Until February 1968, the Tokyo Toden (streetcar) ran through Ginza 4-chome in Tokyo, and until January 1970, it ran through Shinjuku, the city center and sub-center of Tokyo. Meanwhile, around the same time as the Tokyo Toden, the Tokyu Tamagawa Line (Tamaden), Kinuta Line, and Setagaya Line were streetcars that ran on the roads from Shibuya to Tamagawa-dori. In just 35 years, the Toden and Tamaden disappeared, replaced by buses and subways. The Toden system, which had 41 routes (some trolleybus routes) at its peak in 1962, now only has the Arakawa Line, between Arakawa-shakomae and Minowabashi. The Tamaden was also abolished in the mid-1960s, and has now transformed into the Tokyu Shin-Tamagawa Line, which connects high-class residential areas with the city center. Although not a fast mode of transportation, the Toden, which emitted no exhaust fumes and had significantly lower fares, was truly the common people's mode of transport. Japan became an economic superpower through rapid economic growth. The Tokyo Toden and Tamaden can be said to be symbols of what was ruthlessly discarded in that process. By using many photos from the time when both the Toden and Tamaden were still in operation, the image of the Toden running freely throughout Tokyo in its heyday has been revived. The sight of it running through the downtown area. The sight of it running with the skyscrapers of the big city in the background, the old-fashioned cars running on dedicated tracks, the egg-shaped Tamaden articulated trains running through traffic jams, etc. The essay by the author, who was born and raised in Tokyo and walked alongside the Toden and Tamaden, is even more nostalgic. This photo commentary book is not well known, even to Tokyo Toden fans, and especially to Tokyu and Tamaden fans, partly because the name Tamaden is not included in the title. The Tamaden includes the three lines of the Tamagawa Line, Kinuta Line, and Setagaya Line at the end of the book. Published by Yuraku Publishing in 2004, B6 size, 191 pages, price 1760 yen ●Out of print● #Other railway books here #Other subway/streetcar related items here #Other public transportation related items here #Tokyu Tamagawa Line #Tamagawa Line #Tamaden #Tamaden #Shibuya #Futako-Tamagawa #Sangenjaya #Kinuta-Hommura #Tamagawa-dori