Ever since I can remember, I have loved trains of all kinds: model trains, real-life trains, you name it. I figured that I really do need to have a page dedicated to this, my longest-lived hobby and interest.

I’ve especially become interested even more in model railroading following a purchase on my very last day of my last trip to Japan in 2008: はじめよう！！Ｎゲージ鉄道模型レイアウト　(or for those of you who don’t read Japanese, “Let’s get started!! N Gauge Model Railroad Layouts”– here’s a link to the page on Amazon.co.jp (though it appears to be out of print).

It’s a 100-page magazine/book accompanied by a 200-minute DVD of this great NHK Model Railroad TV series. I’ve watched it over and over again (both to help my Japanese language skills and motivate my hobby interest) and it even motivated me to build my very first hot-springs-in-autumn themed mini-layout from start to finish.

Couple that with the wealth of YouTube videos available of Japanese prototype trains–some of which are in stunning, broadcast-worthy quality–and I’ve been rekindling my love of trains.

Look forward to information about my collection, layout(s), projects and other stuff here and as blog entries. See you soon!