Japan's largest, least violent gang

Train spotters can be found the world over, but rail aficionados in Japan may be a breed of their own. They will plan whole holidays around the chance to ride a specific line or train, to witness the christening of a new track, or to attend the heart-rending retirement of a beloved carriage. 

I climbed the steps to the Shimogoindenbashi, a bridge outside the north exit of the JR Nippori Station, to spend an afternoon with them. They interest me as much as the trains themselves!

Best of all are all the kids who aren't tall enough to look over the railing. They press their faces against the fence and beg their parents to stay a little longer.

Thirteen tracks are here. Some 2,500 trains pass every day. 

Learn your trains! A sign provides a visual glossary.

The E4 Max, with its bulbous head, is a crowd favorite.

The workhorse E231 Series in a rainstorm.

An E2 Series Shinkansen comes through every three or four minutes. This is the "bullet train" that can go 170 mph. Everybody perks up.

Looks like a child forgot his Thomas locomotive on the railing. Or perhaps it was left as an offering to the tetsudo god. I take a picture and leave it alone, hoping it will bring a smile to the next guy.

A Nippori-Toneri Liner pulls out of the station, headed for Adachi City. It's a 20-minute trip. Driving would take an hour. Ninety thousand people a day ride it.

Under-track bike parking.

An elevated railway at Nippori provides a place to get out of the rain.

Train-spotting in Tokyo can happen anywhere. Here in the Yoyogi neighborhood is an Odakyu Line RomanceCar, so named because its two-person seats do not have separating armrests. It travels to resorts like Hakone and Mount Fuji.

Look at this slate-gray E-235 with green doors on the Yamanote line at Ueno Station. Wow!

On the whole, I'd rather be outside looking in.