Preserved Electric Locomotive in Hitachi City

Electric locomotive Hitachi Mining Railway Unit 13 is preserved in Hitachi City

Hitachi is known as the city where Hitachi Ltd. was founded. It’s located in the northern part of Ibaraki Prefecture, about 150 kilometers north of Tokyo. The origin of this city was Hitachi Copper Mine discovered in the late 16th century. It was rapidly developed in the early 20th century after introducing machinery such as rock drills, but this historical mine was unfortunately closed in 1981 due to running out of the resources.

Hitachi Mining Railway played an important role in the modernization of Hitachi Copper Mine. This railway was opened in 1908 to transport passengers, materials and resources. Connecting Sukegawa (present Hitachi) and Daiou-in, its total operating length was 5.4 kilometers. The gauge size was 762 millimeters. In 1957, there were 6,500 passengers per day taking this railway, but the route was unfortunately abolished in 1981 for streamlining.

Please look at the top photo. There's an electric locomotive... Unit 13. It's preserved in Nippon Mining Museum in the city. Unit 13 was built by Hitachi in 1926, and had been commissioned as mainly freight trains. It weighs 8,000 kilograms and has two 33 kW direct current motors. The axis arrangement is Ao-Ao. After operating for 34 years, it was retired from the track in 1960. What impressed me most was its pantograph. It looks like a tower. I don’t know how to insulate against current to ensure the safety of the locomotive body to avoid a short circuit. It was a mystery for me. Anyway, I enjoyed observing the precious electric locomotive in the early days.

Pantograph of Unit 13 electric locomotive

Official website, "Nippon Mining Museum": https://www.jx-nmm.com/english/museum/

2025 Sakura Season on the Gotemba Line

Limited express train "Fuji-san (Mt. Fuji)" travels on the Odakyu line

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.

Fully bloomed sakura trees and snow-capped Mt. Fuji

Preserved Tramcar in the Open-air Architectural Museum

Unit 7514 of the electric car Toei 7500 series is preserved in Koganei City

The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum is a museum of historic Japanese buildings. It’s located in Koganei City, about 30 kilometers west of the city center of Tokyo. Since the 17th Century, Tokyo has lost many valuable historical buildings because of fires, floods, earthquakes and warfare. In 1993, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government established the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum as the Edo-Tokyo Museum Annex. This museum aims to relocate, reconstruct, preserve, and exhibit historical buildings of great cultural value as well as to pass on these valuable cultural heritages to future generations. For example, public bathhouse “Kodakara-yu” is one of my favorite architectures in the museum (see the photo below).

The exhibitions in the museum are not only architectures. Please look at the top photo. It’s unit 7514 of the electric car Tokyo Metropolitan Government (Toei) 7500 series. The 7500 series was commissioned is 1962 as a middle-sized (12.52-meter-long) double-axle bogie car for the Tokyo tramlines. It has two 60 kW direct current motors, and its maximum operating speed was 40 kilometers per hour. After operating for 16 years, unit 7514 was retired from the track in 1978. Incidentally, unit 7504, which I showed my past post, is a “sister” of this tramcar. You will notice the difference of the body stripe between the two cars. The red-colored stripe of unit 7514 was adopted in 1962 when the 7500 series debuted. On the other hand, the blue-colored stripe of unit 7504 was adopted around the year 1975, when the one-man (without a conductor) operation began.

"Kodakara-yu" (center) in the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum

 

Official information about unit 7514 by the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Museum:

(Please scroll to the bottom of the page)

https://www.tatemonoen.jp/english/restore/intro/outdoor.php

The 12th Generation Sounyan Train

The 12th generation Sounyan Train (westbound) arrives at Izumi-chuo station

On March 31st, Sagami Railway (Sotetsu) launched the 12th generation Sounyan Train. I’m going to show you this new poster train today.

Let me quickly review “Sounyan” to start. He(?) is Sotetsu's mascot character. According to Sotetsu's website, Sounyan is a new species of cat, born on March 10th on the Sotetsu line. He joined Sotetsu in 2014, and has been in charge of public relations. He is good at looking for something new. His hobby is taking photos and eating around. He seems to be a fine young cat, but he has a mental problem as well. People often think that he is a raccoon dog in spite of being a cat. It has been making him feel troubled for long time. What an elaborate profile it is! All living things can't live on sweet words alone.

Joking aside, the purposes of Sounyan Train are to spread charm of the Sotetsu line and to give relaxing to passengers. Trainset 11002 of the EMU 11000 series is used as the 12th generation Sounyan Train. The 11000 series is Sotetsu's commuter train which debuted in 2009. To reduce the manufacturing costs, it has basically common technical specifications with JR East's EMU E233 series.

Please look at the top photo. A stuffed Sounyan is boarding on the driver's cab. That’s so cute, but I’ve seen this somewhere before. Let me see… Odakyu’s “Mocoron”! Incidentally, you can review the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 10th and 11th generation Sounyan (or Sonyan) Trains in my past posts.

The 12th generation Sounyan Train (eastbound) arrives at Yumegaoka station

Official informatiom about the 12th Sounyan Train by Sotetsu (in Japanese):

https://cdn.sotetsu.co.jp/media/2025/pressrelease/pdf/r25-50-rpd.pdf

Serving a Double Purpose on the Odakyu Line

Romancecar "GSE" passes through Odakyu Tama River Bridge

It’s mid-spring in Tokyo. The maximum daytime temperature exceeds 20 degrees Celsius every day. The best season of the year has come! I recently visited the Tama River bank on the Odakyu line.

As soon as I reached the embankment, what jumped into my eyes there was a double-double track railway bridge, "Odakyu Tama River Bridge". Five minutes later, my photo shooting target approached the bridge. It was the EMU Odakyu 70000 series, “Romancecar GSE (Graceful Super Express)”. GSE is the latest model of the Romancecar fleet. It has upper-deck cockpits, so, passengers can enjoy the view ahead from the top car. Furthermore, it has large side windows to secure a clear visual field for passengers. The body color of GSE is "rose vermilion". Please look at the top photo. GSE crossed Tama River, while taking the morning sun backed by the blue sky. Beautiful!

After enjoying the train shooting, I concentrated on another hobby… fossil collection. As I posted before, it’s my lifelong hobby. This time, the riverbed near Odakyu Tama River Railway Bridge was my field. We can observe many fossiliferous beds in the Iimuro Formation, which is the shallow marine sediments deposited about 1.3 to 1.1 million years ago. Please look at the photo below… my prey on that day, “Kagamigai (Dosinia japonica)”. It’s a large and thick rounded bivalve. Welcome back to the earthly world a little more than one million years later.

I served a double purpose on the Odakyu line.

Fossil "Kagamigai (Dosinia japonica)" is found near Odakyu Tama River Bridge

2025 Sakura Season on the Keio-Inokashira Line

A rounded "Sakura" plate is displayed on the western side of trainset 1780

Sakura (cherry) blossom season in the metropolitan area is almost over. Having the sorrow at parting with the 2025 cherry blossom season, I am going to continue to show you some more of this year's cherry blossom scenes in Tokyo.

I recently visited Takaido on the Keio-Inokashira line, as I do every year. There were beautiful cherry trees on the bank of the Kanda River and along the track. I admired the blossoms in full bloom from the platform of Takaido station. It is a place filled with my memories, because I went to kindergarten in Takaido when I was a kid. I remembered that we kindergarten pupils often walked along the stream and track with our teacher. Where has the time gone?

Five minutes later, the west bound express train was approaching the station. It was the best timing for train shooting backed by the full-blown cherry trees. It's now or never... shooting. Thank goodness! Please look at the top photo. It’s trainset 1780 of the EMU Keio 1000 series. Trainset 1780 was displaying special plates on the front and back of the train during the cherry blossom season. The design of these rounded plates was taken from “Sakura (Cherry)”, which was once a famous overnight sleeper train operated by the Japanese National Railways. You can see the original Sakura plate design in my post in 2020. That brings back memories!

I fully enjoyed the full-blown cherry trees and train plate on the Keio-Inokashira line.

Another "Sakura" plate is displayed on the eastern side of trainset 1780

2025 Sakura Season on the Tama Monorail Line

EMU Tama Intercity Monorail 1000 series approaches Shibasaki-taiikukan station

I have been introducing my favorite sakura (cherry) viewing spots in this blog for many years. Following the Sakurayama Park in Zushi City the other day, I am going to show you the cherry blossoms in full bloom in Tachikawa City today.

Please look at the photo below. Negawa Greenway is a hidden gem about 40 kilometers from the center of Tokyo. The walkway along the stream is brimming with cherry blossoms in full bloom. Local people are getting together under the cherry blossoms and enjoying food and drinks. They are couples, families and close-knit groups. It looks like it feels good.

To get to this beautiful spot, the nearest station is Shibasaki-taiikukan (Shibasaki-gymnasium) station on the Tama Monorail line. Taking this opportunity, let me explain about the trains of this straddling type monorail line. The EMU 1000 series is the sole model owned by Tama Intercity Monorail Co., Ltd. It was commissioned in 1998 when the route was partially opened. A total of 16 sets were built by Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy industries from 1998 to 2005. One trainset is composed of four 15-meter-long motorcars, but the first and last cars are unconventional each. One bogie has motors, but another bogie has no motors. As a result, the composition of one trainset is equivalent to 3M1T. The electric system is 1,500 V DC and the electric control system is IGBT-VVVF (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor-variable frequency drive).

I fully enjoyed the beautiful cherry blossoms and the nice view train on the Tama Monorail line.

Full-blown cherry trees on the Negawa Greenway near Shibasaki-taiikukan station

Shooting the Cruise Train, "Shiki-shima": Part 2

JR East's cruise train, the E001 series "Shiki-shima", approaches Odawara station

Continuing with what I covered last time, I'm going to show you “Shiki-shima”, the JR East E001 series, today.

After shooting Shiki-shima at the Kozu station yard, I went back to Odawara station, and awaited the arrival of this cruise train again. At ten forty, Shiki-shima came back from Kozu to take up the passengers again. Let me explain about the composition of this train. Shiki-shima consists of 10 cars. The first and last cars are observation cars. The other eight cars are six sleeping cars (Car 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9), a lounge car (Car 5) and a dining car (Car 6). Car 7 is the highest-grade sleeping car consisting of Shiki-shima Suite and Deluxe Suite. These rooms have cypress baths. Everything is top-notch, isn’t it?

After picking up passengers, Shiki-shima left Odawara station at ten fifty. It was seen off by two local “samurais” in armors and kabutos (decorative samurai helmets). It was a thoughtful way of treating the passengers. The passengers continued the journey. According to JR East’s website, the passengers and crew had a farewell party, after arriving at Ueno terminal in Tokyo on that day. The crew did more than what the passengers had expected.

By the way, you may ask me, "Don’t you go on board the luxury cruise train to travel?” Good question! I'd like to go on board Shiki-shima at some point… but, I'm always busy. It’s very popular, so, I can’t make a reservation. It’s very expensive and... (so many excuses!)

Local "samurais" (right) send off Shiki-shima cruise train from Odawara station

Official product descriptions about the E001 series, Shiki-shima, by J-TREC (in Japanese):

https://www.j-trec.co.jp/company/070/06/jtr06_088-093.pdf

Shooting the Cruise Train, "Shiki-shima"

JR East's cruise train, the E001 series "Shiki-shima", stands at Kozu station yard

Do you remember when I introduced you to JR West’s sleeper train, “Sunrise Express” last year? That was the only “regular” sleeper train left in Japan. Is there anything else? There are what we call “cruise trains”. I’m going to show you one of such luxury sleeper trains today.

“Shiki-shima (the four seasons island)” is JR East’s cruise train. The formal name is the E001 series. Only one set was jointly built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and J-TREC, and debuted in 2017. The E001 series is composed of 10 cars. An "EDC" electric/diesel hybrid propulsion system is adopted. On the electrified tracks, it’s operated as an EMU (electric multiple unit). Meanwhile, on the non-electrified tracks, it activates two diesel generators in the first and last cars, and powers the train's traction motors.

JR East doesn’t release the detailed timetable of Shiki-shima, because it’s operated as special group trip trains. It’s not so easy to shoot this train as rail-fans expect. I recently got an information about the timetable of Shiki-shima on several websites, and visited Odawara station on the Tokaido main line, but I couldn’t find it. Why? According to a station attendant, Shiki-shima is temporally accommodated in the Kozu station yard, which is located about 6 kilometers east of Odawara station. Oh, my goodness!

After rushing to the scene at Kozu station, I barely shot Shiki-shima, standing on the detention track. Please look at the photos. Shiki-shima was shining brightly. I did it!... but I was completely exhausted. To be continued…

Shiki-shima approaches Kozu station yard

Official information about "Shiki-shima" by JR East:

https://www.jreast.co.jp/shiki-shima/en/

2025 Sakura Season on the Yokosuka Line

Set F29 of the EMU E235-1000 series (11-cars) travels on the Yokosuka line

On March 24th, 2025, the Meteorological Agency of Japan declared that this year's sakura (cherry) blossoms had started blooming in the metropolitan area. Spring has sprung! As I posted year after year, Japanese people harbor romantic emotions towards sakura blossoms. We are also reminded of the emptiness of life, seeing the beautiful blossoms dropping only a week after they fully blossom. Sakura viewing in this short period is a part of Japanese culture. This year, I took the JR East Yokosuka line to see sakura blossoms in Kanagawa Prefecture.

My destination was Zushi City, about 50 kilometers southwest of the center of Tokyo. When I reached Sakurayama (Cherry Mountain) Park, lots of visitors were there. They were families with children, couples and close-knit groups, and being fun in their own ways under the full-blown sakura trees. What most left an impression was a couple having “maedori (a bridal photoshoot ahead of their wedding day)”. Congratulations on your wedding!

On the way home, I took a moment to enjoy train shooting at Higashi-Zushi station. I was so happy that I could shoot an eleven-car train of the EMU E235-1000 series reflecting the sunlight, but… at the same time, I remembered that his (her) elder brother (sister), namely E217 series, was retired from the Yokosuka line on March 14th. I didn’t have a chance to say good-bye to the E217 series before the retirement. The E217 series… I’m truly sorry… but thank you so much for your hard working on the Yokosuka, Sobu-Rapid and Tokaido lines.

Full-blown sakura trees in Sakura-yama Park near HIgashi-Zushi station