The 30th Anniversary of the Toyo Rapid Line

The 30th Anniversary Train: Set 2103 of the Toyo Rapid Railway 2000 series EMU

On April 27th, Toyo Rapid Railway celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Toyo Rapid Line. Today, I’d like to share a few thoughts about this milestone.

Let me start with a brief overview of the line. The Toyo Rapid Line opened in 1996 as a new commuter route in the western part of Chiba Prefecture. It is operated by the Toyo Rapid Railway Company, a joint public–private entity. The line stretches 16.2 kilometers between Toyo-Katsutadai and Nishi-Funabashi and has eight stations in total. The entire route is double-tracked, and trains run on a 1,500 V DC system. Almost all services continue onto the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line, and some even extend as far as the JR East Chuo Line.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary, Toyo Rapid Railway has introduced a specially wrapped train—the “30th Anniversary Train,” using Set 2103 of the 2000 series EMU. In the photo above, you can see the special round emblem on the front and the commemorative stickers along the sides. The design is modest, but charming in its own way.

Although the Toyo Rapid Line is a little far from where I live, I often take it to visit a rose garden in spring and autumn. Because of that, the 2000 series EMU always reminds me of those seasonal trips. I have many fond memories connected to this line.

Seeing the anniversary train also brought back older memories. In the photo below, you can see the former 1000 series EMU, which I photographed in 2009 when I was living in Jakarta, Indonesia.

As you may know, many Japanese trains were transferred to Indonesia during that period and operated by the local railway company, KRL JABODETABEK. The 1000 series was one of those valuable trains. I used to ride it on weekends to visit suburban areas and enjoy relaxing walks.

I am grateful to the trains of Toyo Rapid Railway—not only in Japan, but also in Indonesia—for the comfort they brought me over the years. Congratulations to Toyo Rapid Railway on its 30th anniversary!

Former Toyo Rapid Railway 1000 series EMU at Jakarta Kota Station, Indonesia

(January 2009)

Related Link:

・Official information on the Toyo Rapid Line from Toyo Rapid Railway

・Official information on the 30th anniversary of the Toyo Rapid Line from Toyo Rapid Railway (Japanese only)

2026 Hydrangea Season on the Keio Inokashira Line

Set 1754 of the Keio 1000 series EMU near Shin-daita Station

The cherry blossom season has come and gone, followed by the roses, and now hydrangea season has arrived in Tokyo.

I jokingly call myself a "honeybee railfan" because I'm always buzzing around in search of flowers and trains. I’m not a native English speaker, but I hope the expression sounds natural. As a train enthusiast, I’d like to share a few scenes where trains and hydrangeas come together in early summer.

This year, I visited Shin-daita and Nishi-eifuku on the Keio Inokashira Line to enjoy the blossoms. As I have mentioned before, I was born in a western suburb of Tokyo along this railway line, so it holds a special place in my heart.

Since 1991, Keio Corporation has been planting hydrangeas on railway embankments to help prevent slope erosion and contribute to environmental conservation. Today, colorful hydrangeas can be seen not only on the embankments but also at many locations along the line during June.

Please take a look at the photo above. Set 1754 of Keio’s 1000 series EMU is passing a bank of hydrangeas in full bloom near Shin-daita Station. This spot is located on a road bridge crossing over the tracks. At first glance, it seemed like an ideal photo location, but there was one challenge—a fine-meshed safety fence. Using a large-aperture lens was virtually impossible.

For a moment, I panicked. Then I pulled out my smartphone and concentrated on timing the shot. I just managed to get it—and I was delighted with the result.

Incidentally, Set 1754 was carrying a special round headmark reading “Takao,” promoting tourism to Mt. Takao on the Keio Line.

Now, please take a look at the photo below. I took it near Nishi-eifuku Station, a location I had wanted to visit for some time. The challenge here was that the hydrangeas are planted on the south side of the tracks, making photography difficult under strong sunlight.

Fortunately, the sky was overcast when I visited, allowing me to capture Set 1783 of the 1000 series EMU passing the hydrangeas at their peak. The flowers were wonderfully vibrant.

As luck would have it, Set 1783 was displaying a special round headmark reading “Ajisai” (Hydrangea). Perfect timing!

I thoroughly enjoyed photographing the combination of full-bloom hydrangeas and trains on the Keio Inokashira Line.

Set 1783 of the Keio 1000 series EMU near Nishi-eifuku Station

Spot the Difference: The Faces of Kotoden's 600 Series

Set 627 of the Kotoden 600 series EMU

Photo: Nicolai Okkels

I'm not a native English speaker, but I suppose that "spot the difference" is roughly equivalent to machigai-sagashi, a popular picture puzzle game in Japanese. Following my post on Tobu’s 50000 series EMUs three years ago, let's try another round of Spot the Difference with Kotoden’s 600 series EMUs.

Before we get started, my thanks go to Nicolai Okkels, who kindly shared the above photograph with me. He traveled around Shikoku last year and took many railway photographs, including those of Kotoden (Takamatsu-Kotohira Electric Railroad), a private railway in Kagawa Prefecture.

The above photo shows Set 627 of Kotoden’s 600 series EMUs. This trainset consists of two 15-meter-long motor cars. It was originally introduced on the Nagoya Municipal Subway in 1974. After 25 years in service, two former intermediate cars were converted into cab cars and transferred to Kotoden in 1999.

The photo below shows Set 623 of the same series. I took this photo in 2022. The history of Set 623 is similar to that of Set 627, but there is one important difference. The biggest difference is when the cars were converted into cab cars. Set 627 (top) was modified shortly before its transfer to Kotoden, whereas Set 623 (bottom) underwent the same modification during the mid-1980s while still operating on the Nagoya Municipal Subway.

This difference in modification timing resulted in several visible differences between the two trainsets.

Now, let's take a closer look at the faces of these two trains and see what differences we can find.

First, I noticed that the cross-sectional shapes of the car bodies are different. Set 627 (top) has a more angular roof profile than Set 623 (bottom).

Second, the shapes of the front ends are different. Set 627 has a narrower forehead above the cab windows than Set 623.

Third, the front window frames are made of different materials. Set 627 uses black H-rubber window gaskets, whereas Set 623 has metal window frames.

Fourth, I found that the positions of the windshield-wiper pivots are different. On Set 627, the pivots are mounted farther from the window frames than on Set 623.

Finally, Set 627 has a headmark mounting bracket on the gangway door, whereas Set 623 does not.

Did you spot all the differences?

I'm always happy to be a railway enthusiast who can find enjoyment in such small details. I hope you enjoyed this little exercise as much as I did.

Set 623 of the Kotoden 600 series EMU (December 2022)

Related links:

・Official information on Kotoden’s rolling stock (in Japanese)

Precious Shared Track around Asukayama

Toei 7700 series Unit 7705 climbing the shared track

It may sound sudden, but do you have a place that never fails to spark joy?

For me, Asukayama is that place as a rail fan. Today, I’d like to share a small story about this area.

■ What is Asukayama?

Asukayama—literally “Asuka Mountain”—is a small hill and public park in the northern part of Tokyo. It was opened in 1732 by Yoshimune Tokugawa as a cherry blossom viewing spot for the people of old Edo.

The closest station is Ōji Station, about 17 minutes from Tokyo Station via JR East’s Keihin–Tōhoku Line. You can also access it via the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line and the Toei Arakawa Line.

■ Why is Asukayama special for rail fans?

First, two preserved vehicles stand inside the park: Toei tramcar Unit 6080 and former JNR steam locomotive D51 853 (I hope to introduce them properly in a future post).

Second, the well-known train-viewing spot Kitatopia is close by.

And third, a charming free monorail called Ascargot carries visitors up the hillside.

■ The precious shared track on the Arakawa Line

While these attractions are wonderful, there's another feature I’d love to highlight—the shared track section on the Toei Arakawa Line.

Most of the line runs on exclusive tracks, but there is one exception: the 0.5 km stretch between Ōji-ekimae and Asukayama stops.

In the photo above, Unit 7705 of the 7700 series is about to begin its climb up the shared track. Even with its 120 kW output, the incline becomes a challenge when the car is crowded. A small automobile easily passes it. Hang in there, Unit 7705!

In the photo below, after conquering the slope, Unit 9001 of the 9000 series is just about to return to the exclusive track. Bathed in the spring sunlight, it looks almost relieved. Nice work on the hill climb!

Asukayama’s charm truly never ends—including this rare shared track.

Toei 9000 series Unit 9001 running on the shared track

Kominato Railway: 2026 Update

A panoramic view of Kominato Railway’s Goi Railyard

Can you guess where and when the top photo was taken?

If you’re familiar with Japanese railways, you might think, “This must be a countryside railyard from many years ago, because the diesel railcars in the photo were mainly introduced in the 1960s and 1970s for local services.”

Or maybe you’d guess, “It was taken recently, but it looks like a diorama, since rolling stock from different companies are parked together in one place.”

Thank you for joining my small quiz and giving those reasonable guesses.

The answer is: the photo was recently taken at Kominato Railway’s Goi Railyard.

Before sharing the full story, let me briefly introduce Kominato Railway and the Goi Railyard.

Kominato Railway is a local private railway company based in Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture, about 50 km east of Tokyo. The company operates the Kominato Line, which runs between Goi and Kazusa-Nakano over a total distance of 39.1 km. The track is single and not electrified. Goi Railyard is the only railyard on the Kominato Line.

Now, thank you for waiting. Here is the story.

I visited the Kominato Line recently for the first time in four years, and I found two diesel railcars that I had not seen during my previous visits in 2018, 2021, and 2022.

First, you can see a maroon-colored diesel railcar in the center of the top photo. This is Unit KiHa 212 of the KiHa 200 series. It entered service in 1975 with the two-tone “fire orange” and “morn ivory” body, just like the other railcars of the same series. However, in April this year, its body color was changed to maroon to celebrate the 101st anniversary of the Kominato Line. Congratulations, KiHa 212! You were specially chosen.

Second, another unfamiliar diesel railcar appears to the left of Unit KiHa 212. If you have been visiting this blog for a long time, you may recognize its coloring — it’s the “Oga Line color” used by JR East in Akita Prefecture. This car, Unit KiHa 40-4 of the KiHa 40 series, was transferred from JR East’s Oga Line in 2022. It still keeps its original Oga Line colors: dark green and ivory. It looks beautiful.

Finally, I would like to introduce my favorite spot along the line: the Kominato Waiting Room and Café (please see the related link below). As its name suggests, it is both a train waiting room and a café next to Goi Station, directly operated by Kominato Railway. Visitors can enjoy food and drinks indoors or outdoors while watching trains come and go (see the photo below).

I enjoyed a delicious curry and iced coffee there. I couldn’t have been happier.

Units 40-4 (left) and 212 (right) viewed from the Kominato Waiting Room and Cafe

Related links:

・Official information on Kominato Railway’s rolling stock (in Japanese)

・Official information on the Kominato Waiting Room and Café (in Japanese)