Precious Bridge and Precious Train

EMU JR West 113/115 series (Setouchi Color) travels on the Sanyo Main Line

Japanese take about one straight week of holidays during the so-called "Golden Week" starting from the end of April. This year, Golden Week refers to the period from April 27th to May 6th when there are four national holidays. Using Golden Week, I headed to the west with my family.

Our first destination was Iwakuni City in Yamaguchi Prefecture. It is located some 940km from Tokyo. Taking Shinkansen and the Sanyo Main Line, It takes around five hours by train. Our first target was precious "Kintai Bridge (Brocade Sash Bridge)", which is a historical wooden arch bridge over Nishiki River.

Kintai Bridge was built in 1673 by the lord, Kikkawa Hiroyoshi. Although it has been replaced several times due to its age, the design of the bridge still keeps to the original. I admired the graceful shape of the bridge for a while. Specifically, the timbered bridge girder is elaborately artistic.

In the meantime, while I took a train to Iwakuni, I went by an oncoming precious rolling stock on the track. It was a "Setouchi Color" train of the EMU JR West 113 and 115 series. In the past, most of the trains in this area were colored beige with a dark blue stripe. It is the so-called "Setouchi color". But, they have currently been changed to a dark yellow color. Only 3 sets of the 113 and the 115 series remain as Setouchi color trains.

I had a good day today as I saw a precious bridge and a precious train.

Kintai Bridge near Iwakuni Station on the JR West Sanyo Main Line

The Second Anniversary of Tokyo Railway Labyrinth

EMU JR East E2-N series stands at Tokyo Station on the Nagano Shinkansen

Tokyo Railway Labyrinth had its second anniversary this month. I thank all my blog readers for supporting me over the last two years.

When I started the blog, I lived in Jakarta, Indonesia. At that time, my home country, Japan was facing difficulties, including tsunami and nuclear power plant disasters that followed a giant earthquake. Japan seemed temporally lost. Fortunately, most of the railways were saved by the earthquake resistant construction. But, some routes are still suspended due to the damage caused by the tsunami and the nuclear power plant problem.

In commemoration of the second anniversary of my blog, I am going to show you a train with the number "2" in the name... the EMU E"2"-N series. Is it a bit of a stretch?

The EMU JR East E2-N series is the Nagano Shinkansen train. It is the brother of the E2-J series, which is the main fleet on the Tohoku Shinkansen. The E2-N series is operated with a maximum speed of 260km/hour; meanwhile the E2-J is designed to run at 275km/hour. The maximum speed of the E2-N is lower than that of the E2-J; however, the E2-N can run nimbly up a 30 per mill of steep incline at Usui Pass at high speed.

For your information, the largest outward difference between E2-N and E2-J series is the color of the stripe on their bodies. The E2-N series has a red colored stripe, while the E2-J has a pink colored one (see my blog on November 7th, 2012).

 

EMU JR East E2-N series stands at Tokyo Station on the Nagano Shinkansen

Azalea Season in Tokyo

EMU JR East E257 series passes through Sendagaya Station on the express track
 

It is late spring in Tokyo. Following the Sakura (cherry) blossom, many kinds of flowers paint the ground a rainbow of colors. You should certainly not miss the azalea blooming week in Tokyo. There are a lot of famous viewing spots downtown, but don't forget about the railways as well. You can find many little-known azalea viewing spots along the tracks.

Look at the photos. It is Sendagaya Station on the JR East Chuo Line. The azalea planting zone is seen along the east bound express track. Currently, it is flourishing with pink colored full blown azaleas. The white colored EMU, E257 series and orange striped EMU, E233 series belong in the azalea blossoms. Don't miss them!

For your information, the E257 series is an EMU for the limited express Azusa and Kaiji. It is also used as a Commuter Liner (see my blog on November 26th, 2012) on the Chuo Line. It was launched in 2001 to replace the old EMU, 183 and 189 series. A total of 21 sets, 154 units have been manufactured by Hitachi, Kinki Sharyo and Tokyu Sharyo.

Meanwhile, the E233 series is a standard commuter train on the Chuo Rapid, Ome and Itsukaichi lines. It was commissioned in 2006 to replace the old EMU, 201 series. A total of 74 sets, 688 units have been manufactured by Tokyu Sharyo, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, JR East Niitsu Factory and J-TREC.

The full blown azaleas are expected to last a week.

 

EMU JR East E233 series passes through Sendagaya Station on the express track of the Chuo Line 

65km Commuting Route in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

EMU JR East 205 series arrives at Itabashi Station on the Saikyo Line

Tokyo has been expanding both above and underground... and in one more way, horizontally. Tokyo is an exploding city because of housing land development. Currently, the population of the Tokyo metropolitan area is about 30 million. Commuting time for workers never seems to get shorter.

One of the longest commuting routes in Tokyo is the TWR-Saikyo-Kawagoe Line. This route is composed of three sections, namely the Tokyo Waterfront Railway (TWR) Line, the JR East Saikyo Line and the JR East Kawagoe Line. The total length of the route is about 65km.

In the central part of Tokyo, the route shows an urban face. The TWR Line train passes through business centers in the Tokyo Bay Area. Tokyo Harbor Tunnel connects the divided city areas between Shinagawa and the Waterfront Sub-center.

The train, then, passes through large downtown areas such as Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro on the Saikyo Line. The route also penetrates suburban residential areas in the northern part of Tokyo Metropolis (see the top photo) and Saitama City. Most of the section is an elevated double track.

Eventually, the train enters the countryside between Omiya and Kawagoe on the Kawagoe Line. You can see paddy fields mixing with residential quarters. The route is partly single track as a local line (see the following photo).

It takes about 90 minutes, if you travel the entire route. It is probably one of the longest commuting routes in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Don't hurt your back!

EMU TWR 70-000 series arrives at Nishi-Omiya Station on the Kawagoe Line

Checkered Railcar on the Mooka Line

Diesel railcar, Mooka Type 14 stands at Nishidai Station on the Mooka Line

As I mentioned in my blog on February 17th, 2013, Mooka Railway is famous for its steam locomotive (SL) train operation. Many families and rail fans flock to this local line to enjoy the nostalgic SL train on weekends. Connecting Shimodate and Motegi stations, the total operating length is 41.9 kilometers. The whole route is an un-electrified single track.

What other rolling stocks does the Mooka Railway have? The diesel rail car, Type Mooka 14 is the main fleet for ordinary transportation on the track. The Type 14 railcar was launched in 2002 to replace old cars of Type 63. A total of nine units have been manufactured by Fuji Heavy Industries and Nippon Sharyo. It is the so-called "LE-DC", which was designed by Fuji Heavy Industries as a standard diesel railcar for local lines. Many local railway companies have introduced this car as their main fleet. For your information, "LE" stands for light and economical, meanwhile "DC" stands for diesel car.

One of the features of the Type 14 is its body. It is checkered with green color. A red colored stripe with a white dashed line is added in the lower half of the body. It is quite unique. It seems to be clearly divided between the yea-sayers and the nay-sayers among rail fans.

I personally like this coloring as a rail fan. I think Japanese people are usually quiet. So at least the coloring of the train should be flashier.

Diesel railcar, Mooka Type 14 and SL train stand at Nishidai Station on the Mooka Line