The Platform Does Not Say Your Stop. It Says a City Past It. That Is Your Train.
To say in the direction of in Japanese, say 方面 (hōmen).
Your stop is not on the board. The bigger city past it is. That is your train.
方面
hōmen
in the direction of
In this video
- 方面 hōmen That kanji is 「方面」. It means in the direction of. Shinjuku on the sign can still be your local two stops out.
- 新宿方面です。 Shinjuku-hōmen desu. This is the Shinjuku direction.
- 方面 hōmen Do not wait for your town to light up. If 「方面」 points past it, you are on the right platform. Get on.
- 新宿方面はこちらです。 Shinjuku-hōmen wa kochira desu. The Shinjuku direction is this way.
Why this phrase
Decode 「方面」 on platform signs. It does not mean this train ends at that city. It means anything on the way there. Tourists wait for their stop to appear, then miss the train that was always theirs. Distinct from 行き on the train face (tourist-yuki-desu) and Yamanote inner vs outer (tourist-uchimawari).
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