The sign at Shin-Kawasaki Station stating "Kawasaki Station is 6km away" is something that surely everyone who has seen it has tilted their head in confusion, wondering how on earth it could be 6 kilometers.
First, if you follow the sign's suggestion and transfer at Musashi-Kosugi Station, the distance is 10.2 kilometers. That is quite a bit further than 6 kilometers.
If you take the "or" option and transfer at Yokohama Station, it turns out to be a whopping 22.8 kilometers.
Yet, even with the transfer, this only takes 21 minutes. Despite being double the distance, it is actually faster than transferring at Musashi-Kosugi.
The speed of the Tokaido and Yokosuka lines is truly fearsome.
So, what is the best way to go without taking a huge detour? In that case, it is best to settle your fare, exit the ticket gate, and take the Nambu Line from the nearby Kashimada Station.
The reason this isn't written on the sign is likely a kindness to prevent passengers from having to exit the gates and pay an additional fare.
But this time, it is only 4.1 kilometers—too short. Even including the 300-400 meter walk between Shin-Kawasaki and Kashimada, it doesn't reach 6 kilometers.
What if you decide to just walk directly after exiting the gate?
Even walking the shortest route, it is 3.7 kilometers, a completely different number from 6 kilometers.
While many say it is too far to walk, it isn't actually 6 kilometers away. In the modern era, one could also consider using Luup or Hello Cycling.
So, how does it become 6 kilometers?
The answer was "when walking on top of the railway tracks."
If we assume you walk straight from Shin-Kawasaki along the tracks and cross over to the Tokaido Line at the junction just before Tsurumi to head toward Kawasaki Station, let's measure that distance.
It turns out to be exactly 6 kilometers!
That said, walking on the tracks involves all sorts of dangers and is not a realistic means of travel...
However, even if walking on the tracks is impossible, there are roads that generally run along the tracks between Shin-Kawasaki and Kawasaki, so it is possible to walk using the tracks as a landmark.
In an era before mobile phones when people didn't have maps, perhaps there were brave souls who tried to reach Kawasaki Station by following the tracks the train had just traveled.
