Typhoon Trami (Typhoon No. 24) brought intense winds to Tokyo on the night of September 30th, though damage was worse outside the city, including three reported fatalities. The capital wasn’t taking any chances, however, with major train lines shutting in the evening. This had the effect of turning parts of central Tokyo into a veritable ghost town as it locked down in anticipation of the wind and rain coming that night.
Intrepid Japanese photographer m_voice0724 received special permission to enter JR Shinjuku Station after it had been shut to passengers and had the opportunity to take photographs of the world’s busiest train station on a Sunday night when there was no one around.
When normally there would be endless streams of people passing through the ticket gates or milling around the platforms, there is no on. When there would ordinarily be train arrival information on the screens, there is nothing displayed. The transport hub is at a mysterious standstill. Has the world ended?
街から人が消えた日
新宿駅
世界1 乗降客数をこなす駅なのに本当に無人だった。#東京カメラ部 #ファインダー越しのわたしの世界 #写真好きな人と繋がりたい #tokyocameraclub #台風24号 pic.twitter.com/d0v0JLS5p6
— おる汰@現像しろ (@m_voice0724) September 30, 2018
The results he captured with his camera are eerie, to say the least, like something out of an apocalypse or zombie movie. He immediately shared his images on Twitter during the night and the next morning. As Tokyo commuters awoke to continuing train chaos, the photos soon went viral.
He took some other shots of Shinjuku outside the station, likewise dark and almost uniquely void of human trace at 10pm.
He also ventured to Shibuya, which was similarly deserted despite the relatively early hour of 11pm.
