This is a continuation of my post from June 6th. After observing JR Freight’s mini locomotive at Nobeoka Station, I headed to Takachiho Town in the northwestern part of Miyazaki Prefecture. Takachiho is famous for its stunning natural scenery.
On the way to Takachiho, I noticed some trains along the roadside. What were they? It turned out to be a train inn. This area was once served by the Takachiho Line, which operated until 2005. The line, run by the local Takachiho Railway Company, was unfortunately abolished in 2008 after severe damage caused by Typhoon No. 14. One of the nearby municipalities, Hinokage Town, acquired two diesel railcars and opened a train inn named “TR Train Inn” along the former track. (For reference, “TR” stands for Takachiho Railway.) These railcars are Units TR-104 and 105 of the TR-100 series, built by Niigata Engineering in 1989. The TR-100 series is a 15.8-meter-long railcar equipped with a 183 kW diesel engine and a fluid transmission system. For more details about this unique train inn, please see the link at the bottom of this post.
After visiting the charming train inn, I went to Takachiho Gorge, a deep canyon carved by the Gokase River. The gorge is lined with picturesque columnar joints. At first glance, these formations look like rapidly cooled basalt or andesite lava, but in fact, the host rock is welded tuff erupted from Mt. Aso about 130,000 years ago—a very rare occurrence. I thoroughly enjoyed both the train inn and the spectacular gorge in Miyazaki Prefecture.
