The Tokyu Toyoko line, one of the most famous and important train lines in the Tokyo metro area, running between Shibuya and downtown Yokohama has had a major improvement at its Shibuya terminus, a benefit for many passengers, but a time for excitement and tears for a huge group of Train Otaku (“Tetsu-ota”).

There is an obsession with trains for many in Japan. And nothing brings them out like the change of a train line or the change of a station.

Anyone who has spent time in Tokyo or anywhere else in Japan knows the importance of trains to life here – the Tokyo Metro (subway), Japan Railway (JR), the “Shinkansen” (the bullet train), etc. It really is the only way to get around a place like the Tokyo metropolitan area.

At 12:50 am on March 16, the last train left the old Tokyu Toyoko line terminal at Shibuya station and the 86 year old above ground station closed for good. Fans and regular passengers who had come out to see the last run were crying, taking hundreds of photos and reluctant to leave the platform for a long time after the train left.

The line is one of the most popular private railroads in Japan, handling approx. 420,000 passengers every day. The new station, now underground, is a massive improvement for people riding the line and who needed to change lines at Shibuya station every day. Now, line changes will be easier, and passengers can continue on the same line to other stations with Tokyo for easier connections to other lines.

Of course, as a memorial to this event, many related goods are out. For example…

1. Tie pins set
- Tie pins shaped like train cars of the 5 lines now connected to the Tokyu Toyoko line
- Only 5,555 sets are available
- 2,000 yen
- Out on March 16

2. Mobile phone strap
- Station name board for the old Shibuya station showing that it’s the last stop
- Only 1,500 straps available
- 700 yen
- Out on March 22

3. Cut slices of the actual old rail track, each with a serial number
- A slice of the used rail track that was actually used
- Only 1,000 sets available
- 9,975 yen (only the rail), 13,440 yen (the rail with acrylic frame)
- Doubles as a Monjya scraper

These items can be ordered here.