Naoe Kikuchi, a manga artist, was recruited to document writer Hirohiko Yokomi's travels to every train station in Japan. She accepted the assignment unaware of Yokomi's identity or the railway-centric nature of his journeys. Learning the details prompted immediate regret due to her complete disinterest in trains. Financial necessity and professional obligation, driven by her editor's shared railway enthusiasm, forced her participation.

She meets the travels with cynicism and sarcasm, frequently expressing dissatisfaction over the relentless focus on train schedules, obscure station visits, and the lack of breaks for conventional sightseeing or meals. Her sole enjoyment during these trips stems from anticipating and consuming eki-ben, the specialty boxed meals sold at stations. This stands in stark contrast to Yokomi's meticulous planning and passion for complex railway itinerary goals.

Initially overwhelmed and resistant to the demanding pace and singular focus on railway logistics, Kikuchi gradually adapts to the routine over successive journeys. While her fundamental disinterest in trains persists, she prepares better for subsequent trips, such as researching station food options in advance to counter the absence of scheduled meal breaks. She transforms these experiences into an autobiographical manga portraying her perspective as an unwilling participant thrust into extreme railway enthusiasm.

Within the travel dynamic, her role functions as an audience surrogate, embodying the viewpoint of someone unfamiliar with and initially dismissive of railway fandom. The narrative explicitly presents her experiences as non-fictional accounts from her perspective as the documenting illustrator. This collaboration extended beyond the original series, resulting in multiple sequel manga projects where different artists illustrated the ongoing travels, though Kikuchi's foundational experiences remained central to the series' origin.