that there haven’t been any, but I can’t seem to locate any information on them.
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That’s funny because in the videos I have seen on YouTube there are usually some Japanese people in the background who are not connected to the party. There is no hijacking going on; do they force people on or off the train ? No. Do they force the driver to change where he stops ? No. If these things did happen then JR and the police would have shut this event down long ago.
If it was such a big outrage as you describe then JR would simply put up a big sign saying “NO HALLOWEEN PARTIES” and employ a few extra security people to stop anyone in fancy dress getting on a train.
That’s totally irrelevant. If it’s legal you can do it. In any country. If a group of Japanese people want to have a Tanabata train party on the Paris Metro I can’t see a problem with that as long as it’s legel.
Being inconsiderate is not illegal.
I dispute your use of the phrase “foreign guests”. Most of those people are not tourists, if you pay taxes then you should have more rights than a mere visitor passing by. Just like I might pay an entry fee at a bar you can’t deny me my right to enjoy myself.
I realise that as a foreigner I don’t have the right to stay in Japan, I have permission. But even using your classification, you can’t expect guests to sit down in the corner quietly and pretend not to exist.
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There’s just one magnificent spotlight shining on a single sentence, overshadowing everything else you typed:
You’ve pretty much expressed the most immature stance on the issue, and it’s the stance that most of the attendees take, which is the problem.
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Please look at the pictures in the beginning of the article and then review your argument.
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Same o’ Lame o’ excuse coming from the supporters like last year.
“Well, Japanese get drunk on trains, too”.
“What about these drunken salary man??”
“He is doing it too!!”
The last one is a common excuse often used by a 6 year old.
But then again, maybe that’s what these supporters are.
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Though a Japanese is gentle and is not readily angry, I do not know it even if murdered because I go berserk explosively when I go beyond the limit. Usually stop being in danger guys as much as it is quiet, and it is time.
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脅迫もエキサイト翻訳レベルの英語も痛いだけだからやめとけってｗ
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Cheese bouncing happy I hum with silly.
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There will be a large party at one of the clubs in Ikebukuro. There will be flyers posted at the station. The plan is for everyone to gather at Shinjuku station in order to board the 9pm Yamanote train headed for Shibuya, Ebisu, and Shinagawa. We will of course pick up some friends along the way. In total, we will travel most of the Yamanote line enroute to our destination. We look forward to seeing you all there.
Don’t let all the negative talk get you down. We will have just as much fun this year as we did last year… and the year before that. After all, fun is what Halloween is all about!
9pm Shinjuku station
Yamanote line
Cheers!
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The Tokyo train network is amazing. The other day I saw a guy vomit on about 6 people in a packed Keio train and no one batted an eye, then I got off and bought some fresh bagels. On the next line I watched a video of Aida Mitsuo poetry on a train where each advertisement (about 70) were for Canadian tourism. I think the Halloween train this year will be crazy. Will the troves of anti people leave the internet?
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One hopes that you have the ability to infer a certain conclusion from the fact that there are “troves”.
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This Saturday
Oct. 25
9pm train
Shinjuku station
Yamanote line
Show up a few minutes early to make sure you get on the right train.
If you get confused at the station, just look for the hundreds of people in costume and follow the herd.
The Halloween ride on the Yamanote line is possibly the most enjoyable part of the Halloween experience in Japan, and anyone looking to have some fun THIS Saturday, Oct. 25, join us at Shinjuku station for a ride on the 9pm train.
This is an event for both foreigners and Japanese people who are looking to have some Halloween fun. To add a little holiday spirit, most people wear some sort of a costume. This is a tradition that has been going on for years!
After the train ride, we will be attending a party at a club in Ikebukuro. Yes, there will be various parties at many different clubs in the Tokyo area this Saturday. You are free to join any of them you prefer. The Yamanote line is a circle, and we will be riding it from Shinjuku to Ikebukuro (the long way). If you would like to get off at any stop along the way, it is your choice.
We do not yet have the details for the party in Ikebukuro, this will likely be something that we hand out flyers for on the train.
I hope this clears up any of the confusion. See you on Saturday!
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why don’t u guys do the party thing in your house…?
Is there any reasons that u guys have to do that in train?
Halloween is not Japanese culture.
and train is a public transportation system.
Plz do it in your house. Don’t be assholes.
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Ah, but Halloween is becoming quite popular over here regardless. Look at Loft, Tokyu Hands, etc… with their halloween decorations and outfits. Many of the participants of the event are Japanese. Check out the various videos and see for yourself.
The reason it’s done on the Yamanote is quite simple – it’s a circular line that generally doesn’t stop. No one is going to party on a line that goes out to BFE. It’s a bit of mischief that is in keeping with both the Halloween spirit and the Japanese matsuri spirit hence why many Japanese join every year.
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Seriously, who the fuck would enjoy a party on a train?
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2ch’s response is xenophobic (read the comments on their forum about it, they’re racist). The party goers damaged the train last year so I don’t think they should do it again, unless they can curtail the craziness. Also, btw, there were Japanese friends mixed in with foreigners last year. 2ch needs to chill with the racism.
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I saw a big sign posted on at Shinjuku Station this evening threatening arrest for people who hold parties on the platform/train. I wasn’t paying attention last year so I’m not sure if that’s just what JR does every year, but it seems like they’re going to at least try to crack down.
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As long as nobody breaks the law (i.e. drops their pants or damages property), no legal action can be taken against a group of people meeting in a station, regardless of what they are wearing. Threats against the Yamanote gathering are just that, threats.
If there are any signs, they are most likely the product of racists 2chers. There is no legal grounds for arresting foreigners in a train station. Trust me, that would be the last thing Japan wants in the international headlines, “10 Canadians Arrested for wearing a Halloween Costume in Japan.”
I don’t thinks so…
Nice try though.
Everybody will enjoy themselves in a respectful and responsible manner this year, and the polemicists will have to find some other event to focus on.
Note, most of the people who are expressing their discontent over this event are not people who would actually be riding the train at the time of the Yamanote Halloween ride. They are just angry individuals who have found a place to voice their narrow views.
The majority of Japanese people do not shared their twisted views on foreigners.
Let’s have a respectful gathering, and refrain from engaging in any illegal activities. That is all the Authorities ask, and it is not unreasonable.
See you on the train.
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What bad advice you give. If someone gets arrested, will you act as the 責任?
The Japan Railways Group consists of private companies that have the right to refuse you service. If you don’t abide by their rules, they have the right to ask you to leave. If you refuse to leave, they have the right to request police intervention.
There is nothing wrong with a group of commuters meeting and riding together, but I’m sure they have rules against organized events convening on trains. You are paying them for a transportation service, not a venue. And there is enough evidence already to prove that this is an organized event. For one, your posts here.
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I wouldn’t have as big of a problem as I do now if that were the case. I’d still be mildly annoyed, but that would be it.
But history has shown time and again, that’s not the case, and it’s not reasonable to assume the same thing will happen again based on past examples when there’s no evidence that measures have been taken by the organizers to prevent illegal activities in the future.
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This event has been going on what now? for over 20 years now? And now there is this panties-in-a-knot self-righteous rage over it? This is the problem with the internet and the old adage – a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Most of the 2chan xenophobic otaku and the gajin suck-ups who worry this will tarnish their sterling reputations would never have heard about it in the first place if it weren’t for Youtube and the like. They act all high-n-mighty condemning it based on some youtube videos shot from cellphones when they’ve never experience it firsthand.
My advice – if you don’t like the event, don’t get yourself worked up about it. It’s been going on for years and it will continue to go on for years with or without your support so go do something more constructive with your time like walk your imaginary dog or masterbate to hentai.
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Why don’t you guys get out of Japan and do the bullshit plan in your fuckin county, dumn ass foreigners!!!
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“But history has shown time and again, that’s not the case, and it’s not reasonable to assume the same thing will happen again based on past examples when there’s no evidence that measures have been taken by the organizers to prevent illegal activities in the future.”
My dear helicat what do you know about past examples? Have you been to any of these events? What illegal activities have been committed?
*Drinking is NOT illegal in public nor on trains.
*Riding a train in costume is NOT illegal as cosplay people do it to and from Akihabara and Harajuku.
*Gatherings are NOT illegal in that you often have groups of inebriated salarymen crowded together after a nightly drinking session.
I’ve been to three events and never have I seen any harrasment of other passengers – we just left them alone or shared our alcohol and snacks thereby often swelling our ranks. I’ve never seen any vomit which I cannot say for any given Friday/Saturday night. We even cleaned up afterwards though there wasn’t much to clean up since most people just brought one or two drinks which most them deposited in the recycle bins on exiting.
Many of the naysayers are stay-at-homes who are just overimagining the “horrors” of a rather tame event and feeling that unnecessary embarrassment that somewhere at sometime some foriegner is doing something that will make the naysayer look bad in connection.
Again it would be best if you just didn’t worry about it.
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I can’t tell if you’re just ignoring facts trying to play it down or are really truly oblivious.
Quoting TheOfficialPartyInfo,
If it’s just a dozen or so people in costume in a train, I wouldn’t give a damn. Drinking isn’t much of a problem either, though it would be considerate to refrain as much as possible. More to do with manners than any law.
So here’s the things I have an issue with:
1) Using a major commuting venue for partying. That’s not what it was intended for and it’s just plain inconderate, rude, and annoying in itself. You cite examples of salarymen but are they holding the party ON the train, or are they just using it as a mode of transportation?
2) I’ve seen the videos of people breaking things in the train. That’s destruction of property in case you didn’t know.
3) The intimidation factor of just the presence of a huge crowd of costumed foreigners packed into a train. You don’t have to talk to people directly to be intimidating. As open as Japan has become in the recent years, it’s not yet THAT enlightened yet, and I’m not even sure if that’s the issue anyways, as I’ve written below.
4) The whole “we’re-just-having-fun-what’s-wrong-with-you” attitude these attendees have, oblivious to how others perceive them is just … grating to me. Nobody is obligated to enjoy or accept your disruptive behavior, just because you yourself are having fun.
Maybe it’s just a cultural difference of what the perception of “acceptable behavior” in a public space is between a Japanese crowd and more a western bunch. I often notice that the most loudest people talking amongst each other on trains are foreigners for some reason. Although Japanese myself, I was born in North America and lived there for more than 20 years so it’s not just the “unfamiliar language” thing.
But in any case, it’s my opinion that a large rowdy group partying on a train in costume is pretty much stepping over the bounds of what acceptable behavior is in Japanese society.
I don’t want to get too much into this discussion and I’m not saying which is better, but I feel Western (American) society is more of the common value that as long people don’t explicitly infringe on my basic rights, then one should accept whatever people do and that is what freedom is, whereas Japanese society one is expected (to a greater level) to present yourself in the most pleasant manner in public and people will do likewise, making it most enjoyable for all parties.
So, it’s not really the legality issue that I have a problem with (even though people like to jump on that saying this party is not illegal), but just the bad manners and the overall abuse of the system which has lax rules based on the assumption that people would act sensibly by themselves without being told so explicitly.
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I should add that the cultural tendencies toward public behavior is just an overall observation based on my personal experience and bias, as there are plenty of people to the contrary who enjoy the festivities every year.
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In short, helical is saying that you’re ethnocentric, mountainsoutofmolehills.
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I hate you.
There are many businessmen and women in Tokyo,
who are working weekend. They want to go home as soon as possible.
I hate you.
I do hope my boyfriend can come home thru Shinjuku safely tonight.
I hate you.
You don’t have any right to disturb our little happiness to spend
nice weekend in our homeland.
I hate you.
You were guests,
but after this incidents we don’t recognize you as guests.
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Note from admin Please learn proper use of the Blockquote html tag.
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must be hard for you to live and tolerate with all the crazy ppl
(yeah we walk around w/ knives equipd)
you sound kinda racist bullshitting as if all japanez were crazy.
well you flew here by ur own decision, it is your DUTY to adopt and get along with the public. thats what you are EXPECTEDto.
youd be better off HOME not on this boring island. BETTER BE HOME u HOMMIE
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How about London?
Knife killing everywhere, gang with guns killing kids every week, rapist and pedophile.
Nothing comparable to Tokyo.
Consider express yourself in Japanese, if you are speaking to Japanese people, then you will have better understanding about Japanese culture.
Can you say ‘hate’ ‘dislike’ ‘disagree’ in Japanese?
Finger print and tax, in UK foreign nationals had to report police station every time they move their home, paying very expensive tax with no social security.
Had to make long quewe like animal to apply for residence permit outside police station at 7 in the morning.
Not much different, in my view.
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In Japan everyone has to report to the city office when they move. This doesn’t seem a lot different.
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FUCK!!
I was there today and NOBODY came! Only 5 foreigners were there! Where were all of you tonight?!
I was at platform number 15 of Shinjuku Station, which is Yamanote Line train bound for Ikebukoro.
And I’ve never seen SO MUCH policeman in Japan in my life!! Looks like they were EVERYWHERE!!!
But what da fuck?! Where were all the people in costumes?!
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you were a little late
well, you may have one more chance.
i’ve heard some people thinking of gathering at shinjuku station yamanote line platform at 21:00 tomorrow 10/31 night and then moving to shibuya and take a bus for Ageha, tokyo’s biggest club, where entrance free with costume.
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party at your homes dumbass, NOT IN PUBLIC.
we dont celebrate halloween here, period
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If you ask JR properly(book a train early enough + paying money), they will happily prepare a special party train which is off limits to public just for that as long as u don’t break things inside.
JR did have some party train long time ago for just that purpose. Do whatever you want on that, not a public one.
This event doesn’t need to be ended up with a big hammer named “gov’t efforts”.
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First off, in Japan they don’t cerebrate Halloween, thats not their culture, AT ALL.
These foreign nationals are just exploiting the fact that Japanese uneducated young people are blindly following whatever those gaijins do.
I am also very sick of these silly Japanese young people with colonized spirit not knowing how to cerebrate their own culture.
Shame on both of you guys.
I can see there is very sad power relationship between Western countries and Japan behind this.
These ignorant foreign nationals and the Japanese young people don’t notice this, sadly.
Do you do this in London?
No, not this far.
Why?
You know the answer, don’t you!?
Then, don’t do it in other country especially where the people don’t cerebrate it.
Japanese hate these events that bother other people.
There are some people who enjoy watching this event but remember, they just don’t have anything better things to do, that’s all, not because they like Halloween.
I wish armed police or army will watch out for this event very soon.
Remember, UK hooligans were targeted by Belgian police water canon during World cup football a few years back – good job.
Catch them and send them back to their own nest.
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