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Crazy huge crowd of otaku, rockers, and sports fans forms at Japanese train station【Photos】

Casey Baseel Sep 7, 2019
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Trio of events end at the same time, sending three huge fanbases to the same station.

There are certain train stations in Japan that you just know are going to be crowded on any given day. For example, Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Shinagawa (it’s pure coincidence that they each start with “Shi-“) are all located on the loop line that runs around downtown Tokyo, and so every day they’re filled with people on their way to or from work or school.

The crowds at Kaihin Makuhari Station, though, about half an hour east of Tokyo in Chiba City, are less regular. Chiba doesn’t have anywhere near the population Tokyo does, and so Kaihin Makuhari isn’t a commuter nightmare like Tokyo’s three Shi-s.

海浜幕張駅前だだっ広くてええな。 pic.twitter.com/YHa6PYr2Sn

— さいもと（汚） (@saimototakeko) September 3, 2019

But there’s a good reason Kaihin Makuhari is designed with a large, open plaza just outside its gates, as pictured above. The station is the nearest access point for Makuhari Messe, one of the Tokyo area’s largest convention centers, as well as Chiba Marine Stadium, home to professional baseball team the Chiba Lotte Marines. Both venues were in use on Tuesday night, with the Marines taking on the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and Makuhari hosting both a concert by legendary J-rock duo B’z and a fan event for the Idolmaster anime/video game franchise. Undoubtedly a good time was had by those in the separate attendance groups…until they all collided at Kaihin Makuhari Station after all three events wrapped up at about the same time, as seen in this photo from Japanese Twitter user @pleasure_yuta.

B’z
ロッテ戦
アイマスが同時に終わった悲劇の海浜幕張 pic.twitter.com/AmTa7mvjqf

— ゆーた🔰🐈ヤニカス (@pleasure_yuta) September 3, 2019

The expansive station-front plaza was transformed into a solid mass of humanity, with massive lines (if you can call such a wide congregation a line, that is) just to get into the station.

海浜幕張駅、地獄 pic.twitter.com/KDyTBYOSph

— えけある (@eekkaarr_P) September 3, 2019

▼ Inside the structure, but still outside the ticket gates

アイマスP とB'zファンとロッテファンで混雑する海浜幕張駅無理…… pic.twitter.com/5tv9b7mjEQ

— ズッキー (@zukkiy_yoake) September 3, 2019

Even once would-be passengers managed to make it past the gates, it was still standing room only, with the stairways leading up to the tracks at maximum capacity.

色々と詰んでる海浜幕張 pic.twitter.com/Vx3oCitAAc

— ひややっこ (@majichance) September 3, 2019

With the vast majority of people headed back towards the Tokyo area in order to get home, the platforms for west-bound trains were also filled edge-to-edge.

https://twitter.com/n01isan/status/1168876205388394497

And for those lucky enough to actually get onto a train, it doesn’t look like a relaxing or pleasant ride was waiting for them.

京葉線海浜幕張東京方面
積み残し pic.twitter.com/AxOYuI6XSQ

— イコ太/北和P ミリ10th名古屋両日現地 (@asahiikota) September 3, 2019

Still, if you’re headed out to a baseball game, concert, or anime gathering on a weekday night, despite the weather forecast calling for thunderstorms, you’ve got to be a pretty hardcore fan, so odds are there were very few regrets among the many, many people in these photos.

Source: Twitter/@pleasure_yuta via Hachima Kiko
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