DMU Kominato Type 200 arrives at Yoro Keikoku (Yoro Valley) Station
Following my visit to Ezuki Narcissus Road in January (see my blog on January 18th), I visited Boso Peninsula again last weekend. My destination was Yoro Valley, which is located in the heart of the peninsula.
Yoro is a gorgeous valley, where tourists can enjoy walking along the fresh stream and in the open air in the forest, and bathing in the hot springs. My favorite landscape is the beautifully dipping geological layers along the Yoro River. We can see alternating sandstone and shale layers at the riverside (see the bottom photo). These layers are estimated to have been deposited around 3 million years ago in the sea, and uplifted later with the formation of folds.
To get to Yoro Valley, I took a local train of Kominato Railway. This railway is a part of the trans-peninsula railway, which connects Goi on the west coast and Ohara on the east coast of the peninsula. Kominato forms the western part of the trans-peninsula railway. The total operating length is 39.1km.
I got on the classic DMU, type 200 from Goi Station. The type 200 was manufactured from 1961 to 1977 at Nihon Sharyo. They are a bit old, but still maintained in good condition (see the top photo). Although, there are no large boxes on the roof, all of the DMUs are equipped with air conditioners.
It was crowded with tourists because it was the weekend. All of the passengers looked very happy in expectation of the pleasant holiday. I also fully enjoyed a beautiful Sunday, riding a classic train and walking along the stream.
Yoro is a gorgeous valley, where tourists can enjoy walking along the fresh stream and in the open air in the forest, and bathing in the hot springs. My favorite landscape is the beautifully dipping geological layers along the Yoro River. We can see alternating sandstone and shale layers at the riverside (see the bottom photo). These layers are estimated to have been deposited around 3 million years ago in the sea, and uplifted later with the formation of folds.
To get to Yoro Valley, I took a local train of Kominato Railway. This railway is a part of the trans-peninsula railway, which connects Goi on the west coast and Ohara on the east coast of the peninsula. Kominato forms the western part of the trans-peninsula railway. The total operating length is 39.1km.
I got on the classic DMU, type 200 from Goi Station. The type 200 was manufactured from 1961 to 1977 at Nihon Sharyo. They are a bit old, but still maintained in good condition (see the top photo). Although, there are no large boxes on the roof, all of the DMUs are equipped with air conditioners.
It was crowded with tourists because it was the weekend. All of the passengers looked very happy in expectation of the pleasant holiday. I also fully enjoyed a beautiful Sunday, riding a classic train and walking along the stream.
Beautifully dipping geological layers along Yoro River near Yoro Keikoku (Yoro Valley) Station
More information about Kominato Railway (in Japanese): http://www.kominato.co.jp/