Autumn Roses on the Keisei Line

EMU Keisei 3600 series at Senju-ohashi Station, the Keisei Main Line

In Japan, the roses look great when in full bloom in May. But, autumn roses also look beautiful, especially from October to November. So, I took the Keisei Main Line and got off at Yatsu Station to visit Yatsu Rose Garden. Connecting Ueno, a subcenter of Tokyo, and Narita Airport, the Keisei Electric Railway has an extensive network in the eastern part of Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture (see my September 13th's blog). It took only half an hour from downtown Tokyo to Yatsu on the Keisei trains (see the top photo).

Yatsu is located about 20km east of downtown Tokyo. It belongs to Narashino City, which is one of the commuter towns in Chiba Prefecture, the Tokyo metropolitan area. In addition to the function of the residential area, Yatsu has several sightseeing spots as well. The most famous one is Yastsu Rose Garden, which was opened as a part of Yatsu Amusement Park in 1957.

As soon as I entered the garden through the gate, I could feel the lovely breeze blowing off of Tokyo Bay, and it carried the rose-scented air. I associate the smell of roses with my parent's house, as it was full of rose blossoms in spring. I think it's true that the sense of smell and the storage area of memories in our brain are close to each other.

I fully enjoyed red, pink, white and yellow colored roses in bloom in the reputable garden today.
 

Yatsu Rose Garden near Yatsu Station, the Keisei Main Line

Tokyo's First Linear Motor-Driven Subway

EMU Toei 12-000 series, a linear motor-driven subway train at Tochomae Station

The Toei (Tokyo Metropolitan Government) Ooedo Line is the second newest subway in Tokyo. The line was partially opened between Hikarigaoka and Nerima (3.8km) in 1991. Then, it was extended to Tochomae in 2000. Currently, the route consists of the circle section (Tochomae - Ryogoku - Tochomae, 28.6km) and the branch section (Hikarigaoka - Tochomae, 12.1km). The total operation length is 40.7km.

One of the features of this new subway line is that linear motor technology is adopted for the train driving system. A linear motor is an electric motor that doesn't have a shaft. It moves in a straight line, while a conventional motor has a rotary movement. You can see a special box,"reaction plate" between the rails (see the bottom photo). This technology allowed downsizing of the tunnel section.

The problem of the Ooedo Line is that it runs very deep under the ground, because underground utilizations in Tokyo, such as existing subways, express roads, parking and water supply systems are in an overcrowded condition. New construction is forced to go deeper and deeper. As a result, the platform of Roppongi Station is located 42.3m below the ground. Passengers have to walk down 7 flights of escalator and stairs. It takes 6 minutes including ticket purchasing time. I think it's a disincentive for potential passengers and weakens the competitiveness of the Ooedo Line.

The Oodedo Line; it was born through exploitation of the state-of-the-art technology, but is a slightly inconvenient subway line in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Rails and reaction plate of the Toei-Ooedo Line at Tochomae Station 

Visit to Cosmos Field on the JR East Yokosuka Line

EMU JR East E217 series at Nishi-Ooi Station, the Yokosuka Line

I visited a vast cosmos field again. This time, I took the JR East Yokosuka Line and headed south.

The Yokosuka Line was initially opened in 1889. Officially, the name Yokosuka Line is defined as the section between Kurihama and Ofuna stations (23.9km), but the passenger service of this line usually extends to Tokyo Station (a total of 73.3km length) or further.

The blue and cream colored train, EMU 217 series is operated on this line. The blue and cream body color has been a tradition of trains on the Yokosuka Line since 1951, when the EMU 70 series train was launched. It is said that the Pacific Ocean is represented by the blue color, whilst the sandy beaches along the line are represented by the cream color.

After arriving at the Kurihama terminal, I visited "Kurihama Hana no Kuni" (Kurihama Flower World) to view a large community of cosmos. Although some areas had been ruined by the typhoon, which hit the Tokyo metropolitan area in September, a narrow valley was filled with a carpet of cosmos flowers (see the bottom photo).

Another attractive spot in this area is "Ashi-yu" (foot bath) adjacent to a herb garden. Visitors can enjoy bathing their feet in a herb-treated hot water tub. I felt the warmth starting from my feet and spreading throughout my body.

For your information, admission to the Flower World, the herb garden and the foot bath are all free. Thank you.

Cosmos Field in Kurihama Flower World

Enjoying the Autumn Leaves in Hakone

 Odakyu Romance Car EXE, EMU 30000 series at Chitose-funabashi Station

Autumn begins to deepen in Japan. The leaves have begun to turn red in some places in the Tokyo metropolitan area. One of the most famous places for enjoying autumn leaves is Hakone (see also my blogs from October 3rd and July 11th), a western suburb of Tokyo.

I took the Odakyu Romance Car EMU 30000 series, "EXE" (see the top photo), and headed to the Hakone mountains. EXE stands for "Excellent Express". It was commissioned in 1996 to replace the old Romance Car EMU 3100 series, "NSE". Since one set of the train is composed of ten twenty-meter cars (a total length of 200m), it has a greatly increased passenger capacity. One set can be broken up into six and four car sections to enhance operational flexibility as well.

After arriving at Hakone-yumoto terminal, I visited Hakone Glass Forest Museum where we can enjoy beautiful autumn leaves in the beautiful garden (see the bottom photo). The autumn leaves had just begun. I could see some red maple and yellow zelkova leaves there. This year we can view the best condition of autumn leaves in mid-November.

In the museum, the Venetian glass exhibition was going on. Most of the pieces, which were made in 17th to 19th century in Italy, have bird, flower, dolphin or dragon motives. Some of them looked like lace making, combining transparent and colored glass materials. They were very delicate and brilliant.

I enjoyed beautiful nature and antique glass art in the Hakone mountains.

Autumn Leaves in the garden in front of Hakone Glass Forest Museum

C-Train, the Most Successful LRT in North America

Calgary Transit 2200 series (Siemens 160-SD AC LRV) at Brentwood Station on the Route 201

Recently, I had an opportunity to visit Calgary in Canada. Although I was very busy there, I tried to make an opportunity to ride the reputable C-Train, which is one of the most successful light rail transit (LRT) systems in North America.

The C-Train has been operated by Calgary Transit since 1981. The line consists of two routes, known as Route 201, which serves the southern and north-western areas, and Route 202 in the north-eastern sections of the city. The two routes merge along 7th Avenue in the downtown area. The total operating length is currently 48.8km.

Two types of vehicles are operated; one is the old model Siemens U2 LRV (2000s in car number, see the bottom photo), and the other is the new model Siemens SD-160 LRV (2200s in car number, see the top photo). DC motors are adopted in U2, whilst AC traction motors are used in SD-160. 2 cars of U2 (2100s in car number) exceptionally have AC traction motors.

I rode the train during the daytime in the weekend. But I was surprised that most of the seats were occupied. It's more crowded than I had imagined. Another amazing thing was that the downtown section of the line is fare free. What a big-hearted railway it is! The insides of trains were clean, and passengers were well-mannered. So, I had an enjoyable time during my short trip to the suburbs.

LRT will draw more and more attention as a means of transportation in urban areas throughout the world.

  Calgary Transit 2000 series (Siemens U2 DC LRV) at 6th Street Station on the Route 202

More information about C-Train: http://www.calgarytransit.com/index.html