Hakata is the largest railway station in Fukuoka Prefecture on Kyushu Island. Many kinds of trains continuously arrive at and leave this giant terminal. As a rail-fan, my greatest pleasure at this station is to see the variety of limited express trains. Let's take a look at some of those trains.
The EMU 783 series, Midori (green), is operated between Hakata and Sasebo, the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture. It was launched in 1988 under the name of Hyper-saloon. The 783 series is alternate current (AC) electric cars with a thyristor continuous phase control system. This system converts AC to a variable voltage of direct current (DC) using thyristor semiconductor devices.
The EMU 787 series, Kirameki (shining), is operated between Hakata and Mojiko, the gateway station to Kyushu Island from the main island of Japan. Please look at my previous post describing this model.
The EMU 883 series, Sonic, is operated between Hakata and Ooita (or Saeki). It was launched in 1995 to compete with the express way bus services. It is not as fast as a sonic wave, but the 883 series has a tilting system to pass through tight curves at a high speed.
The EMU 885 series, Kamome (seagull), is operated between Hakata and Nagasaki (or Saga), which are the main cities in Nagasaki and Saga prefectures. The white colored streamlined body is elegant and popular among tourists. It is a representative inter-city limited express train of JR Kyushu Company.
Hakata Station is just like an "express museum".
Official information about JR Kyushu's limited express train, Sonic:
Official information about JR Kyushu's limited express train, Kamome:
Official information about JR Kyushu's limited express train, Midori, Kirameki and the others: