Jukkoku-touge Cable Line: Update

Gondola "Jukkoku (number 1)" travels on the Jukkoku-touge Cable line

There are more topics to post on my mid-summer trip to Atami City. After enjoying photography of the aerial tramway at Atami Port, I visited Jukkoku Pass for the first time in eight years.

Let me quickly review Jukkoku Pass. It's a viewing spot in the northern part of Atami City. The elevation is 770 meters above sea level. It has the best view of the mountains and the ocean. "Jukkoku" is the Japanese word for "ten domains". It means that people could view ten feudal domains from this pass in ancient times.

To get to this viewing spot, Jukkoku-touge Cable line is convenient. This route was inaugurated by Sunzu Railway Company in 1956. Connecting Jukkoku-touge Noboriguchi and Jukkoku-touge stations, the route length is 317 meters. The height difference between the two stations is 101 meters. The maximum inclination is 22 degrees and the track gauge is 1,435 millimeters. It takes about three minutes to go one way. Two Hitachi-made funiculars, namely "Hikane (number 1)" and "Jukkoku (number 2)" debuted in 1956, when the route was opened. They are operated every 15 minutes on average.

What's new with this short funicular line? The owner of the line was changed from Izu-Hakone Railway (Seibu Group) to Fujikyu last year. In line with this business transfer, the color design of the gondola bodies has been changed. The former white-based "Seibu Group corporate color" has been changed to two-toned of beige and light blue. I hope that Fujikyu will value this historical funicular business.

Scenery of Jukkoku Pass

Official website, Jukkoku-touge Cable line (in Japanese):

https://www.jukkoku-cable.jp/

Japan's Shortest Aerial Tramway

Atami Ropeway

Let me resume the topic of my mid-summer trip to Atami City. After enjoying train photography at Atami station, I headed to Atami Port to take a sightseeing boat. To tell the truth, I preferred to take an aerial tramway and visit Atami Castle rather than take the sightseeing boat in the sea, but I refrained. My family wanted to enjoy a boat cruise. It must not be forgotten that I took time for the train photography earlier. Instead, I tried to shoot photos of the aerial tramway from the sightseeing boat.

The aerial tramway in Atami City was inaugurated by Atami Ropeway Company in 1958. It's a three cables-cross type aerial tramway constructed by Tokyo Sakudo. Connecting Sanroku (Korakuen) and Sancho (Hachimanyama) stations, its route length is 286 meters, which is the shortest aerial tramway in Japan. The height difference between the two stations is 96 meters. Its maximum inclination is 25.18 degrees; meanwhile the average inclination is 17.85 degrees. The present gondolas, namely number 1 and 2, were built by Osaka Sharyo in 1982. Glass-walled bodies are still beautiful. Each gondola can accommodate up to 30 passengers. Its maximum payload is 1,800 kilograms. The gondola is operated every 10 minutes on average. It takes about 3 and a half minutes to go one way. Gondolas are operated with a speed of 2.5 meters per second.

The gondola was pretty far from the sightseeing boat, but I could shoot it using a telescopic lens. What a relief!

Atami Port

Official website, Atami Ropeway: https://www.atami-ropeway.jp/en/

Revisit to the Resort City, Atami

EMU JR Central N700"S" series arrives at Atami station

Hot mid-summer continues in the metropolitan area. I evacuated from Tokyo, and stayed in a resort city for a while. My destination was Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture.

To start, let me quickly review Atami City. It's located about 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Tokyo. The name of the city, "Atami", means "hot sea". Obviously, it represents that hot springs and the ocean are seen in the city. From Shinagawa, one of the city centers in Tokyo, Atami is close, only 29 minutes away by the fastest Shinkansen train.

First thing's first. After arriving at Atami station, I enjoyed shooting the Shinkansen trains at the end of the platform. I made my family wait, but it couldn't be helped as I'm a rail-fan. East bound Shinkansen trains arrived one after another. The top photo is the latest model, the EMU N700S series debuted in 2020. A total of 680 cars have been introduced by JR Central, JR West and JR Kyushu companies. The N700S series has a full active vibration control device operated by a pump to prevent rolling. The maximum operating speed is 285 kilometers per hour due to the timetable restriction, but it recorded 362 kilometers per hour in a test run. The outer design of the N700S series is similar to that of the N700A series, but there are several minor changes. For example, the shape of the nose became sharper. The number of the blue colored side stripes was increased from two to three.

To be continued...

EMU JR Central N700"A" series arrives at Atami station

Official information about the EMU N700S series by JR Central (in Japanese):

https://railway.jr-central.co.jp/train/shinkansen/n700s/index.html

Official information about the EMU N700S series by Nippon Sharyo (in Japanese):

https://www.n-sharyo.co.jp/business/tetsudo/pages/jrcn700s.htm

Official information about JR Central's Shinkansen:

https://global.jr-central.co.jp/en/onlinebooking/

Official information about Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansens:

https://smart-ex.jp/en/lp/app/

Moi! Moomin Hanno

40152F of the EMU Seibu 40000 series, "Moi! Moomin Hanno"

On March 5th, 2023, Seibu Railway launched a special poster train, "Moi! Moomin Hanno" on their Ikebukuro line. The purpose of this poster train is to promote tourism to the theme park named "Moominvalley Park" on the line.

To start, let me quickly review Moominvalley Park. Moomin is a popular novel, comic and animation series created by a Finnish illustrator, Tove Jansson. In Japan, the TV animation started in 1969, and soon became popular among children. The Moomin family lives in their house in Moominvalley. Catching onto the popularity of Moomin, a theme park named Moominvalley Park was opened in 2019 near Hanno station on the Seibu-Ikebukuro line.

"Moi! Moomin Hanno" train is a 10-car train, 40152F of the EMU Seibu 40000 series. It was built in 2020 by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. We can see many Moomin characters on the train bodies. These characters are very cute, and definitely contribute to promote tourism to Moominvalley Park. "Moi!" means "Hello!" in Finnish. I learned something new from the train. Thank you, Seibu Railway.

Incidentally, speaking of 40152F, I remembered that this train set was once used as the other poster train, named "Kanahei". It was a special train to promote tourism to Kawagoe City on the Seibu-Shinjuku line. A famous cartoonist, Kanahei, designed the bodies of the train, so, we could see many of Kanahei's animal characters and Kawagoe's historic spots on the Kanahei train. From Kanahei to Moomin... 40152F is continuously busy for promoting tourism to the Seibu lines.

Side view of "Moi! Moomin Hanno"

Official information about "Moi! Moomin Hanno" train (in Japanese):

https://www.seiburailway.jp/file.jsp?newsroom/news/file/20230227_MoiMOOMINHANNO.pdf

Kachidoki: Rapidly Changing Station and Cityscape

New platform of Kachidoki station on the subway Toei-Ooedo line

The hot summer continues in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The temperature is often over 35 degrees Celsius. Although I tend to stay in airconditioned rooms during the daytime, I sometimes visit the waterfront area to be exposed to the sea-breeze in the evening. My recent destination was Kachidoki on the subway Ooedo line.

To start, let me review the Ooedo line. It's the second-newest subway line in Tokyo. The train operator is the Transportation Bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (Toei). The Ooedo line was partially opened between Hikarigaoka and Nerima (3.8 kilometers) in 1991. Currently, the route consists of the loop section (Tochomae - Ryogoku - Tochomae) and the branch section (Hikarigaoka - Tochomae). Its total length is 40.7 kilometers. The greatest feature of this line is that linear motor technology is adopted for the train driving system. This high-tech has allowed the downsizing of the tunnel section.

Kachidoki is located in the loop section. When I arrived at the station, I was surprised that a new platform has been added on the outer track. In other words, the existing platform has come to be used only for the inner track. Why? That's because the number of passengers in Kachidoki station has drastically increased in recent years. The patronage of Kachidoki station is currently about 54,000 per day. After I got onto the ground, I understood the situation. I found that many new high-rise apartments, new office buildings, and new shopping malls have appeared. Kachidoki... it's a rapidly changing waterfront area in the metropolitan area.

Cityscape of the waterfront area near Kachidoki station

Nambu Branch Line: Update

Test run of the EMU JR East E127 series within Hamakawasaki Railyard

I occasionally have an urge to visit "urban local lines". Different from busy trunk lines, local lines help me feel relaxed. I recently visited the Nambu branch line for the first time in eight years. What's new with this urban local line?

To start, let me review the Nambu branch line. It was opened in 1930 by Nambu Railway Company. Its initial mission was freight transportation between the waterfront and inland areas, but the passenger trains also started operation later. Currently, it's operated by JR East. Connecting Shitte station on the Nambu main line and Hamakawasaki terminal, the route is a 4.0-kilometer-long single track. A two-car train, the EMU 205-1000 series, is operated every 40 minutes on average during the daytime. Passengers are mostly commuters and high school students.

When I reached Hamakawasaki terminal, I found an unusual train slowly moving in the railyard. That's the EMU E127 series transferred from the Niigata area. It was the middle of the test run within the railyard. According to JR East, the E127 series will debut on the Nambu branch line on September 13th to replace the deteriorated 205-1000 series. To be honest, it's curious that the train in the countryside was moved to the urban area. But it makes sense, because it would cost much if new cars were introduced. In addition to that, it would take a long time to build new cars due to the worldwide semiconductor shortage.

The EMU E127 series... welcome to the Nambu branch line!

EMU JR East 205-1000 series travels on the Nambu branch line

Official information about the EMU E127 series for the Nambu branch line by JR East Yokohama Branch Office (in Japanese):

https://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2022/yokohama/20230217_y2.pdf

Cafe 193 in Arakawa Ward

Unit 6152 of the tramcar Toei 6000 series, "Cafe 193", in Arakawa Amusement Park

After observing the preserved tramcar in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo Metropolis, I remembered that the same type of vehicle is exhibited in Arakawa Ward as well. That's unit 6152 of the tramcar Toei 6000 series.

Unit 6152 was built in 1949 by Nippon Sharyo. Although most of the 6000 series tramcars were scrapped in the early 1970's, unit 6152 had exceptionally survived for 52 years, and was retired from the track in 2001. Why outlived? That was because unit 6152 had been used for special missions such as chartered trains for local festivals.

After its retirement, unit 6152 was transferred to Arakawa Ward, and opened to the public in Arakawa Amusement Park in 2003. It was then renovated due to deterioration, and reopened as a coffee shop named "Cafe 193" in 2022. What's the meaning of "193"? It's a mnemonic of "single-light tramcar" in Japanese. As its name suggests, unit 6152 has a large rounded light on the front. That's lovely, isn't it? Unit 6152 still retains its body color design from the 1950's. It's two-toned of dark green and beige... so beautiful!

I remembered that "Cafe 193" is similar to "Cafe 107", which I posted before in this blog. Cafe 107 is also a coffee shop using a retired electric car of Hakone Tozan Railway in Kanagawa Prefecture. Visitors can enjoy the atmosphere of the good old days while tasting drinks and local foods in the car. A cafe in a converted car... that's a paradise for railfans.

Interior of unit 6152, "Cafe 193" 

Narita Express, "N'EX": 2023 Update

EMU JR East E259 series, Narita Express (N'EX) passes through Osaki station

Narita Express (N'EX) is an airport access train on the JR East lines. There are two international airports in the Tokyo metropolitan area. One is Tokyo International Airport, known as "Haneda". The other is the New Tokyo International Airport, which is called "Narita". N'EX is the airport access train of the latter. Although it's a very important means of transport, a large number of N'EX trains had been suspended since May 2020 due to decreasing passengers. Needless to say, it's because of the COVID-19 calamity.

What's new with N'EX? Firstly, the number of N'EX trains has been recovered since October 2022. That's because COVID-19 calmed down. I often come across N'EX in the downtown area. I'm so happy to shoot it. Secondly, the new body design appeared in March 2023. According to JR East, the N'EX train will be used not only as airport access trains but also as inter-city express trains in the future. For that purpose, there is a large logo, "SERIES E259", on the side body instead of the airplane illustration. That explanation is a bit hard to understand for me.

Incidentally, the formal name of N'EX is the EMU JR East E259 series. It was launched in 2009 to replace the old model, namely the 253 series. It has state-of-the-art equipment and facilities at that time, such as 140 kW three phase induction motors with a variable frequency drive electric control system. The maximum speed of the E259 series is 130 kilometers per hour.

New side body design of N'EX

Train information by JR East: https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/nex/?src=gnavi

Preserved Tramcar in Bunkyo Ward, Part 2

Tramcar unit Otsu-2 of the Otsu-1 series

After observing the preserved tramcar, unit 6063 of the Toei 6000 series, I moved to the other tramcar, which is exhibited next to unit 6063 in Shinmei Toden-shakoato Park. What's that green-colored tramcar?

The answer is an electric open wagon, unit Otsu-2 of the Otsu-1 series. Unit Otsu-2 was built in 1941 at Shibaura Factory of the Electricity Bureau, Tokyo City (present Transportation Bureau, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government). It had been used for freight transport such as ballast for the tram lines. It's a 7.65-meter-long and 3.453-meter-high vehicle with a wooden body. It has a two-wheeled bogie, named Brill 21E, which was made by J. B. Brill and Company in the United States. Two 18.7 kW direct current motors are equipped, and can bear up to 5 tons of freight. The dead weight is 7 tons. After operating for 30 years, unit Otsu-2 was retired from the track in 1971. I was very happy to observe this very precious vehicle being preserved in good condition.

Incidentally, I found a fun play facility in front of the two tramcars. It's a shallow pond with fountains, named "Jabujabu-ike" (Splash Pond). Children can safely play in the pond. A slide and a bridge are also equipped along the pond. I saw that many local kids were screaming and enjoying it there. The historical vehicles and the fun pond... Shinmei Toden-shakoato Park is a unique spot in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo Metropolis. I would like to thank everyone involved in this park improvement project.

Jabujabu-ike (Splash Pond), unit Otsu-2 (left) and 6063 (right)

Preserved Tramcar in Bunkyo Ward

Unit 6063 of the tramcar Toei 6000 series

On February 19th, 2023, Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo Metropolis reopened its Shinmei Toden-shakoato Park after renovation. Accordingly, the preserved tramcar named Toei 6063 was also opened to the public again.

Let me review the tram lines in Tokyo to start. Tokyo once had a 181-kilometer-long extensive tram network, which functioned as commuter transportation arteries in the mega-city. Time has passed and most routes have already been abolished due to heavy traffic jams. Today, only the Toei-Arakawa line (12.2 kilometers) and the Tokyu-Setagaya line (5.0 kilometers) survive, as those lines were constructed as exclusive tracks.

To learn the history of trams in Tokyo, the best way is to observe the preserved tramcars. For instance, the Toei (the Transportation Bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government) 6000 series is a good example. The 6000 series was launched in 1947 as a 12-meter-long street car for the 600 V DC electric system. A total of 290 cars were built by several manufacturers, but only six cars are currently preserved in several public parks.

Shinmei Toden-shakoato Park, where unit 6053 is preserved, was once a depot of the Toei tramcars. Unit 6063 was built in 1949 by Fuji Sangyo (present SUBARU). After operating for 29 years, it was retired from the track in 1978. This year, it was perfectly renovated, and reopened to the public as if it's a new car. The body and windows of unit 6063 are shiny in the park. I would like to thank everyone involved in this renovation project.

Side view of unit 6063