We sure hope that train’s heater is working.

Even as someone who loves driving, I have to admit there are a lot of upsides to Japan’s amazing rail network. Japanese trains are reliable, punctual, and clean, making them the best single option for getting around the country.

However, even the best public transportation system involves certain compromises, and taking the train means you won’t be deposited right in front of your eventual destination. So, for example, if you were hopping off at Shiga Station in Japan’s central Shiga Prefecture, you’d need to make your way down the platform, head out the gate, and then hoof it to wherever you’re going.

▼ Shiga Station

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On most days, that’s probably not such an ordeal. Last Monday, though, was not most days. With a cold snap occurring across the nation, a site very different from the one above greeted Japanese Twitter user @hytxxx19 when his Kosei Line train made its scheduled stop at Shiga Station.

The steadily falling snow had formed a frozen carpet several inches thick to form on platform, a phenomenon that can be heard to be quickly declared yabai (crazy) by @hytxxx19 and his friends.

It doesn’t look like @hytxxx19 needed to get off the train at the station, which is especially fortuitous since he looks to be wearing an ordinary pair of sneakers, as opposed to any sort of high-traction or well-insulated snow boots. Still, Shiga isn’t big enough that the weather would be significantly warmer in any other part of the prefecture, and if @hytxxx19 simply decided to keep riding the rails until spring comes and the snow melts, I can’t say I’d blame him.

Source: Twitter/@hytxxx19 via IT Media
Insert image: Wikipedia/計記録