Are Japan's Train Photography Enthusiasts Losing Their Social Graces?

Above, a 300 Series (now retired) shinkansen at Tokyo Station. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

RocketNews24 has an interesting article with videos on some crazy train buffs. I initially thought it would be a humorous article, but it is actually a bit disturbing that grown men and women are going nuts at train stations trying to get that perfect train photo. The writer is concerned that if this behavior continues, train photography in stations would be banned.

They start with:

Back in the day you might have called them “train otaku” but they would have preferred “tetsudo fan” a Japanese translation of the British “railfan” label for those who enjoy riding, viewing, and appreciating everything about railway transportation. 

Around the turn of the millennium a new Japanese term for train buffs arose: tetsu (iron).  The name also has many derivatives such as “tetsuko” for a female train enthusiast, and “hitetsu” (non-ferrous) for people who are train laymen. Two main groups of tetsu are noritetsu (iron riders) and toritetsu (iron filmers). 

The latter of these two are the focus now, as there has been an increasingly troubling trend of rude and dangerous behavior from what many would assume to be the tranquil hobby of train photography.

They then provide five video examples of people getting out of hand while trying to shoot photographs.

To read the article and see the videos, go here.