The Romance of Japanese Train Culture: From Tiny Supermarket Railways to Galaxy Express 999
I had read before that many Japanese people have a deep emotional attachment to trains.
But it was only after living in Tokyo that I began to observe this railway obsession up close.
It does not exist only in the famous Shinkansen 新幹線 or Tokyo’s maze-like train system. It also appears in supermarkets, novels, anime, museums, and ordinary daily life.
One example is a supermarket I often visit: Lopia.ロピア
Lopia is a rapidly growing Japanese supermarket chain that originally started as a butcher shop. Today it has expanded into a large food supermarket group with more than one hundred stores across Japan. It is known for large portions, low prices, and a lively atmosphere. The company even describes itself as a “food amusement park.”
But there is another small detail that makes it unforgettable.
In many Lopia stores, a tiny train runs endlessly along a circular railway track attached to the ceiling.
Click-clack. Click-clack.
Every day, the little train quietly “goes to work” above shoppers’ heads.
The first time I saw it, I felt strangely pulled into a fairy tale.
I stood there beside the shelves, excitedly taking photos with my phone.
Around me were discount announcements for wagyu beef. Above me was a miniature train rushing through the air.
In the exhausting adult world, who secretly left behind this tiny corner of childhood fantasy?
It felt romantic, but also a little bittersweet.
I quietly wondered:
Was the founder of Lopia perhaps a railway enthusiast too?
Japan’s railway fan culture is famous.
Some people spend entire days photographing trains.
Some collect station departure melodies.
Others travel across half the country just to ride a limited-edition train.
And honestly, I also have my own memories connected to trains.
As a child, I often traveled long distances by train with my family.
Later, during my school years, I experienced many train rides lasting more than twenty-four hours.
At night, lying on the sleeper bed, I could feel the air pressure when trains passed each other.
The train would move through tunnels and over bridges while the wheels repeatedly struck the rails:
Clunk—clunk. Clunk—clunk.
The sound mixed with the gentle shaking of the carriage.
Inside the cabin, someone snored softly. Someone whispered. Someone walked down the aisle.
Images of reunions and farewells at train stations floated through my mind before I slowly fell asleep.
Even today, that remains one of my favorite forms of white noise.
In many countries, railways are simply transportation.
But in Japan, trains became part of a shared cultural memory.
They carry a feeling somewhere between wandering and belonging.
And Japanese culture transformed that feeling into literature and imagination.
If you want to understand Japanese railway culture, I would recommend these three works and places:
1.Night on the Galactic Railroad
This classic Japanese story by Kenji Miyazawa follows a boy named Giovanni, who boards a mysterious train traveling across the stars.
Although often described as a children’s story, it is deeply philosophical, exploring loneliness, friendship, life, and death.
The slowly moving galactic train becomes a symbol of life’s journey itself.
The book later influenced many Japanese anime, films, and games — including Galaxy Express 999.
2.Galaxy Express 999
Created by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, Galaxy Express 999 became one of Japan’s most iconic science-fiction stories.
It follows a boy named Tetsuro, who travels across the universe aboard the space train “999” in search of an eternal mechanical body.
What makes the story unforgettable is not only the adventure, but the repeated encounters and farewells during the journey.
The image of a steam train crossing the universe perfectly combines Japanese railway nostalgia with romantic imagination.
For many Japanese people, it became a symbol of “the distant unknown.”
3. The Railway Museum
Located in Omiya, Saitama, the Railway Museum is one of Japan’s most famous train museums.
Operated by JR East, it features real steam locomotives, Shinkansen trains, classic Showa-era railcars, driving simulators, and huge railway models.
But unlike many technical museums, this place feels more like a cultural archive about the relationship between Japanese people and trains.
Children and adults become equally excited there.
That is what makes railway culture in Japan so interesting:
It is not only a niche hobby for train enthusiasts.
It is a shared emotional language across generations.
And suddenly, the tiny train running across the ceiling of Lopia supermarket starts to make perfect sense.
Because in Japan, trains are never just transportation.
They are childhood.
They are travel.
They are distant places.
Sometimes, they even become a metaphor for life itself.
And in ordinary daily life, they offer people a tiny moment of escape — a small moving piece of romance running quietly above their heads.
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