The most recent addition to the Tokyo subway system is the Fukutoshin-sen. Every subway line in Tokyo is assigned a color. Of course, this line is no exception. With about fifteen lines already in existence, I guess that the people in charge of train line colors at Tokyo Metro were starting to run out of attractive choices. I can just picture it.
They color committee sits around the large round table in the conference room, each person with their ideal color in mind. They start going around the table with their ideas. "How about a nice robust red," a serious-looking man suggests. Almost before he has finished, the woman next to him blurts out, "been there, done that. Marunouchi-sen. What about a forest green?" But here too, someone shouts out that this has already been done. The committee continues to rule out all possibilities until someone suggests . . . brown! Silence falls over the room. By this time everyone is exhausted. Without even taking a peak at the brown color swatch, it is decided. The Fukutoshin-sen will be represented by the color brown.
It had to have happened this way. I can see no other way that such a vile shade could have been chosen. Now lets get one thing straight. I'm not completely opposed to brown. My hair is brown. The door to my room is wooden and, naturally, brown. I love chocolate! But the brown of this train line is not the color of my hair, nor that of my door, and it certainly doesn't look like chocolate.
In small portions this color is not terribly offensive. But large areas painting with it are a completely different story, in my opinion. You be the judge. Try standing in close proximity to a Fukutoshin-sen train. Trust me, you'll understand.
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