Japanese rail fan conquers entire Tokyo subway in record time

Avid rail fan Shona Noguchi (Japan) has set a world record for the fastest time to travel to all Tokyo subway stations, doing it in 13 hours 53 minutes.

The Tokyo subway system consists of 285 stations. While most of them are within Tokyo Metropolis, some are located in neighbouring prefectures such as Saitama and Chiba.

Tokyo subway line map. Credit: Yveltal/Wikimedia Commons

Noguchi's love for trains began at age four, with his favourite toy being a Plarail train.

His interest in trains deepened as he grew older, with Noguchi opting to travel by rail wherever he went in the world.

Although his main interest lies in riding the train, he also enjoys taking photos of them and playing with model railways.

One of Noguchi's past accomplishments was setting foot in all train stations in the Kanto region (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa), and he wanted to take this a step further by setting a Guinness World Records title.

He said: "I found out about the fastest time to travel to all London Underground stations, and I wanted to attempt a Tokyo version of that."

The attempt began at 8:22 a.m. in Nishi-magome station, the southernmost stop.

From there, Noguchi stood for nearly 14 hours on various trains.

"As it was necessary for me to take photos of each station as evidence, I stood by the door all the time," he explained.

"I usually enjoy the scenery when I'm on a train journey, but not this time."

Fortunately, there were no significant train delays during the day.

Noguchi ended his successful record attempt at Nishi-takashimadaria station at 10:18 p.m. With a Guinness World Records title in the bag, he was excited as ever.

He said: "I'm speechless to have achieved a record with the thing that I love. It's definitely a milestone in my lifelong interest in riding trains.

"I was once again in awe of the impeccable operational skills of the railway network. I'm so thankful for everyone who is running it, including the operation centre and all the train operators.

"I think Tokyo's railway system is something to be proud of, as multiple train companies share some of the lines. To keep a tight ship with different teams is simply amazing."