Source: 山田全自動 Yamada Zenjido (@y_ta_net) - image used with permission

Nostalgic Showa era communication tool still being used in Japanese train station

With the proliferation of cell phones and smartphones, it's much easier to keep in touch with family and friends than it was decades ago.

However, in the age before cell phones, things weren't as convenient.

Twitter user 山田全自動 Yamada Zenjido (@y_ta_net) saw something at Kaizuka Station in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, which is a remnant from the Showa Era days when cell phones weren't widely available.

For many people on Twitter who grew up in Japan in those days, the images he shared brought back nostalgic memories:

Reproduced with permission from 山田全自動 Yamada Zenjido (@y_ta_net)

Inside the station was a messaging blackboard.

Once ubiquitous in Japanese train stations, people used them to leave messages for people such as "I'll meet you at ___" or "I went home."

However, due to the spread of cell phones and the growing problem of people defacing the boards with scribbles and graffiti, these blackboards gradually disappeared from stations throughout Japan.

However, it would seem that they're not completely gone just yet. Yamada Zenjido seems to have stumble upon one such relic of a previous era.

Images of the messaging blackboard elicited both nostalgic comments from those who used to use them and curious comments from those who were born when cell phones already existed. Here are some of the comments:

  • "Wow, that brings back memories! I used to use them for meeting up with people... I didn't know there were places where they still exist."
  • "I feel nostalgia looking at that old pay phone!"
  • "I think it looks like a school blackboard, not something to leave messages on..."

If you're in Japan, maybe you'll be lucky and come across one during your travels.

By - grape Japan editorial staff.

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