Missing Your Train While Listening Absentmindedly... Japan's Unique "Station Melodies" at Every Subway Station [Sunday Japanese Culture]

Japanese Subway Culture: "Station Melodies"
Spread Throughout Central Tokyo During the Bubble Economy
Astro Boy and Galaxy Express 999 Themes... Also Serve as Local Promotion

"Next station is Seoul Station, Seoul Station."

When it comes to subway announcements, background music is inseparable. Although the music indicating transfer stations has changed, many people still remember "Eolssiguya" by composer Kim Baekchan, which is familiar to us. This is the lively transfer station announcement music featuring the sounds of gayageum, janggu, daegeum, and haegeum. It still frequently appears in games and video content introducing Korean subways.

The transfer background music in Korea was unified with traditional Korean music in 2009, when Seoul Metro designated it as part of the "Visit Korea Year" campaign. If you recall the music played when trains arrive, there are several types, such as trumpet and xylophone sounds. Korail, Seoul Metro, and other operators use different train approach melodies for their respective sections.

Japan has a wider variety of train melodies than Korea. In fact, each station can have its own unique arrival melody. These melodies are often used as promotional items to showcase the local character of each area. This is what is commonly referred to as the "station melody." Today, let's talk about station melodies, which are an important part of Japanese railway culture.

Station melodies have developed alongside the history of railways. Railways first began operating in Japan in 1872. At that time, the departure was literally signaled by beating a drum. In addition, bells or chimes were used to indicate train departures and arrivals. Then, in 1951, for the first time at Bungo-Taketa Station in Oita Prefecture, the song "Kojo no Tsuki" was played when trains departed. This is considered the origin of the station melody. "Kojo no Tsuki" is a famous song that appears in Japanese music textbooks, and its composer, Rentaro Taki, was born in Oita.

1951 was not long after Japan's defeat in World War II, and "Kojo no Tsuki" literally means "the moon over a ruined castle." Its lyrics resonated with people, making it a beloved song nationwide. (Ironically, Korea's first trot song "Hwangseong Yetto" was released during the Japanese occupation.) At that time, since there was no chime system like today, the station played the song directly from a record donated by local residents every time a train arrived or departed. Although there have been rearrangements, Bungo-Taketa Station has steadfastly continued to use this song as its station melody to this day.

The current style of wordless melodies began at Yodoyabashi Station on the Osaka Keihan Line. The person in charge of the train bell system at the time created different bells for express and local trains. For express trains, they used "The Marriage of Figaro," and for local trains, they used an original melody inspired by the bugle calls often heard during naval academy days.

This culture spread rapidly during the bubble economy era. After the privatization of Japanese railways began in 1987, changes gradually appeared. Except for a few stations that had adopted melodies, most stations used loud bells to signal train departures. In 1989, JR East introduced melodies at Shinjuku and Shibuya stations on the Yamanote Line. The idea was to play melodies instead of noisy bells at the busiest stations in the capital during the bubble economy. Yamaha was commissioned to provide a dedicated train melody system, which also improved sound quality. There is also a sad episode: when train melodies were introduced at Kanazawa Station in 1992, some people did not realize it was a departure melody and missed their trains while standing around absentmindedly.

Now, station melodies have become a unique cultural feature, especially serving as effective local ambassadors. For example, at Takadanobaba Station on the JR Yamanote Line, which circles central Tokyo, the theme song from the anime "Astro Boy" plays as trains arrive. This is because, in the original story, Astro Boy was born at the Ministry of Science located in Takadanobaba. To give you a taste, here is a video from a YouTube channel that collects only Japanese station melodies.

Also, at Fuchinobe Station on the JR Yokohama Line, the station melody is the theme from "Galaxy Express 999." This is because the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is located nearby. Even the roads in this area are named after constellations, giving it a strong "space town" image. The idea to use "Galaxy Express 999" as the station melody came from local residents. The concept is clear and distinctive.

There are also many stations that use pop songs as their melodies. At JR Tateyama Station in Chiba Prefecture, "Forever Love" by X Japan plays when trains depart. This song was once a popular karaoke hit in Korea, and both the leader Yoshiki and former member Toshi are from Tateyama City. The song was selected to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Tateyama Station.

At Sakuranomiya Station in Osaka, famous for its cherry blossoms, the station now plays "Sakuranbo" by singer Otsuka Ai, which is currently enjoying a resurgence on social networking services (SNS). In Yonago, the city recently adopted "Pretender" by Official Hige Dandism, a band that has become well known in Korea. This reflects the local pride in artists from the area.

Yonago City Website Notice. It announces that the song "Pretender" by Official Hige Dandism has been selected as the train melody. Yonago City.

In this way, "station melodies" can be seen as a cultural element that brings small joys to the daily commute. The melodies in Korea also feel special in their own way. Perhaps it's worth paying attention to the subway melodies on the way to work this Monday.