Wednesday 29 May 2019

Flower Road on the Tohoku Main Line

Set K-18 of the EMU JR East E231 series arrives at Higashi-Washinomiya station

It is still May, but it is just like mid-summer in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The maximum daytime temperature is often over 30 degrees Celsius. Is it an effect of greenhouse gasses?

I recently visited a flower road along the Kasai irrigation canal in Kuki City, Saitama Prefecture with my family. It is a 10-kilometer-long footpath with numerous beautiful blossoms. Cosmoses are planted in autumn, and poppies are seen in spring. When we visited there, it was fine weather and the poppies were in full bloom... very colorful and unique. 

On the way back home, I enjoyed taking train photos at JR East Higashi-Washinomiya station on the Tohoku main line for a short time. I was able to shoot the EMU E231 series, which belongs to Oyama rail yard. It was a 15-car train consisting of a 10-car main set and a 5-car additional set. The E231 series is an EMU widely operated in the Tokyo metropolitan area. It was launched in 2000 on the Tohoku main line. Different from the E231 series on the Yamanote and Musashino lines, the E231 series on the Tohoku main line has 6 doors per unit. The bodies are stainless-steel, with orange and green-colored stripes. More importantly, it has two double-decker Green Cars (first class cars). The extra cost for sitting in the Green Cars was 570 yen between Shinjuku and Higashi Washinomiya stations.

The Tohoku main line in spring time is a pleasant route.

Flower Road near Higashi-Washinomiya station on the Tohoku main line