Eki Otoko

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: ALL ABOARD: Train fan visits every station in the country-all 9,843 of them
In February 1992, Hirohiko Yokomi began a quest other train hobbyists only dare to dream of-he would stop at every JR station in the country. He got his adventure rolling at Appikogen Station on the JR Hanawa Line in Iwate Prefecture. More than three years and 4,635 train stations later, he applied the brakes, victorious, at Mimasaka-Kawai Station on the JR Inbi Line in Okayama Prefecture, in October 1995. It was at this point train mania set in for real. Yokomi decided to hit the tracks again, this time stopping at all the stations operated by private railroads, including subways. He achieved the goal on Feb. 20, when he chugged into Jyoshu-Fukushima Station on the Joshin Dentetsu Line in Gunma Prefecture. It was his 9,843rd train station...more...

[Mulboyne]

AFP via Yahoo: Japanese 'nerd' off the rails for train travel

"It's coming, coming, coming! Toot, toot!" he cries as the train pulls in. Hirohiko Yokomi has seen literally thousands of trains, but the excitement has not changed since he was a schoolboy. In a country known for passionate hobbyists, Yokomi is king of the rail buffs..."I'm unfit in society, an oddball," he says. "I dumped my life on the rails"...But as Yokomi stars in comics and gains more media coverage, he is gradually losing anonymity, with train otaku periodically recognizing him and the travel media seeking his advice...He loathes train geeks, calling them mostly a bunch of drab and gloomy men, although he admits he hates them in part because he sees himself in them. "They are so bad-looking. I'm afraid I still look like one of them, although I didn't care before," he says...But Yokomi thinks he can use his minor celebrity to change the image of rail fans. "I have just come out of wallowing in that mud. I'll start a revolution"...more...

[kamome]

This guy sounds autistic...or retarded.

[drpepper]

This guy sounds autistic...or retarded.

Or Austistically Retarded...