I lived in Tokyo and literally didn’t know that the Yamanote line was so old, thanks HN! It runs so well, so much quieter than e.g. the BART. Insane that the loop was fully connected by the 1920s.

If you do a bike/walk along the Yamanote, you’ll see TONS of small restaurants and grottos tucked in the spaces between the train tracks and the ground, for miles and miles. They have a great, cozy vibe, and are highly trafficked, usually really fast service from a vending machine outside to maximize use of space. And sometimes astonishingly delicious.