On the Tokyo subway, one passenger disappeared into the pages of a manga while the train carried us towards Shibuya—and another plot twist.
While travelling through Tokyo by subway, probably on my way towards the famous Shibuya Crossing, I noticed a passenger completely absorbed in a manga. Around him, the train continued its carefully timed journey through one of the busiest cities in the world, but his attention remained somewhere inside the story unfolding across the pages.
It was a simple, everyday scene, yet it said something about Tokyo that stayed with me. In a city filled with screens, flashing advertisements and constant movement, a traditional printed manga could still create a small private world in the middle of a crowded train.
The subway knew exactly where it was going. Judging by the expression on the page, the story had other plans.
- Date
- 2026-01-01