Multicolored illuminations on the walls of Marunouchi Entrance Building in Tokyo Station
It is a little bit old news, but an annual event, Tokyo Michi Terasu was held from 24th to 28th of December last year in the Tokyo Station area.
What is Tokyo Michi Terasu? It is an illumination event in the area in and around Tokyo Station. Urban streets are nicely decorated with millions of LED lights. The main event is the lighting up of the Marunouchi Entrance Building of Tokyo Station. Specifically, last year's illumination was beautiful commemorating the 100th anniversary of the station's operation. The theme of the illumination was "Color of Taisho era romance".
I saw multicolored illuminations on the walls of Marunouchi Entrance Building. They were pink, purple, blue, yellow and so on. Plenty of people were treated to the fantastic view. Since there are an established numbers hotels and shopping malls in the area, many people enjoyed the illuminations after shopping and/or an early dinner in the area.
For your information, the Marunouchi Entrance Building was opened in 1914 as a main building of the central station in Tokyo Metropolis. This building was severely destroyed by an air strike in 1945. Although it was repaired after WWII, the design of the roof was changed, because it was a stop-gap measure. JR East spent 500 million dollars and completed the renovation work in October, 2012. The red brick masonry of the building has been brought back to be the same as it was when it first opened.
Fantastic view of the special illuminations of Marunouchi Entrance Building in Tokyo Station
EMU Nankai 6300 series leaves Sakai-Higashi Station on the Kohya Line
When I took a trip to Osaka last year, I visited an observation room of Sakai City Office to get a bird's-eye view of huge Daisen Mounded Tomb, which was constructed in the early 5th century. I had expected a clear view similar to that of Goryokaku in Hokkaido, but I was disappointed, as I couldn't see it clearly from a distance.
I snapped out of the disappointment when, instead of a clear view of the ancient tomb, I could find a railway track in view of my eyes. It was the Kohya Line of Nankai Electric Railway. Let's go to see it!
Ten minutes later, I reached the track and came across a nostalgic train, the EMU 6300 series. This train was originally launched in 1970 under its name, the 6100 series. A total of 76 units have been manufactured over 4 years. Renovation of the decrepit 6100 series then started in 1996. Changing bogies and interiors, 48 units of renovated trains have debuted so far under its new name, the 6300 series.
The 6300 series is on my top favorite list. Its specification is rather old, but the shining corrugated stainless steel bodies are nostalgic and definitely my cup of tea. Its wide-set eyes (two rounded front lights) are cute and a forest of box-shaped air-conditioners covering their roofs is spectacular. For your information, Nankai is one of the major private railway companies in the Osaka area.
The dog that trots about finds a bone... I came across my favorite train that day.
View of Daisen Mounded Tomb and Nankai Kohya Line track from Sakai City Office
EMU JR East E233-2000 series arrives at Shin-Matsudo Station on the Joban Local Line
In Japan, there is a common saying that "the lighthouse does not shine on its base". Perhaps, you also have the same kind of proverb in your country meaning that we are apt to overlook important things that lie close at hand.
One such example is the EMU JR East E233-2000 series. I have already introduced many trains in the Tokyo metropolitan area in this blog, but I found that there was no post about this important train, which I often come across on the way to my office. It is proverbial of "the lighthouse does not shine on its base", isn't it?
The E233-2000 series is a commuter train on the JR East Joban Local Line. It is operated between Toride in Ibaraki Prefecture and Ayase in Tokyo Metropolis. All trains are directly operated onto the subway, Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, to Yoyogi-Uehara Station. The E233-2000 was launched in 2009 to replace the old 207-900 and the 203 series. A total of 18 sets, 180 units, have been manufactured so far by Tokyu Sharyo. Different from the other E233 series, the E233-2000 doesn't have a skirt squeezing part on its body, because the loading gauge of the Chiyoda Line is narrower than standard railways in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The other specification is basically the same as the standard E233 series, which is operated on the Chuo Rapid Line.
The E233-2000 series... she is a lean-faced beauty on the busy commuter line.
EMU JR East E233-2000 series stands at Yoyogi-Uehara Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line
EMU JR East 415-1500 series arrives at Tomobe Station on the Mito Line
March 3rd was Hina-Matsuri, the Doll's Festival for girls. In this season, most families with girls in Japan display a set of dolls in ancient court costumes and pray for the girls' growth and happiness. It is believed that the dolls protect people from sickness or ill-fortune.
Hina-matsuri of Makabe Town in Ibaraki Prefecture is specifically famous, as the local people hold a large- scale festival. Many private houses, shops, temples and shrines display dolls and are open to the public. Visitors can freely come up to these places and see the precious dolls. I visited this small town with my family last weekend and came upon a private house by chance. We saw fantastic dolls displayed in a traditional Japanese-style room there. According to the owner, the oldest ones were made over a century ago. The dolls have been treasured for generations.
To get to this festival town, we took the JR East Mito Line and got off at Iwase Station. It took about two hours from the downtown Tokyo area, transferring at Tomobe Station on the Joban Line. The JR East Mito Line is an East-West trending local route in the northern part of the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Our vehicle was the EMU 415-1500 series. The 415-1500 series was launched as an AC-DC dual system train in 1986. It is a 4-car train that has bolster-less bogies. The electric control system is an old-fashioned rheostatic with a field weakening mechanism, but it was still maintained in good condition.
Hina-matsuri decolation is seen in Makabe Town near Iwase Station on the Mito Line
EMU JR West 683-4000 series, Thunderbird Express, stands at Osaka Station
You probably remember a British science-fiction TV series, "Thunderbirds", which has been repeatedly broadcasted throughout the world since the middle 1960s. It was produced using marionette puppetry. Thunderbirds are an international rescue team that go to disaster scenes in their high-tech rescue vehicles. My favorite one was Thunderbird 2, which was a VTOL carrier craft. I still remember that I was psyched to build a plastic model of it, when I was a child.
We also have a Thunderbird in Japan, but it is not a rescue vehicle. It is an express train operated between Osaka and the Hokuriku Region. Please look at the picture. It is Thunderbird Express, EMU JR West 683-4000 series, standing at Osaka Station.
The 683-4000 series was launched in 2009 to replace an old express train, the 485 series. A total of 12 sets, 108 units, have been manufactured so far by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Kinki Sharyo. It is an AC-DC dual system train with a maximum speed of 130 km per hour. 255 kW induction motors with an IGBT-VVVF inverter control (variable frequency drive) system are equipped on the train.
To be honest, I prefer the other Thunderbird Express train, the EMU 681 series, to the 683-4000 series, since its sharp features on the front are more handsome than those of the 683-4000 series, but unfortunately, I couldn't shoot the 681 series that day. The first train, "Thunderbird 1", leaves Osaka Station at 7.09 am and heads to Toyama Terminal.
Thunderbirds are go!
Side view of the EMU JR West 683-4000 series
More information about Thunderbird Express, EMU 681 and 683 series (in Japanese):
http://www.jr-odekake.net/train/thunderbird/gallery.html
