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We ride one of Japan’s most accidentally terrifying trains

Scott Wilson Nov 7, 2021
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It’s far scarier when it’s not meant to be scary.

The Choshi Electric Railway in Chiba is one of the strangest railways in Japan. It has only one line totaling 10 stations, and it services less than one million riders per year. Considering other stations in Tokyo service more than a million per day, you might be wondering how it stays in business.

And the answer is: it doesn’t, basically.

Choshi Electric Railway has only stayed afloat by making over 80 perfect of its profit through selling self-deprecating gag gifts, such as “Mazuibo” (“Gross Stick,” a play on the popular snack Umaibo — “Delicious Stick”), and literal pieces of itself in cans.

▼ In 2018 They even officially changed their name to “Choshi Which Refuses to Give Up,” displayed on this sign.

With it being such a legendary station, our Japanese writer Masanuki — a fan of all things bizarre — decided he wanted to see what the actual train itself was like.

And not just any train, but the last one available at night.

There’s something a bit magical about the last train of the day. It’s the train that people who are drunk typically take to ride home, so it’s not unusual to hear stories of weird things being seen or having happened on them.

▼ Masanuki cautiously approached Choshi’s last train of the day, both intrigued by the fact that there were almost no passengers, and by its pink color.

▼ Ah! Apparently the station was collaborating with Iwashita, a ginger company that has had some strange promotions before, so that makes sense—

▼ …

▼ …oh no.

▼ Masanuki had unknowingly stepped into a nightmare.

The colorful pink balloons and stuffed animals may have been cute decorations during the day, but at night they were nothing less than cold, watchful demons. The fact that the train was also completely silent and empty gave off the same, unnerving feeling as an abandoned Chuck E Cheese.

▼ There were a few others on the train, but Masanuki couldn’t be sure that they weren’t monsters too…

▼ …just try and say that when that old woman beneath the balloons turns around, she won’t have her eyes sewn shut and teeth made of broken glass!

▼ The decorations even covered up the names of the stations on the line. That’s because there was only one destination for Masanuki now: straight to hell.

Thankfully Masanuki claims that he was not attacked by any stuffed animals, smothered by any balloons, or devoured by any monsters during the train ride. He safely made it to Inuboh Station, the second to last stop, and took this photo to prove it.

▼ A perfectly normal photo taken by a perfectly happy passenger!

▼ He also says that they’re selling collaboration “Mazuibo” at Inuboh Station as well, so check them out if you want to sacrifice your soul to the station are interested!

Masanuki may be acting strangely ever since returning from his trip, what with his strange fungal smell and eyes rolling inside of his head, but that’s just classic Masanuki for ya!

Although he has been really adamant about getting us to visit another train station recently. Another small station that looks like it’s right out of a horror film.

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[ Read in Japanese ]