A photo of two young rail enthusiasts holding a camera and stepping up to a monument by Takuboku Ishikawa in boots in an attempt to capture the last limited express run was posted on Twitter and has been flagged as a dangerous act.
At that time, many railway fans gathered at JR Ueno Station in Taito Ward, Tokyo, and the platform was packed. JR East’s metropolitan area headquarters told an interviewer, “I would like you to stop it because it can lead to injuries and it is dangerous.”
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Limited express train 651 series
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Two men climbing the Takuboku monument (Photo courtesy of Yumi@Re_yumi1202)
The limited series 651 express reaches its final run, and rail fans gather at the platform
“Missing my hometown accent…”. Takuboku, who came to Tokyo to fulfill his dream, felt homesick for his hometown, Iwate.
According to JR East, this monument was given to JR in 1985 as part of the Rotary Club’s 30th anniversary commemorative project, when the Tohoku Shinkansen line began running to Ueno Station. Located near the dead end of Platform 15 of Ueno Station, it has long been popular with hometown fans and has become a popular photo spot.
However, on March 17, 2023, a picture was posted on Twitter saying that two men had climbed up to the monument with their shoes on.
Two young men with rucksacks hold a camera and talk while standing on the front side of a sloping inscription. There were also about 10 men with cameras in the vicinity.
On this day, the 651 series, which started in 1989 as JR East’s first limited acceleration, ran its last run due to a timetable revision. The 651 series is a unique gray limited expression for JR, and was called by the slogan of “a great guy with a tuxedo body” at the time. After running on the Joban Line as “Super Hitachi”, it ran on the Takasaki Line as “Kusatsu” and “Akagi”.
At Ueno Station, rail enthusiasts with cameras gathered on the platform for a last look at the limited express train. There are videos posted on Twitter, etc., and when you watch them, when the 651 series leaves with the sound of the train whistle, the sound of the shutter being released all at once echoes, and there is a big chorus of “thank you”.
Eyewitness: “After a few minutes, I was warned by the station staff and got off the monument.”
The person who posted the photo responded to an interview with J-CAST News on March 20, and revealed that the two rail fans were at the monument around 19:50 on the 17th. On the last run, the 651 series left Ueno Station at 20:00, just before the last special train, and it is said that the two of them were on the memorial while the train stopped before departure.
After climbing for a few minutes, the two were warned by station staff and got off the monument. There was no other person on the memorial, and the person who posted it was angry, saying, “I think it’s an impossible act.”
It is said that there were more than 300 railway fans on the platform, and there was even a group singing and making noise.
On the 20th, the Public Relations Division of JR East’s Tokyo metropolitan area headquarters responded to an interview, saying, “We have no specific information about the actions taken by the two men on the monument.” However, about the situation of the photograph, I said this.
“It’s a high place, and it can lead to injury to yourself and others around you. It’s dangerous, so I’d like you to stop. It will cause trouble for other customers, so if you such an act, I have not heard that the monument has been damaged. It is dangerous to use a stepladder or a tripod to take pictures on the platform, so I ask you to stop.”
On the 17th, many railway supporters are said to have gathered, but there are no reports of trouble or injuries.
(Hiroyuki Noguchi, J-CAST News Editorial Department)
