Tobu is one of the major railway companies in Japan. They operate the largest private railway network in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and are aggressive in diversifying their business. Their current biggest news is the grand opening of Tokyo Sky Tree, the 634 meter-high world's tallest broadcasting tower near Oshiage Station in 2012.
Tobu Railway, then, geared up for the promotion of tourism to Nikko, a World Heritage Site by renovating their flagship train, "Spacia", the EMU 100 series. The interior of Spacia has become more gorgeous and the exterior colors have also been changed. Currently, there are three body colors, namely orange, purple and blue.
Spacia was launched in 1990. A total of 9 sets, 54 units have been manufactured so far by Alna Koki and Tokyu Sharyo. Because of its unique design and high specifications, Spacia was elected as the 1991 Blue Ribbon Prize train. As you may know, the Blue Ribbon Prize is an annual award presented by the Japan Railfan Club since 1958, awarded to the best train that was launched in the previous year. Actually, almost all awarded trains to date are representative carriages in each railway company.
I, recently, had a chance to take photographs of the new colored Spacia in JR East Shinjuku Station, since Spacia is directly operated onto the JR East lines in the downtown Tokyo area. The new colored trains were shining beautifully under the evening illumination in the station yard.
