Part 1
HAMA House
Thanks for the meal.
You ate so fast today, Ani-sama. Are you in a hurry to go somewhere? To shower?
No uhh… Today’s, y’know.
Ohhh, right. Have fun!
HAMA House – Boar Room
…Damn, there’s a lot of people. But I mean, that’s to be expected.
(Today’s the online in-person meet up for the train enthusiast club… mahorova’s special lobby’s gonna be jam packed with train otakus. This is the shit.)
I should log in on my train enthusiast account, @Kimaroki,1 too.
*mahorova dive*
mahorova – Lobby
(Mm… It’s bustling here, but looks like it’s full of casuals… or people that I can’t have a full on discussion with.)
(Oh well, it be like that sometimes. I’ll just chill around and then log out… Hm?)
*In another part of the lobby*
—It was the first steam engine in Japan. I was able to see the class 110 steam locomotive2 and railway monument a few days ago, however, it truly is a sight to behold.
(@Galaxy Express3… Is he talking ‘bout the old Yokohama station? And pretty in detail at that.)
(Speaking of which, those anniversary tickets are about to go on sale… Guess I’ll go strike up a convo then.)
HAMA House – Dining Room
*yawns*… Mornin’
Good morning, Ani-sama. I got to see Ani-sama’s big yawn~♪ You were up until really late last night, right?
Yeah. There was this guy called Galaxy Express or somethin’, pretty cool dude… But whatever, we should have breakfast.
Okay!
And then, and then, we ended up talking until the crack of dawn. It was an extremely productive conversation and I had a lot of fun.
It’s rare to see you geek out like this… Looks like yesterday’s meet up went well.
(A meet up until the crack of dawn…? Nah, no way…)
It is rare to find someone who I can talk about not only modern trains, but also the little-known Kishamichi Promenade4 with, so I got quite excited.
(…It’s the exact same stuff I talked about with Galaxy Express last night… Which means Galaxy Express is actually Kaguya…? To think I had a friend so close by.)
(But I’m a closet train otaku… I can’t have anyone finding out…!)
Kimaroki, or Kimaroki formation is a series of snowplow trains that operate in Northern Japan where snowfall is common. Their primary use is to remove snow from train tracks. For more information: https://www.guidoor.jp/en/places/6621 or check out the Japanese wikipedia article on キマロキ trains using google translate.
This was one of the first 10 steam engines imported from England to Japan when Japan’s first railroad opened in 1872. It was designated a railway monument in 1961 which is what Muneuji talks about. For more information: http://steam.fan.coocan.jp/beginning/10.htm.
This is a fictional train that runs through space. It is often featured in pop culture.
Kishamichi Promenade is a promenade built upon an abandoned railway line. It was originally built for the purpose of transporting freight, but included some passenger trains. Now, it is a beautiful walkway good for taking in the night view of Yokohama port. For more information: https://nightscape.tokyo/en/yokohama/kisya-michi/.
-shi (氏) is a polite suffix used normally in business or formal writing. It’s also a common suffix otakus use to refer to one another (usually indicating awkwardness and respect).