It's March already. How quickly time flies! It's no use crying over spilt milk, so, I visited a plum grove in the neighborhood to find signs of spring. My destination was Hanegi Park on the Odakyu line. It's famous for the plum grove blooming in the early spring. When I visited there, white, pink and red-colored plums were half in bloom.
I found a beautiful green-colored bird sucking nectar of plum flowers on a tree. It must be a white-eye. I tried to take his (or her) pictures. Am I a bird watcher? No, I'm not. I like birds, but I have no patience. Trains are on time, but birds don't have timetables, so, I can't keep up with them. Joking aside, I could achieve my objective, taking a photo of a white-eye as seen in the picture below. I was fortunate.
To visit Hanegi Park, the nearest station is Umegaoka (Plum Hill) on the Odakyu line. On my way back home, I came across a limited express train, "Romance Car EXE-alpha" (EMU Odakyu 30000 series) passing through the station. EXE-alpha is a renovated train of EXE (Excellent Express). EXE was originally launched in 1996. After 21 years of its operation, Odakyu started renovation of EXE in 2017. The body color was changed from bronze (EXE) to silver (EXE-alpha). Currently, 10 of 14 sets are EXE-alpha. It was beautifully shining under the spring sunlight.
The gorgeous bird, "white-eye" and the shining Romance Car, "EXE-alpha". I could feel the signs of spring on the Odakyu line.
