Few participate in 2008 Yamanote Halloween Train
By most accounts, last night’s Yamanote Halloween Train party was sparsely attended. One reader who showed up for the party at the time reported on GaijinPot and this site wrote the following:
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!!!
Comments I’ve seen on 2-channel reported a total turnout of between 6 and 17 people. It’s possible that curious 2-channelers with cameras may have actually outnumbered the party-goers.
Pictures and video posted on Yahoo and YouTube show that there may have been another Halloween Party on the Yamanote Line last night, but it was also sparsely attended. The few people shown in the video and photographs do not appear to be engaging in rowdy idiotic behavior.
Here are several possible explanations for the decline of the Yamanote Halloween Train:
- The warning signs put up by JR and the police actually an effective deterrent.
- Warning faxes sent to English schools by the police may have convinced some English teachers that it would not be a good idea to take part in the party.
- Last year’s negative reaction to the party convince people not to participate in this year’s event.
- Would-be participants chose to attend alternative events instead.
- Last night’s party was not the “real” Yamanote Halloween Train. A much bigger party will be held on the night of the 31st.
There may be some truth to the “last night was not the real party” claim. 2-channel users have already discovered that there is an October 31st party on the Yamanote train line being advertised on Facebook.
Type: Party – Night of Mayhem
Time and Place Start Time: Friday, October 31, 2008 at 9:00pm
End Time: Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 12:00am
Location: Yamanote train line
City/Town: Tokyo, Japan
Description: Ok, it looks like the suggestion is to meet at Shibuya Station, Hachiko entrance, at 9:30. To be followed by Ageha, which is free for those in costume.
A check revealed that 42 Facebook users have already confirmed that they will attend the event. While Facebook party confirmations aren’t exactly reliable, it does seem that some Tokyo salarymen riding the train home on Friday night might be in for a very unpleasant shock.
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I wonder if any Osaka Loop Line event will manifest itself. I’ve already received the usual warnings not to go, which suggests SOMEBODY will.
Thank god
Those policemen must have been bored.
Honestly the whole idea strikes me as stupid – I spend enough time on the trains, why would i want to do so in costume with a bunch of drunk gaijin who make a bad name for gaijin by priding themselves on being obnoxious?
Not to mention that getting in trouble over here can mean instant deportation, regardless of the offense. I think I’ll keep my work visa and sacrifice a drunken train ride, thanks.
Makes more sense to me to do it at a club. Free entrance to Ageha? I’m IN!
Telling from the invites I’ve been getting on facebook, there is no Osaka event this year. They are doing some alternate things instead.
it was quiet because all the nova teachers went home! LOL
HAHAHA. ZING!
That’s actually a very good point.
10 points for the correct answer.
I’ve gone out to Shinjuku in the last few years and last night was a farce.
Coming into Shinjuku from Ikebukuro we could see a group of around 15-20 police officers in uniform grouped around where the 6th car would stop. On the otherwise quiet platform there was a tight group of people, many Japanese people with DSLR or video cameras taking photos of something. I walked over to take a look and there was maybe 15 or so people in costume talking, waiting for the train. At just past 9pm an officer brought over the white placards and they lined up along the edge of the platform holding them up and periodically turning them around (they had English on one side, Japanese on the other). Around 9:15 people moved onto the train, along with their 2ch paparazzi brigade.
At Harajuku, Shibuya and Ebisu there were large groups of police officers (at Ebisu I counted 12 uniformed officers, 3 plains clothes officers, and possibly 2 more), but considering that these people were merely riding the train and not being violent or causing any damage to the train, they simply stood there (and remained there for at least 15minutes after the train left).
The halloween train previous to 2006 has always been just a bit of fun with simple rules – don’t do anything stupid. There is nothing illegal/wrong with being in costume on a train – but it might annoy someone. There is nothing illegal/wrong with drinking on the train – hell, thats pretty normal here (and there is no law regarding alcohol consumption in public places). There is nothing illegal/wrong with being a little noisy on the train.
But I found the actions of some people last year – in particular leaving rubbish on the train, being destructive (technically they unscrewed an overhead light), and some idiot who was running around naked – have really put a bad light on an underground event that has quietly been going on since the 1970’s.
I’ve also found the reactions and actions of certain people from 2ch and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police to be offensive and radical. I saw police officers pulling up foreigners and Japanese in costume to question and warn them. I saw many Japanese people with cameras getting into peoples faces taking photos. I didn’t have my camera, but it was a real circus last night.
In all the years this has been going on there has never been any injuries or (with the exception of last year) there has never been any damage or negative side effects. The event has always been like a flash mob, when its all over there is nothing left to tell we were there.
In the end the reason why this year was such a fizzle is because after last years stupidity people are disenchanted, there is too much attention and stupidity for what is supposed to be some fairly quiet fun. On top of that is that there was not really any organisation this year – a single blog post a week out from the date, or an event on facebook does not hack it. As for the 31st, thats just a club event.
There definitely _is_ something wrong with being “a little bit noisy” on the train. Especially in Japan. Have you ever wondered why in Japan it is considered rude to speak on the phone on trains?
Yeah, this is where the whole “oblivious to other cultural norms” problem comes around. These folks just don’t get it.
Like I mentioned in the last post, it’s ethnocentric.
What they are essentially expressing is, “It’s OK where I’m from, so I’m going to apply the mores of my own country to this one, and this society will need to adapt around me.”
“What they are essentially expressing is, “It’s OK where I’m from, so I’m going to apply the mores of my own country to this one, and this society will need to adapt around me.””
Except the thing is, I can’t think of anywhere where it would be allowable to actually have the party in the train. Use the train as transportation to and from the party, yes. Having the party on the street, perhaps. But using public transportation (not pre-reserved “party trains” or “party buses”) as the actual venue? Somehow I don’t think that would fly anywhere.
So basically it is a bunch of obnoxious brats trying to do something they couldn’t do at home, and doing it precisely because it would be unacceptable at home, but in someone else’s home? Hey, that’s just find and dandy! And screw ‘em if they don’t like it, the party-poopers!
No, I don’t think “ethnocentrism” is the right word, exactly.
By the way, I’m loving the “Well it isn’t illegal…” arguments of these twerps. It may not be illegal, but it neither is it acceptable. If they really believe that if something is not illegal that it is therefore OK to do, then they shouldn’t mind my pissing on their leg if I catch one of them in a toilet somewhere, right? I mean, it isn’t illegal to piss on the guy standing next to you at the urinals, now is it?
I agree, Alex. (I also agree with the post you made on your blog about the Halloween train.)
And after what happened last year, I can definitely see why there would be more police around this time…
Japanese saying:
“When in Rome, do as the Japanese do.”
“Have you ever wondered why in Japan it is considered rude to speak on the phone on trains?”
Actually, there were two groups who pushed for cell-phone use on trains to be banned. One group was doctors and those with pacemakers – cell-phone signals at close range could possibly (so they say, anyway…) interfere with a pacemaker.
The other group was made of busybody obachans who were upset because they could only eavesdrop on half the conversation.
i am happy to hear that the idiots – from any country including japan – were not out causing embarassing trouble.
but – by the way – i don`t think the japanese think it is rude to talk on the phone on trains – see them do it all the time.
It’s a rule not a law. Modern pacemakers used in western medicine no longer have the interference problem. The bigger issue is why is japan still using outdated medical methods and equipment.
Has ANYONE ever actually died of cell-phone-induced pacemaker malfunction? I tried searching some academic databases, but turned up nothing. Of course, that doesn’t prove it never happens, but if it never happens, how can we know, since there are so rarely scholarly papers written about things that DON’T happen.
I don’t think they do it all the time, at least not in Tokyo. They often answer on the phone saying “Sorry, but now I’m on a train (so let’s cut it out now)”. Well, so they do talk on the phone, but decidely less than a minute. What they do all the time is sending/reading text messages. Maybe the situation is different in other pats of Japan, though.
It should be great to take pictures of salary men who are reading porn on the train, or taking pictures of old japanese men who are drinking beer in the train .
Gaijins maners are rude ? At least its not worth then japanese people .
2ch sucks
2ch sucks
Because they ruined your party? Kinda wake reason if you ask me. Many of them are rude racists, undoubtedly, but their reason for getting angry, in this case, has more points.
Some 2ch boards have a lot more rude racists than others, it’s why I stay away from most of the news boards there. I agree with the 2chers complaining about this that these people should not be throwing parties on public trains, but I don’t support the ones who go around 2ch and other sites trolling and posting hatespeech because of it.
It’s only ever white people who turn up to the extremely wack Yamanote train party.
Funny that.
“It should be great to take pictures of salary men who are reading porn on the train, or taking pictures of old japanese men who are drinking beer in the train .
Gaijins maners are rude ? At least its not worth then japanese people .
2ch sucks”
-Tommy
I was expecting one idiot who would complain of “discrimination” against gaijins, especially when they are doing the things people will hate. And i found my idiot named Tommy.
and i found mine named jax143! i happen to agree with tommy, its all ok for Japanese people to talk loudly, puke, perv, stare, sneeze / cough (without covering their mouth) , wipe snot everywhere, stand on you, push you, ect. but the min. a bunch of gaijins f*ck up they send like 1000 cops to intimidate and arrest (if they are lucky). i think the majority of Japanese people are still racist but a true form of racialism because they don’t care about color or creed just that your not Japanese therefore you’re a 3rd class citizen. i know ill get flamed for these comments but im just sick of these “you live in japan so you should do what the Japanese do, or tell you to do” crowd. don’t get me wrong i love Japanese people and i adore japan but i am a foreigner living in japan not living in japan to be Japanese.
however the yamanote line party does seem a little bit stupid and it now because of the bad press gives the po po a really big excuse to jail and deport once a year. im sure we can come up with a better venue folks.
so ill sit here and wait for the arty farty peeps to start flaming ;-P
laterz
It is not okay for Japanese people to talk loudly, puke, perv, stare, sneeze / cough (without covering their mouth) , wipe snot everywhere, stand on you, push you, ect and if they planed the party colloctively every year on the train, and actually had the party, getting drunk, talking loudly to gaijin in the language that those gaijin didn’t understnad, acting as if the passengers who rode on their train but didn’t want to participate in the party are silly, the police would be sure to come to regulate it.
I’ve never joined a Yamanote Halloween party, but I always thought the concept was pretty cool. It would be too bad if it got ruined by the actions of some ignant people last year, especially if it really is a 20-year old tradition.
I like the concept of it because it adds life and randomness to an otherwise mundane city with little spontaneity. If street culture around Harajuke station and Yoyogi Park is the extent of it, that’s not very random as it’s the same exact groups every week and nothing that daring really.
I think it would be cool to walk onto a train and see it filled with Japanese dressed up in samurai era garb, or something similar. A nice bit of character for the city.
Go to pub. Do not mass paty in public transportation. It is just what I say.
Xenophobia? Ha!, sorry it’s word is not effective already.I know most foreigners in japan are losers in your homeland. They export poisonous meats, poisnous money, poisnous people.
I agree.
Go to pub. Do not mass paty in public transportation. It is just what I say.
Xenophobia ? Ha!, sorry it’s word is not effective already.
I know most foreigners in japan are l o s e r s in your homeland.
They export poisonous meats, poisnous money, poisnous people.
Thank fuck it worked, we’re sick and tried of all idiots wrecking everything for ordinary people for the sake of a stupid, meaningless Yankee tradition.
Thats the best Joker i’ve seen :3
Let’s imagine this:
Christmas for the orthodox chirch is on Jan7th. What will happen if about 50 Russians, Ukrainians and all the others jump on that day on one of the busiest subway lines in NY and have party, even without drinking.
A large group of Indian immigrants decide to celebrate the Independance day with group dance Bollywood style on the place mentioned above.
About 50 Mexicans meet their Haloween, the day of the dead with party on the same line?
The list goes on.
Besides, Halloween is a holiday which concerns only a small part of nations. It is not celebrated in continental Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa…So I guess it does not concern the majority of foreigners in Japan either. I guess some bored people will just have to find another way to get rid of their boredom.
Well, it is slowly spreading on the Continent: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/oct2004/nf20041026_4845_db089.htm
Still a “new” phenomenon, and it has a lot of competition. But yeah, it is still more-or-less a British/Irish/American thing.
A big problem is that you are allowed to drink on the train in Japan, so there can be a party. In Australia, you can’t, so no parties.
Wearing halloween clothes on the train and being happily talkative is no problem at all.
The fact that you find a few people drinking on the train does not mean people are allowed to drink on the train.
Yamanote Halloween was fun until 2006. Unfortunatelly few idiots, last year, could create such a bad reputation for the party by removing lamps and being naked inside the carriage. The party goers should have arrested these idiots and handed them to the policemen that are in the stations during the event.
Hate to burst some bubbles here but the halloween train was a success for all those invovled. We were given rockstar treatment in the form of police protection, our very own stalking fans, and photographers who snapped away feverishly especially when we got off and they formed a half-circle to get a celebrity-like photo splash.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-jNaKHVnTw
Here are some nice Halloween costumes from Japan. I had a good laugh!
http://www.cracked.com/article_16734_35-most-insane-halloween-costumes-from-around-world.html
Drunk in public, yelling on streets, maybe going naked – all points to particular part of society…. They are (do)
1. low income
2. not very well educated
3. read tabloids
4. not cultured
(list goes on)
well, you know what sort of people I’m talking about. So-called “losers” or “working class” or better said, “underclass”.