Thursday 27 December 2018

Early Winter in Kamakura

EMU JR East E217 series approaches Kamakura station on the Yokosuka line

I visited Kamakura with my family again. It was the first time in almost one year. Kamakura, about 40 kilometers south of Tokyo, is known as a historic city where the Bakufu (Shogunate government) was located from 1185 to 1333. We visited Jufukuji temple, about a 10 minute walk from Kamakura station. Although it was the weekend, the precinct of the temple was very quiet. We fully enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere and the evergreen trees in the temple.

To visit the city of Kamakura from Tokyo, the JR East Yokosuka line is convenient. The EMU E217 series is the main fleet on the line. The E217 series was launched in 1994 to replace the old EMU 113 series. It is a typical commuter train with eight doors per unit. It is equipped with long seats, but cross seats are also allocated for long distance passengers in several cars. Most trains are directly operated onto the Sobu line via Tokyo station.

What's new with the E217 series? Firstly, the E217 series operated on the Tokaido line was moved to the Yokosuka line in March, 2015. As a result, all the E217 series (745 units) currently belong to the Kamakura depot being operated only on the Yokosuka line. Secondly, JR East recently made a press release announcing that the new model, E235 series, will be introduced onto the Yokosuka line in 2020.

I have to keep an eye on the city of Kamakura... both the places of interest and the trains.

Jufukuji-temple in early winter