The Underground Mysteries by Tokyo Metro in 2018
Note: The article was written on 2 December 2018 in Traditional Chinese, and translated and edited on 30 January 2025.
Do you imagine taking a tube ride can be an adventure to solve mysteries?
Recently I saw a lot of passengers carrying the following bag when I was taking Tokyo Metro. I then googled it and understood they were participating in a game organised by the underground train company here (地下謎への招待狀). English version was available too besides Japanese.
In daily life, even things which used to be special, shiny new, can become routine when people get used to them. Our attachment to habits lead us to not have breakthroughs, and thus (hidden) limitations so that possibilities and potentials can be overlooked.
There are an envelope, an information card, a pamphlet about the game and a pen inside the bag provided by the organizer.
The special ticket of the game was valid on the whole underground network for 24 hours since the first ride, so that they can, if they want, split the game into two days.
The game is simple: with the guidance from the bag and the hints from online, participants would have to take a train to some stations and landmarks to make observations and decode the words or sentences there, in order to unlock their next destination or answers. Through the game you would explore more facilities of underground and the communities close to the stations.
There were various kinds of materials inside the bag.
I started on Sunday afternoon, and continued on the following morning after a rest in the hotel. Many couples and groups of friends took part, and there were some oversea tourists too. 10–20 persons were solving a mystery in the same place at the same time. Some of them stayed in a cafe to figure out the answers, besides just standing or finding a seat. The game thus brought an opportunity for social gatherings.
Not only paper materials, there were also telephones in which you could dial up for more ways to solve mysteries that you didn’t expect.
We get used to the idea that transportation networks are built to let us travel from one point to another. With creativity, why can’t we design a game when commuting? Thinking outside the box allows us to have multiple solutions, meanings and values. There is no such thing as “standard answer”.
Remember when we get stuck, we need to remember ourselves to think outside the box. We get stuck because we are limited by routines. We feel we are limited due to the psychological “tunnelling effect” which is temporary if we are willing to seek more possibilities by experimenting.
A willingness to look for more possibilities is a kind of freedom, not to mention it’s a practical way to survive.
Find my Tokyo
Tokyo Metro is doing well on its transportation network. Besides its reliability, they are doing great jobs to integrate commuting into better life like exploring local communities. Find my Tokyo is one of the campaigns (more than marketing) held for years to allow residents and tourists to connect as well as understand people and cultures in various areas.
Tokyo Metro: The Underground Mysteries (地下謎への招待狀)
As far as I know, it was held at least in 2018 and the most recent was 2019. Hope there will be in the future.
