Classic Railcar on the Minato Line

Classic railcar Hitachinaka KiHa 2005 (right), 205, 202 and 222 at Nakaminato Station

When I visited Hitachinaka City (see my October 10th blog), a classic railcar was taking some time to rest in the station yard of Nakaminato, Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway.

Look at the top photo. You can see a railcar, which shows beige colored body with a vermillion stripe around the windows. It is Railcar No. 2005. This railcar was manufactured in 1966 for Rumoi Railway Company in Hokkaido Island. It had been operating on the Coal Mine Line. Then, in 1970, it was ceded to Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway, because the coal mine and the railway were closed.

In the meantime, this railcar is frequently called "JNR type". JNR, which stands for Japanese National Railways, was Japan's largest railway network. It was split into seven railway companies and privatized as the JR Group in 1987 due to financial difficulties. During the JNR era, plenty of railcars like the top photo were introduced to railways all over Japan. They were not only for JNR but also for local private railway companies. You can see the characteristics of JNR type railcars in the front design, body coloring and so on.

After privatizing, all JNR trains had been ceded to each JR company. Since then, JNR type railcars were gradually scrapped or modified and lost the original designs. But, they are still alive and operating in some local railway companies.

I felt like time had stopped and rendered thanks to the railway engineers of Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway, because they have maintained the JNR type railcars in good condition.

Side view of the railcar Hitachinaka KiHa 2005 at Nakaminato Station

"Sunset Yellow" on the JR East Ome Line

EMU JR East E233 series at Nishi-tachikawa Station, the Ome Line

Following my blog on October 29th, I would like to introduce another kind of cosmos in Showa Kinen Park. That is "Sunset Yellow".

This romantic name of a flower originated in Mexico. Then, it moved to the United States and developed a wide variety of breeds there. It is said that the yellow colored cosmos was introduced to Japan in the Taisho Era (1912-1926; the reign of the Emperor Yoshihito). I like the straw color very much. It's neat and clean and shows up against the light green leaves. It seems that the Sunset Yellow field in Showa Kinen Park is a sort of heaven.

To visit this vast field of Sunset Yellow, please take the JR East Ome Line and get off at Nishi-tachikawa station, which is located in front of the Western Gate of Showa Kinen Park. It's convenient for visitors who live in a western suburb, because some of the trains operate directly from the Chuo Line into the Ome Line. The train is an orange colored EMU E233 series, which is same as the Chuo Line.

For your information, please do not forget that you have to push the manual operation button when you get off at Nishi-tachikawa Station, as the Ome Line is a local line in the countryside. The door operation is not provided by the conductor.

You will find a vast and yellow carpet-like Sunset Yellow cosmos field soon after entering the Western Gate. Now is the season when autumn begins to deepen in Japan.

Cosmos "Sunset Yellow" in Showa Kinen Park, Tachikawa City

EMU JR East 251 Series, "Odoriko"

EMU JR East 251 series, Limited Express "Odoriko" near Tamachi Station

Since I was on the subject of the Tokaido Line in my October 24th's blog, let me introduce a limited express train, which operates on this line. The name of the train is "Odoriko", EMU JR East 251 series (see the top photo). It operates between downtown Tokyo and Izu Peninsula, a famous seaside resort in the southern part of the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Do you know the word "Odoriko"?

Odoriko means "a dancing girl" in Japanese. Why is the name of limited express train so strange? It's because the name comes from the famous novel, "Izu no Odoriko (The Dancing Girl of Izu)" by Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata. Mr. Kawabata (1899 – 1972) won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, as the first Japanese author to receive the award. "The Dancing Girl of Izu" was published in 1926 as the first work of his literature to achieve great popularity.

The story of "Izu no Odoriko" is a youth's transitory love. A twenty-year-old young man, who was feeling lonely because he was an orphan, met a dancing girl in Izu Peninsula while he was travelling there. Through the meeting and heart-to-heart exchange with her, he was healed and was eventually drawn out of his loneliness.

In contrast to the story, the actual "Odoriko" train is very joyful. The EMU 251 series was launched in 1990 as a luxury resort express, and is still very popular among holidaymakers.

The dancing girl indeed got stardom, didn't she?

 EMU JR East 251 series, Limited Express "Odoriko" at Tokyo Station

More information about Limited Express "Odoriko": http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/routemaps/superviewodoriko.html

Rival Railway Story, JR East vs. Keikyu

EMU Keikyu 1000 series , "Kaitoku (Rapid Limited Express)" near Shinagawa Station

One of the features in railways in the Tokyo metropolitan area is that many companies are being in competition to attract passengers. It might be hard to imagine for foreigners, but I expect you understand that the railway networks in this area are extensive. So, it allows the customers to choose the best line to get to their destination.

For example, let's suppose that you live in the southern part of Tokyo, such as Shinagawa and Kamata, and would like to visit Yokohama, the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture. Then, you can choose from two lines… JR East and Keikyu.

JR East is the largest railway company in Japan. This company's strength lies in the extensive network in this area. They have lines passing through many downtown areas, such as Tokyo, Shinjuku and Shinagawa. From Shinagawa to Yokohama, it takes 16 minutes on the Tokaido Line (see the bottom photo). The train operates every 8 minutes on average during the daytime. You can choose the Green Car (1st class) as well, if you would like to be able to relax.

Meanwhile, Keikyu is a local railway company in the southern part of the Tokyo metropolitan area. To compete with the giant JR East, Keikyu is putting in a lot of effort. The maximum speed of the trains (120km/h) is faster than those of JR East (110km/h). Secondly, Keikyu operates the luxury train, "Kaitoku (Rapid Limited Express)", without additional fares on the above section (see the top photo).

This competition is going to go on.

EMU JR East 233-3000 series near Tamachi Station, the Tokaido Line

"Dwarf Sensation" on the Tama Monorail Line

EMU Tama Monorail 1000 series at Tachikawa-kita Station

A "Dwarf Sensation" is a kind of cosmos which produces red, pink and white blossoms in October. Together with the chrysanthemum, it's an autumn flower that represents Japan.

The most prestigious field of the Dwarf Sensation in the Tokyo metropolitan area is Showa Kinen Park in Tachikawa City, which is situated in a western suburb. This park commands you a total four million flowers of Dwarf Sensation during the height of the season (see the bottom photo).

Last weekend, I visited Showa Kinen Park, because now is the best time to view the blossoms. I took the Tama Monorail Line and got off at Tachikawa-kita Station, which is close to the East Entrance of the park.

Tama Monorail adopts a straddle-beam system like the Haneda Line of Tokyo Monorail (see my blog on July 9th). Connecting Tama Center and Kamikitadai (16.0km) in about 36 minutes, it penetrates the Tama region, a western suburb of Tokyo from south to north. EMU 1000 series has been operating on this line since 1998 when the monorail was opened (see the top photo). It consists of 4 cars, and a total of 15 sets have been manufactured so far.

Like all monorail lines, we can enjoy a superb view from the train windows. For example, modern buildings are seen in the Tachikawa urban area, whereas you can view green hilly countryside near Tama Zoo Station.

By enjoying the beautiful Dwarf Sensation flowers and the scenic Tama Monorail, I spent a great weekend again.

Cosomos "Dwarf Sensation" in Showa Kinen Park, Tachikawa City

More information about EMU Tama Monorail 1000 series (in Japanese):

http://www.tama-monorail.co.jp/monorail/rollingstock.html