I have recently visited Sendai City in Miyagi Prefecture, on an errand. After finishing my meeting, I went to the Akiu area in the city, and enjoyed walking along a beautiful gorge.
Rairai-kyo is a deep gorge generated within pumice tuff deposited about 8 million years ago. This rock is relatively soft, but it doesn’t crumble easily, so it has been used for buildings and fences in Sendai City. If you look at Rairai-kyo from a bridge across the gorge, you can find a heart-shaped groove in the rock (see the photo below). It’s so-called Tafoni, which is a hole generated by chemical erosion, and a popular spot for lovebirds.
Well, I can't be written off here as this is a railway blog. Just above the deep valley, I could find a preserved tramcar (see the top photo). What’s that? It’s Unit 119 of the ex-Sendai City Tram MoHa 100 series. The MoHa 100 series is a middle-sized (11.9-meter-long) double-axle bogie car. It has two 38 kW direct current series motors, and its rated speed is 21 kilometers per hour. The traditional nose-suspension drive system is adopted. Unit 119 was built by Niigata Tekko in 1952. After operating for 48 years in Sendai and Nagasaki cities, it was retired from the track in 2000, and moved to Rairai-kyo Gorge in 2002. Unit 119 is known as a “brother” of the nameless tramcar in Seibu-en Amusement Park (see my post on 15/2/2023). Unit 119… thank you for your hard work. Have a good rest.
