Based on a seinen manga by Kikuchi Naoe and Yokomi Hirohiko, which ran in IKKI, the premise is simple yet intriguing: a manga artist is hired by her editor to shadow a travel writer on a series of train journeys across Japan and produce a comic that chronicles the experience. What sets this work apart is that it isn"t a fictionalized adventure at all—the creator actually took every trip, and the pages faithfully document what happened, without any added drama. A note at the beginning states, "This is non‑fiction; sorry for the lack of theatrics," and the story largely follows the routine of hopping on trains, waiting at platforms, and moving from station to station.
The travel writer is an obsessive train aficionado who knows the rail network inside out and meticulously plans each excursion down to the second. His obsession is with sticking to schedules and hitting every target he sets, such as visiting all the stations on a particular line in an odd order to make use of rare services. The mangaka, by contrast, is cynical, sarcastic and rather lazy; she"s more interested in the next "eki‑ben" (train station bento) than in rail lore. He is enthusiastic as long as the timetable is respected, and the inevitable clashes between their priorities provide much of the humor.
Despite the mundane premise, the narrative feels vividly authentic. Anyone who has ridden Japanese trains will recognize the scenery, the hum of the engines, and the quiet tension of a crowded platform. The artist"s pacing is tight, and subtle adjustments keep the story engaging throughout. An additional layer of realism comes from the fact that some characters who appear in the comic are real people who actually showed up during the author"s travels; they read earlier chapters of the manga and then show up in later ones, creating a recursive loop.
Alongside the day‑to‑day travel, readers discover lesser‑known train lines and stations that are genuinely interesting—and some of them have a striking aesthetic. There"s always an undercurrent of surrealism, yet the journey is driven by the train‑enthusiast"s goal: to visit all 9,843 stations in Japan. He treats every stop as a point on a checklist rather than an experience to savor, which offers insight into train‑otaku culture. Though the story centers on one obsessive character, the periphery is saturated with references to train‑fan conventions and habits, giving readers a broader sense of that subculture.
Group TAC Japan