Yamanote Halloween Train 2009 [ハロウィン山の手線ジャック]
October is here again, which means that certain foreigners in Japan are once again planning to board trains on Tokyo’s Yamanote Line and hold a loud drunken party.
This message recently appeared on Gaijinpot forums:
Its time we got this started. Its a Saturday this time around so almost nothing to discuss, but nonetheless:
Date/Time: Sat. October 31, 2009 from 21-ish
Meetup Place: Shinjuku Station, Yamanote platform #15 (towards Ikebukuro)
Train to board: 21:06 soto-mawari (North-bound)Gather towards the back of the train, by the stairs that come down from the South exit. Train car 9 sounds like a good one to board.
See you all there. And, of course, BYOB.
In previous years, the Yamanote Halloween party has resulted in halted trains, vandalism, and general harassment of Japanese passengers unlucky enough to find themselves in train cars targeted by the party-goers.
According to one Gaijinpot user who has attended past parties in the 1990’s, many participants see the event as a way to “get back” at Japanese people:
I went on the Yamanote line party way back when and while it was a lot of fun, it did get out of control and stopped being a fun event and started being a “pick on unsuspecting Japanese” event. I remember seeing a poor lady trying to get off at her stop unable to get past the large drunken guys who weren`t letting her through. Seeing her face, it really stopped being a “Happy Halloween” for me.
I got off at the next stop, thankfully missing the Japanese police who were waiting at Ikebukuro station for most party goers to get off.
The Halloween train seemed to die out not long after that – only to be revived some years later by people who had probably never been on any of the original trains.
I have ridden the train in costume many times (including face painting) and will be doing so this year too – on my way to other Halloween events. No problems, and a really fun atmosphere.
The Halloween train itself – no way, not any more. What spoiled it for me was the overtly stated attitude of a lot of people that it was a chance to “get back” at Japanese people.
Maybe the “new Halloween train” is different and only fun and lighthearted and not in any way threatening to those just riding the train. If so I wish you luck and hope you have a lot of fun.
As for the argument that drunk salarymen do it and worse…….do you really want to emulate that shit?
Last year’s Halloween Train was a tiny affair. Costumed participants were outnumbered by Japanese police and angry users of 2-channel who had come out to prevent the party from occurring. 2-channelers have already taken notice of the Gainpot announcement, so it is likely police have been warned and will be ready to prevent things from becoming wild.
Death threats have also been posted:
17 ：名無しさん：2009/10/11(日) 17:54:14 ID:6RV62LbS
Gaijin haloweeners:
Now we ceclare we form assassination squad..to kill unscruplous costumed gaijins
who disdainfully ride on our crowded trains and do some absurdity
If you’d like to warn the police in Tokyo about the party or the death threats, please use one of the following numbers:
General Police Contact Number 警視庁 03-3581-4321（代）
Shinjuku Police Station 新宿警察署 03-3346-0110
Shibuya Police Station 渋谷警察署 03-3498-0110（代表）
Shinjuku Station Railway Police 新宿駅お客様相談室(鉄道警察) 03-3356-7505
A disclaimer for readers from 2-channel: 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
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Seems like assholery from all corners
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Get back at them? Ok…
You can always just.. I don’t know.. go to another country?
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Oh god not this stupidity again…the phrase “Baka Gaijin” fits so perfectly to those in that train.
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How I would love it if only 3 guys showed up, standing there all alone like morons, wondering where everyone is.
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The first 2ch thread is filled with posters just as mentally deficient as the those in the gaijinpot thread.
Definitive proof that everyone is stupid.
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Don’t these stupid partiers know that the Japanese justice system has a “1 gaijin limit”?
Japanese are allowed to get away with killing 1 gaijin. The justice system only really starts punishing Japanese if they kill a second one.
Lindsay Hawker RIP
Scott Tucker RIP
Kamiosawa Honiefaith Ratila RIP
Elda Longakit Yoneda RIP
Carita Ridgeway RIP
Matthew Lacey RIP
Lucie Blackman RIP
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Shush, sweetie. The adults are talking.
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Just attmepting to make the point that death threats by Japanese against gaijin should not be taken lightly.
There ARE crazy Japanese who get a thrill out of killing gaijin, and as more and more examples pop up, they are probably growing wise to the “1 gaijin limit” precedent in the Japanese justice system.
The Scott Tucker case most specifically applies.
He was merely a lone gaijin being a bit pushy and drunk, angry at the club neighboring his residence for their incessant noise, surrouded by Japanese, and the “DJ” throttles him to death yielding ZERO jail time…. then any Japanese who decides to take out one of the gaijin idiots on the Halloween train will probably get away with it, claiming it was self-defense, or he was “afraid for his life”.
A stumbling drunken middle-aged gaijin totally unarmed has been deemed “threatening” enough to forgive the use of deadly force by a Japanese, then surely one of these Halloween train riders will be deemed even more threatening and worthy of lethal “self-defense” force on the part of a Japanese.
Go back to sleep, Jimmy.
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”Death threats have also been posted”
You mean 1, as far as what I saw in that thread.
And 2ch isn’t all animosity.
去年も警察が出てたし、今年はもう拘束＆書類送検するかもね。
迷惑防止条例違反で。
Q：この行動のどこに問題点があるのか？
A：犯罪行為に該当すると考えられます。具体的には以下の通り。
1.威力業務妨害罪（蛍光灯取り外し、列車遅延）
2.器物損壊罪（蛍光灯を壊した、酒を車内で撒いた）
3.暴行罪（他の客を押しのけたりしていた、酒を他の客に故意に掛けた）
4.騒乱罪（アレだけの人数で酒飲んで騒げば当然成立）
5.東京都迷惑防止条例（粗暴行為）
6.軽犯罪法違反（公共の乗物の中で乗客に対して著しく粗野又は乱暴な言動で迷惑をかけた者）
就職できちんとした会社に就職したい子女（内定出ている人含む）は、SNSなんかで誘われても
行かないが吉。
外人も国外退去になりたくなかったら、こんなの参加しなきゃいいのにね。
わざわざ口実与えるようなもんなのに。
運悪く、通勤途中で乗り合わせてしまったのであれば、その場で携帯で１１０番して
１－６のどれかに該当するか連絡をして、当日は警官が詰めているから来てもらって
該当者を拘束してもらうのが一番吉かと・・・。
実際危険ですし、迷惑ですので。
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Tourist Tomomi Hanamure, brutally murdered, Havasupai Reservation, USA
Yoshihiro Hattori, student, shot to death in Baton Rouge, Louisianna
Takuma Ito, student, shot to death, San Pedro, California
Masakazu Kuriyama, student, shot to death, Concord, California
Kanako Ohyama, tourist, probably raped, brutally strangled and murdered in Lousiana
Masumi Watanabe, tourist, brutally murdered, Pupukea, hawaii
And the countless other Japanese citizens brutally assaulted, raped, and murdered abroad, no one cares about them. Only when the ‘foreigner’ is killed in Japan is it ‘worthy’ of world reflection, agony, and sorrow. RIP to the unknown victims.
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Perhaps someone could organise a 2-Chan & Baka-Gaijin love-in on the Yamonote line on Valentines day? Make them look at how embarrassing they are for the groups they “represent” and perhaps fall in love with each other over their sharing of stupidity?
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I’m sure the cops will be giving drug tests to all they arrest in this event. Make sure you bring your meth pipe. Will Nori-pi be there?
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what an idiot.
why these moron gaijin never learn no lesson from experience.
it seems sign of going from bad to worse.
these gaijin doesn’t want to follow the rule of our japanese society..
i feel the need to public flogging of moron gaijin
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Didn’t you just deplore the fact of violent racism in Australia? And now you want to implement it here?
That’s not very intelligent.
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oh gosh man..not these idiots….the behaviours of some of these people who in the morning play the innocent..oh poor me..poor lil gaijin..why they dont treat me fair …blah, blah, blah….I dont think u should push ur stupid halloween culture on Jpeople..gosh man..BTW, is that guy in the pic nude…eeewwwww, dudeeeeee
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Send them all home!
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To the guy in the bottom right picture:
For sanitary reasons, please don’t rub your bare ass against the inside walls of a public transportation vehicle.
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Nude Dude: A Poem
Nude dude
Drunk and rude
What crime did we commit, to have to see
Your naked ass, and tiny wee-wee?
Nude dude
I hurled my food
- William George
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And the sound of snapping fingers fills the room.
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Nice poem, good job!!
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just had to put my 2 pennies worth in… For sanitary reasons, please don’t rub your bare ass against the inside walls of a public transportation vehicle. but its ok to wipe the contents of your nose all over the place or cough and sneeze in peoples faces or fart or fall asleep on people or puke coz you cant handle your Japanese wine or beer ect ect
its not just gaijin that make mess on trains its just that we do it once a year they do it all F*cking year round and get away with it!!
oh and the silly mofo would have gaijins morons flogged in the street and Japanese people like you who keep this racist b*llsh*t going on in this country.
your the one who should be flogged in public for making stupid anti (not Japanese so not worth a toss) statments
anyway if anyone does go to this event PLEASE dont be an asshat!!!!
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You sound very lonely and afraid my friend. I wish I could give you a cookie or something, you know, just to calm you down. Best wishes and farewell.
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Gaijin nerds go home or go to Osaka.
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Hey, let them stay in Tokyo.
I don’t need to see those jokers on my favourite holiday destination.
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this kind of behavior would not be tolerated in their own countries. there would be arrests, etc. just say NO!
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This kind of thing only appeals to country bumpkins who have never lived in a city prior to living in Tokyo.
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didn’t this completely not happen last year? i vaguely remember the build-up but nobody showed up.
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Are these the same kind of idiots who go around burning cars in L.A. after the Lakers had won?
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Us Japanese would never stoop to do such things. That is why you will never be accepted.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20091014p2a00m0na014000c.html
Whoops.
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this behaviour is embarrassing and causes discomfort to others.It is a wind-up and should be taken elsewhere..there are plenty of Halloween parties in Tokyo without using the public rail.Got to laugh at the 2 Channel death squads though..what a bunch of onanists they are.Most of them wouldn’t be able to unglue themselves from their pizza boxes and lolita dvds for long enough to get to any station.
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Amen amen. Those 2chan losers are big talkers.
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Don’t worry as Japan is not alone. In Vancouver, Canada they have also have been holding an similiar annual halloween subway party on their Skytrain. They have it on Vancouver’s Milliniun line which is like a Mini-Yamanote line as it als does an elevated loop but on a smaller scale. I am going to the Vancouver transit party this year. You can see videos of Vancouver’s similiar Halloween train Party on you tube as well. (They even bring a subwoofer onboard the train.)
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Did you ever ask that Gaijinpot poster if she agreed to you quoting her post in your article? No, you didn`t.
I am that poster and have never been contacted by you in any way – not to ask my permission to quote me….. and not even have the courtesy to let me know that you would be writing this article.
The experience I was writing about happened WAY BACK IN 1992! Even in my post I hoped that the train now “was different, and only fun and lighthearted”…and if so that I wished everyone well.
If you were interested at in in following the discussion, you would see that I was happy to hear from those who have ridden the train recently and to see videos….and from seeing that would happily ride the train myself again.
I STRONGLY OBJECT to you quoting me without permission and using my words to support your own agenda. I will be deleting that post from Gaijinpot (as is my right) and will be posting my condemnation of your actions.
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Did you hit post something one a public forum for the entire world to see? Yes, you did.
I don’t need your permission to quote a public post you made sharing your experiences with past Halloween trains. From the look of your subsequent comments on Gaijinpot, you have not attended any of the recent events. Your new view of the party is influenced entirely by selectively edited pro-party videos produced by one of the party’s promoters.
From the many comments that have been left on this blog and others by party participants, it is quite obvious that the attitude you described is alive and well in the 2000’s.
Don’t let one single person with an even more obvious agenda tell you otherwise.
Have you attended any of the more recent parties yourself? It doesn`t sound like it.
It is basically poor journalism on your part. The incident I talked about happened 17 years ago. Yet, that takes up the majority of your article.
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I’ve followed this event for a couple years now. I’ve read dozens of accounts from people who participated and many have shown signs of the “get back at Japan” attitude your original post described.
It seems just angry because your negative observation about a past party has been used in a post that doesn’t present the party in a positive light. It’s pretty clear from the quoted comment that you haven’t attended the recent controversial parties. I haven’t distorted your words in the very least. I’m sorry, but I see absolutely no reason why I shouldn’t have used your comment. (I edited the post to make it a little more clear that your comment was referring to an older party, but I don’t think it changes anything.)