My stay in Atami City had passed quickly and the day to go home had arrived. Before leaving, I visited Izusan in the eastern part of the city to enjoy local fireworks. Japanese people have a love of fireworks and I'm also one of them. Fireworks add a sort of poetic charm to the summer season. Izusan Fireworks is no exception. It's just a small-scale local event, but held twice this year, because COVID-19 calmed down. About 3,000 fireworks were set off on the coast. They were gorgeous and well programmed. I fully enjoyed Japan's summer features.
Well, I can't be written off here as this is a railway blog. Taking this opportunity, I'm going to show you the EMU JR East E257-2000 series standing at a detention line of Atami station yard. I introduced this model twice in this blog, but this is the first time to show you "a leading car without gangway". I'm very happy to perceive this kind of fine difference among the trains as a trainspotter.
Incidentally, the E257-2000 series is a renovated model. It was originally commissioned in 2001 under the name of the E257 series, and mainly used for a limited express train, "Kaiji" on the Chuo main line. 19 years later, the decrepit E257 series revived under the new name of the E257-2000 series. A total of 117 units were remodeled by JR East Nagano and Akita factories. The E257-2000 series is currently operated as a limited express train, "Odoriko" via Atami station.
