I know you are a train enthusiast—but how about bird watching?
As for me, I feel a bit unsure about it. I basically like bird watching, but I’m not very good at photographing birds. Today, let me share one of my memorable experiences with you.
Recently, I had a chance to visit Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park. It’s a well-known place where visitors can encounter many kinds of wild birds. In fact, I saw quite a few of them from the observation room in the park. It was an exciting experience, but there was one problem: taking photos.
Unlike trains, birds don’t appear according to a timetable. They behave completely differently, and that made me feel a little frustrated. Perhaps I’m not suited to unpredictable phenomena.
Instead, I was deeply impressed by a simple, almost featureless landscape. Please take a look at the photo below. Here it is—a small island in a pond within the park. It was heart-shaped and quietly beautiful. Although there were no birds on it, I couldn’t stop taking pictures.
Of course, I can’t end this post without mentioning the railway side of things—after all, this is a railway blog. To reach Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park, the nearest station is Ryutsu-center Station on the Haneda Airport Line of Tokyo Monorail. The Haneda Airport Line connects downtown Tokyo with Tokyo International Airport (Haneda). It opened in 1964, making it the second-oldest monorail line in Tokyo.
The 1000 series EMU (see the top photo) is the oldest active train on the line. It debuted in 1989 as the first six-car train on Tokyo Monorail. A total of 16 sets—96 cars—were built by Hitachi, and eight sets are still in service today. I sincerely hope that the 1000 series will continue to run on the Haneda Airport Line for many more years.
