Unit TH2102 of the Diesel Rail-car TH2100 series travels on the Tenryu-Hamanako Railway
Is movie tourism or TV drama tourism popular in your country? Yes, it is in Japan. For instance, Shimonada Station on the JR Shikoku Yosan Line is famous among movie fans because Shimonada has been used as a shooting location for many movies.
Recently, a popular TV drama "Naotora, the Lady Warlord" aired on Sunday evenings. Naotora was a real person in history. She was born in 1536 as a daughter of the lord of Iinoya. Naotora inherited Iinoya Castle and lived powerfully in the civil war age. She faced many personal troubles, but eventually overcame them. Naotora also lived with love.
"Naotora, the Lady Warlord" is set in the western part of Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture, about 270 km west of Tokyo. The nearest station from the Iinoya Castle is Kiga on the Tenryu-Hamanako Railway. This local private railway is the former Futamata Line of Japanese National Railways (JNR). It was spun off from JNR and privatized as the Tenryu-Hamanako Railway in 1986. Connecting Kakegawa and Shinjohara, the route length is 67.7 km. The track is single and non-electrified. A lovely diesel rail-car is operated every half an hour on average. After getting off at Kiga Station, I visited Ryotan-ji, which is the temple of Naotora. The Japanese garden designed by Kobori Enshu in the 17th century was very beautiful.
I enjoyed the TV drama tour and the local railway with my family on an autumn day.
Beautiful garden of Ryotan-ji Temple near Kiga Station on the Tenryu-Hamanako Railway
Set R-3 of the EMU Izukyu 2100 series, the Kinme train, stands at Atami Station
On February 4th this year, Izukyu Railway launched a new renovated sightseeing train "the Izukyu Kinme train" on their track. What is Kinme? It is the name of a fish, caught offshore the Izu peninsula. Kinme (red bream) has a beautiful red colored body and is delicious in sashimi or even if cooked. Izukyu promotes tourism to the Izu peninsula by adopting the local specialty, Kinme, to their Kinme-colored train.
The formal name of the Izukyu Kinme train is set R-3 of the EMU 2100 series. Previously it had blue colored bodies with a gray colored stripe, which stood for the ocean and the sand beach on the coast of the Izu peninsula. As I posted before, the 2100 series is called "Resort 21", which has special facilities as a resort train. For instance, it has sloping tiers of seats to enjoy gorgeous mountain and ocean views in car number 1 and 7. Furthermore, car number 3 has a Kinme museum, where you can see the explanation and the illustration of Kinme. To our joy, an extra charge is not required to get on the Kinme train.
For your information, Izukyu is a local private railway company on the Izu Peninsula. Connecting Ito and Izukyu-Shimoda, the total operating length is 45.7 km. The entire route is an electrified single track. The electric system is 1,500 V DC overhead. The gauge size is 1,067 mm.
The Izukyu Kinme train is a delicious train on the resort peninsula.
Side view of the Kinme train
Passing through Takao Daini Tunnel, the EMU Keio 9000 series arrives at Takao-sanguchi Station
On October 1st, Keio Electric Railway Company celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Takao Line. It was opened on October 1st in 1967 between Kitano and Takao-sanguchi. The Keio-Takao Line is a branch route of the Keio Main Line. The route length is 8.6 km. The track is double, but partly single. The gauge size is 1,372 mm. The electric system is 1,500 V DC overhead. The section between Kitano and Yamada is the revival route of the ex-Keio-Goryo Line, which was abolished in 1945 due to the chaos of WWII.
The Keio-Takao Line has two faces, one as a city line for urban commuters, and one as a local line for hikers. There are many new residential areas on the eastern section between Kitano and Takao; while there is a natural forest on the western section between Takao and Takao-sanguchi, which is the gateway station to Mt. Takao. As I posted before, Mt. Takao is a popular sightseeing spot in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Recently, not only Japanese, but also foreign hikers flock to this suburban mountain.
I like the Keio-Takao Line, specifically its western section. After leaving Takao, a west bound train enters into the darkness of the Takao Daiichi Tunnel. After passing through it, a fine view of the forest area bursts into the passengers' sight. The train then passes through another tunnel named Takao-Daini Tunnel and arrives at Takao-sanguchi Terminal. This kaleidoscopic change is my favorite.
Toward the next half century, the Keio-Takao Line is going to go on.
Leaving Takao-sanguchi Station, the EMU Keio 8000 series enters into Takao Daini Tunnel
EMU JR East E233-6000 series arrives at Hachiouji-Minamino Station
It is mid-October already. A year passes quickly. Taking the pictures of the "New Year Express" on the Keio Line seems like only yesterday. Now, it is a nice time for strolling, neither too hot nor too cold.
My recent destination was Hachiouji in the western part of the Tokyo Metropolis. Currently, the 2017 Urban Greening Fair is being held there. What is the Urban Greening Fair? It is an annual event held by the Organization for Landscape and Urban Green Infrastructure to promote greening in the urban areas. Hachiouji City hosts the event this year, because Hachiouji is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its municipality. I saw whole new flower beds here and there in the city. Many events, for example an exhibition of home garden samples, were also held in the main venue.
To visit Hachiouji, I took the JR East Yokohama Line. The Yokohama Line is one of the main transportation arteries in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Connecting Higashi-Kanagawa and Hachiouji, the route length is 42.6km. The track is double and electrified. The electric system is 1,500 V DC overheard. The gauge size is 1,067 mm.
Currently, all the commuter trains on the Yokohama Line are operated with green colored 8-car trains of the EMU E233-6000 series. All the previous trains, namely the EMU 205 series, were moved to Jakarta, Indonesia in 2014. Three years later, the green colored E233-6000 series has already blended with the cityscape of Hachioji.
Trains in Hachiouji are also greened.
Katakura-tsudoinomori Park near Hachiouji-Minamino Station on the JR East Yokohama Line
EMU JR Kyushu 811 series stands at Mojiko station yard
JR Kyushu is the largest railway company on Kyushu Island. It was established in 1987 following the breakup and privatization of Japanese National Railways. When JR Kyushu was launched, many economic analysts pointed out that this company would soon face severe managing conditions, since its railway network was located in underpopulated areas with low transport density. 29 years later, however, the performance of JR Kyushu was much better than what the economic analysts had predicted. As a result, JR Kyushu was listed in the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on October 16, 2016.
The EMU 811 series is the first commuter train developed by JR Kyushu. It is a 4-car train for 20 kV and 60 Hz alternate current tracks. A total of 28 sets, 112 units, were built by Kinki Sharyo, Hitachi and JR Kyushu Kokura Factory from 1989 to 1993. The 811 series has a thyristor phase electric control system with direct current motors. It was a rather old system, so that some of the 811 series were recently renovated with VVVF inverter (variable-frequency drive) electric control systems.
The EMU 811 series has become a driving force of JR Kyushu's company growth. Replacing the old 415 series, it has been playing the leading role of urban transportation in Fukuoka and Kita-Kyushu cities. Although new commuter trains, such as the EMU 813 and 817 series, have appeared one after another, the 811 series still keeps the main position of the JR Kyushu's standard commuter trains.
EMU JR Kyushu 813 series (left, red colored) and the 811 series
