”Wonderful Dreams Shinkansen” Train

Set G25 of JR Central N700A series EMU, “Wonderful Dreams Shinkansen”

Do you remember when I introduced you to JR East’s “Magical Journey Shinkansen” train last year? Following JR East, JR Central also launched a special poster train “Wonderful Dreams Shinkansen” this year.

To start, let me explain how things came about. On June 6th last year, Tokyo Disney Resort held its grand opening of Fantasy Springs. To promote tourism to this new theme park, JR East started to operate a new poster train named "Magical Journey Shinkansen" jointly with Tokyo Disney Resort. 8 months later, JR Central also launched a new poster train under the name of "Wonderful Dreams Shinkansen" on the Tokaido Shinkansen for the same purpose. You can see characters of Fantasy Springs on the side bodies of Wonderful Dreams Shinkansen. They are Peter Pan, Elsa and Anna of Frozen and so on. The impressive thing was that many inbound tourists were taking pictures of this poster train at Tokyo station. JR Central releases the timetable of Wonderful Dreams Shinkansen on their website (in Japanese only).

Incidentally, Wonderful Dreams Shinkansen is Set G25 of the EMU JR Central N700A series. The 700A series was commissioned in 2016 as an improved version of the N700 series. The main difference between the N700 and the N700A series is their brake performance. New disc brakes were adopted by the N700A series. As you may know, the braking system on a bullet train is quite important in Japan, since we have to stop the train steadily without derailment as soon as an earthquake hits a railway.

Side view of the “Wonderful Dreams Shinkansen”

Official information by JR Central (English):

https://global.jr-central.co.jp/en/news/_pdf/2025/0003.pdf

Official website by JR Central (Japanese):

https://recommend.jr-central.co.jp/wdshinkansen/

Reunion with the Old Express Train

EMU JR Kyushu 787 series (left) at Miyazaki Airport Station

I visited Kyushu Island again, and this time my destination was Miyazaki Prefecture in the southeastern part of the island. I flew to Miyazaki Airport and transferred to a JR Kyushu train.

As soon as I arrived at Miyazaki Airport Station, what caught my eye was a distinctive train: the EMU JR Kyushu 787 series (see the top photo), operating as the limited express Hyuga (named after the old province of Miyazaki). This renowned train entered service in 1992 for 1,067 mm gauge tracks under a 20,000 V (60 Hz) AC electric system. It has a maximum speed of 130 km/h. A total of 140 units were built between 1992 and 2002 by Hitachi and Kinki Sharyo. Its metallic body and futuristic front-end design have made it stand out and remain popular among passengers. The 787 series even won the 1993 Blue Ribbon Prize from the Japan Railfan Club as the best new train of 1992.

More than 30 years have passed since then, and the trains are showing their age. For example, the side destination indicators are still traditional rollsigns (see the photo below), as LED destination signs were never installed. By the way, what do you think of this European-style design today? Does it still look cutting-edge, or does it feel outdated? Personally, my impression of the 787 series changes every time I see it. Sometimes it looks modern and stylish; other times it seems a little old-fashioned. At times its face even looks intimidating, while other times it appears almost charming. Quite a mysterious train! Anyway, it’s been a while—nice to see you again, 787 series.

Side view of the EMU 787 series

A Serendipitous Reunion with Tobu 8577F

Set 8577 of the Tobu 8000 series EMU on display at the Railway Museum

I’m not a native English speaker, so I often come across unfamiliar words. The latest example was “serendipity.” It’s not a common word, but I wanted to remember it through a real experience. As I mentioned in my last post, I recently visited the vast Shirley poppy field in Saitama Prefecture. When I saw this vermilion-colored field, it reminded me of Tobu Railway’s vermilion-colored train—set 8577 of the 8000 series EMU (hereafter 8577F), which I introduced in 2016. Two hours later, I stopped by the Railway Museum in the same prefecture and unexpectedly came across 8577F. What a coincidence! This is truly serendipity, isn’t it?

Why was the Tobu train on display at the Railway Museum, which is owned by JR East? Here’s the story: in 2023, the Railway Museum formed a partnership with the Tobu Museum in Tokyo. The two museums now collaborate to promote railway culture. As part of this effort, the Railway Museum temporarily exhibited Tobu Railway’s 8577F in its outdoor yard. According to the museum, 8577F was displayed for only one month.

Another question is: how was 8577F transported to the Railway Museum? The answer is as follows. The tracks of Tobu Railway and JR East are connected at Kurihashi Station yard. Moreover, JR East’s line is linked to the tracks at the Railway Museum, so 8577F was hauled from Tobu Railway to the museum by locomotives. Long time no see, 8577F! How have you been?

The JR East line connected with the Railway Museum tracks

Enjoy Saitama: Shirley Poppies and a Shining Locomotive

Unit 61 of the electric locomotive Class EF58 on display at the Railway Museum

My spring outing is still going on. Next destination after the rose garden in Kanagawa Prefecture was a Shirley poppy (corn poppy) field in Saitama Prefecture. It's located on the Arakawa riverbed in Konosu City, about 50 kilometers north of Tokyo. As soon as I reached the embankment, what jumped into my eyes was a vast vermilion-colored field. It was second to none, even compared to the other famous Shirley poppy fields in the metropolitan area such as Matsudo and Chichibu. Oh, hold on please. Please look at the photo below. This field is different from the others. Light-purple-colored flowers are mixed. What are those? The answer was “Hazerisou (Phacelia?)”. No problem. Mixing of vermilion and light purple flowers was more beautiful.

I can't finish here as this is a railway blog. On my way home, I got off at Omiya station and stopped by the Railway Museum for the first time in 6 years. What was new with this holy place for rail-fans? I found that a new exhibit was added. Please look at the top photo… Unit 61 of the electric locomotive Class EF58 (hereafter EF58 61). EF 58 61 was Japanese National Railways’ special locomotive. It was built by Hitachi in 1953 for VIP trains. For example, the King and Queen of Norway took a train pulled by EF58 61 with the Emperor and Empress of Japan in 2001. Regarding the technical specifications of the Class EF58, please review my past post.

I enjoyed the flowers and the locomotive in Saitama Prefecture on the same day.

Shirley poppy (vermilion) and Hazerisou (light purple) field in Konosu City

Official information, The Railway Museum: https://www.railway-museum.jp/e/

Stop and Smell the Roses on the Daiyuzan Line

Set 5506 of the Izu-Hakone Railway EMU 5000 series, “Harumeki Train”

I can’t believe it’s already late May—I feel as though I just celebrated the New Year not long ago. Well, no use making a fuss! Let’s stop and smell the roses. This year, I visited the Odawara Flower Garden in Kanagawa Prefecture. As soon as I stepped into the rose garden, a lovely breeze carried the sweet scent of roses through the air. I enjoyed seeing roses in shades of red, pink, white, and yellow in full bloom. It truly feels like the height of spring.

To reach this attractive tourist spot, the nearest railway station is Iidaoka on the Daiyuzan Line of the Izu-Hakone Railway. On my way back home, I spotted an unfamiliar pink-colored train—set 5506 of the EMU 5000 series. This set was originally painted blue, but its body color was recently changed to pink to support community revitalization along the Daiyuzan Line. It’s now called the “Harumeki Train.” As I mentioned in a previous post, Harumeki-zakura is an early-blooming cherry blossom variety developed by local people 25 years ago. Its pink blossoms have since become a symbol of the area.

Incidentally, the 5000 series forms the main fleet on the Daiyuzan Line. It was introduced in 1984 to replace aging stock, with a total of seven sets built by Tokyu Sharyo. Only the first set (5501) has a steel body, while the other six sets, including 5506, are stainless steel. Each set consists of three cars. My favorite is car number 2 of set 5506, because it is equipped with comfortable cross seats.

Odawara Flower Garden near Iidaoka Station, Daiyuzan Line