The sakura (cherry) blooming season has already passed in Tokyo, but the front line of sakura blossoms is still traveling up the northern part of Japan. A person traveling to the north with the "sakura front" would be able to enjoy the blossoms for more than two months. On the other hand, the sakura front climbs up mountains as well. I recently visited the foot of Mt. Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture.
I got off at Suruga-Oyama station on the JR Central Gotemba line. My destination was Fuji Reien (Fuji Cemetery), where my grandma’s grave is situated. When I approached the cemetery, what came into my view was the fully bloomed sakura trees on the slope of mountains. They had light-pink-colored blossoms, which show a vivid contrast with the blue sky and snow-capped Mt. Fuji.
Taking this opportunity, I’m going to update the limited express train, "Fuji-san (Mt. Fuji)", on the Gotemba line. “Fuji-san” starts from Shinjuku terminal on the Odakyu line and is directly operated onto the JR Central Gotemba line. The commissioned model is the EMU Odakyu 60000 series, MSE (Multi Super Express). MSE is basically composed of 10 cars, but one set can be broken up into 6 and 4-car sections to enhance operational flexibility. For Fuji-san train, 6-car trainset is commissioned.
I found a special sticker, “Mocoron”, on the front of MSE. Mocoron is Odakyu’s mascot character. The purpose of the Mocoron sticker is to assist in child-rearing. For that purpose, MSE has a special lavatory equipped with a baby bed.
