Dream Run

My ride to work each morning intersects three train lines, the Inokashira line, the Keiō line, and the Setagaya line. In addition, it also crosses Kōshū Kaidō (Route 20) and Tamagawa Dori (Route 246). Some mornings, if my timing is off, I can spend almost 15 minutes standing at the crossing outside Shimotakaido station alone. A times the barrier will open barely long enough for the backlog of pedestrians to cross leaving motorists stranded for another long wait.


Between 8am and 9am weekdays a (largely empty) train leaves Shibuya station bound for Kichijōji on the Inokashira line every 2 minutes!

Yesterday, though, I entered the twilight zone. Maybe there are fewer commuters, cars or incidents in the week after shōgatsu but yesterday morning the unthinkable occurred, a dream run. No waiting for trains, and even more incomprehensible, not a single red light. Spooky.

As a result I spent almost 15 minutes in the lobby at work, warming my hands on a canned coffee, as I waited for someone with a key to let me inside.