Kumamoto is the main city of Kumamoto Prefecture, located about 900 kilometers west of Tokyo. It has developed as the capital of the former Higo Province since the 8th century. The population now stands at around 740,000, making it the third largest city on Kyushu Island.
It’s true that Kumamoto is a large city, but there’s more to it than that. For example, Mt. Kinbo is a beautiful scenic spot in the western part of the city. From the summit, you can see Mt. Unzen and the Shimabara Peninsula across the sea. What made my visit even more special was the large unkai (sea of clouds) that covered Kumamoto City and Shimabara Bay (see the photo below). I was very lucky to witness it.
Of course, I can’t stop writing here — this is a rail fan’s blog after all. So, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce the Kumamoto City Tram.
The tram system opened in 1924 and has been operated by the Transportation Bureau of Kumamoto City. The total operating length is currently 12.1 kilometers. The electrical system is 600 V DC, and the track gauge is 1,435 millimeters.
The main fleet on the line is the 1090 series electric car (see the photo above). It was introduced in 1955, with a total of seven units built by Toyo Koki. Although the technical specifications are rather old, all units are still in active service. One of the design features of this tram is its tail lamps, known as “Basu-kyō tails” — standard tail lamps for buses. Using common parts between trams and buses helped reduce costs.
Unkai (sea of clouds) seen from Mt. Kinbo in Kumamoto City