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| EMU JR East 211-3000 series travels on the Joetsu line along Tone River |
Tsukiyono was a town located on Tone River, Gunma Prefecture, about 150 kilometers north of Tokyo. Tsukiyono means a moonlight field in Japanese, but this beautiful town name unfortunately disappeared in 2005, as Tsukiyono was merged into the expanded town of Minakami.
One of the must-see spots in ex-Tsukiyono Town is Tsukiyono Vidro Park. It's a glass-themed park, which centers around glassworks, and features trial workshops, souvenir shops, a museum, a restaurant and a cafe. I recently visited there with my family, and spent the whole day in the park. We could see the manufacturing process of glassware really up close, while it was individually created by the hands of craftsmen. In addition to watching, we could also try making glassware ourselves.
To visit this unique sightseeing spot, the nearest railway station is Gokan on the JR East Joetsu line. Our vehicle was the EMU 211-3000 series. The 211 series was developed by Japanese National Railways in 1985. The 211-3000 series is one of the 211 series group trains with cold district specifications. 130 cars of the 211-3000 series are currently operated on the Joetsu and the adjacent lines. The breakdown is 7 sets of 6-car trains and 22 sets of 4-car trains.
The 211-3000 series has a bit of an outdated field excitation electric control system, but we must not forget that it has realized a large amount of operating cost reduction using its regenerative braking system. I like its whirring sound generated by the DC motors.
A young craftsman blows glassware