Dear, Diary,

Shinichi took the entrance examination to enroll in JR Hokkaido when he was the end of a teenager. He did not prepare his reasons for choosing this company. After he didn’t pass this exam, Shinichi researched the train system between 2000 and 2004. He was interested in the railway system.

Shinichi was a train aficionado. He used to subscribe to two Japanese Rail Magazines, Japan Railfan Magazine(鉄道ファン) and Railway Journal(鉄道ジャーナル). These magazines pick up the Japanese railway. Japan Railfan Magazine features the system or the mechanism of the train. On the other hand, Railway Journal features issues with the railway as transportation.

Shinichi was interested in the position of the railway in society. Also, he was interested in the train system too. For example, when Suica (IC-card, mainly JR East.) appeared in Tokyo in 2001, he went to Tokyo to get Suica. Sapporo subway also preceded the test for using Suica. Shinichi applied for the user as a production tester. In 2000, in some stations in Tozai- Line (Orange Line), system engineering companies set the automatic ticket gate for IC cards. He could touch advanced technology and felt excited.

Nowadays, most stations transformed automatic ticket gates from magnetic cards to IC cards.