Following the cherry blossoms, many kinds of flowers paint the ground a rainbow of colors in Tokyo. To name a few of the beautiful flowers would be easy, but to decide the best, that would be difficult. If I were to pick, it's azalea. There are many famous azalea viewing spots in Tokyo, but Komagome is my favorite one, as we can find them not only in the town but also along the railway tracks. I visited there last month for the first time in six years. The azalea planting zone is seen both along the eastbound Yamanote line track and the westbound Shonan-Shinjuku line track of JR East Komagome station.
The top photo shows full blown azaleas along the Shonan-Shinjuku line track. A red-colored train named the EMU JR East 253-1000 series is just passing through the azalea flowers flourishing with pink colored blossoms. It's really a beautiful scene.
Taking this opportunity, I'm going to introduce this rare train model. The 253-1000 series is operated between Shinjuku on the JR East line and Tobu-Nikko (or Kinugawa-onsen) on the Tobu line. It was originally launched in 1991 as an access train to the New Tokyo International Airport (Narita) under the name of the EMU 253 series, Narita Express (N'EX). The 253 series once retired in 2010, but 2 sets (12 cars) were renovated, and regenerated as sightseeing trains bound for the Nikko and Kinugawaa area, under the new name of the 253-1000 series.
The top photo shows full blown azaleas along the Shonan-Shinjuku line track. A red-colored train named the EMU JR East 253-1000 series is just passing through the azalea flowers flourishing with pink colored blossoms. It's really a beautiful scene.
Taking this opportunity, I'm going to introduce this rare train model. The 253-1000 series is operated between Shinjuku on the JR East line and Tobu-Nikko (or Kinugawa-onsen) on the Tobu line. It was originally launched in 1991 as an access train to the New Tokyo International Airport (Narita) under the name of the EMU 253 series, Narita Express (N'EX). The 253 series once retired in 2010, but 2 sets (12 cars) were renovated, and regenerated as sightseeing trains bound for the Nikko and Kinugawaa area, under the new name of the 253-1000 series.
