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That was the first SL in Japan that I ever rode, and the closest to my place of study at Rikkyo Univeristy in Tokyo when I ventured to Japan for the second time. Hope you had a spectacular ride. Mine sure was, and in not dissimilar weather also.

@bc6 Thanks. We really had a great time. So much so we are already planning future trips. Maybe even this year. Cheers, Tony

Maybe a similar idea to the KUMORU 145/KURO 144, except a diesel implementation.

@Tony Galiani Nice train pics Tony I think you got your moneys worth from the trip.

I know. I was soooo tempted to get some.

@Mutro We did not make it that far. Sapporo was in my original plan but ended up deciding on the (much) smaller snow festival in Onumakoen. Ciao, Tony

Another rainy Saturday ... not much else to do except sit at the computer. 🙂

Aaaaaaaaaaaall aboard! And this time, I’m going all the way! Glad I could provide that little memory jogger! Popondetta is a great little place to rummage. Plenty of other good places nearby too. Oh, and because I can, have some more C58; Alastair

@Tony Galiani on your recent trip to Hokkaido, did you stop off in Sapporo? More specifically, I’m on my way there now and will be staying four nights; I would like to include shopping e.g. Edobashi, Tamtam etc. Tamtam is a bit out of the way but maybe worth the trek?

Cut down DMU or custom built. Could be called a construction car with the small crane.

Check out this interesting MoW vehicle. I just happened to be watching this live camera and spotted it. https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxeQR7WUndbRF3xBLrIMNMu5AFv3EeMs6y?si=TYiF4TlVn5EdRczu What's that called?

Yep except for having to keep vacuuming up foam bits and dust, I’ve vastly more liked shaping with knife and sandpaper than Hotwire. While Hotwire in some situations can be fast I just find too many draw backs to it. Good old pointy serrated steak knife was always the best for quick rough shaping then usually the simplest past that was a small piece of 60-120 grid sandpaper wrapped around my finger. I’ve tried all sorts of rasps and graters in the way past but found none worked very much better than the simple sandpaper on my finger where I have a lot more control and options. Most rasps and graters were kind of one trick ponies. Plain old bare hack saw blade also is a useful tool to shave off larger flatter bits or cut walls. Man, has it been a year already?! would say you have come a long way in both your modeling and your woodworking. Learning basic woodworking isn’t all that hard, it just takes time and practice to get better and quick at it. You seem to have a very good grasp now of how things should go together and plan out how to get there! kudos and happy first anniversary of your layout path! jeff ps glad to see you and Alistair are getting together there in Japan, I can see you two being as thick as thieves!

If you really want to go all the way with Tomix hexagons, you could design them to be controlled with these hexagonal control panel blocks: These were (and still are) made by a company in Germany. I can't find the link to their website - thought I had saved it... Rich K.

@Gunzel The new notes and coins look really nice thanks for sharing the link with us.

Oh man! You brought back memories when we were in Japan for 15 days back in September. My first visit ever since dreaming about it for 40 years! 🙂 My first "hit" while in Tokyo. The thrill and anxiety could not be described in words!

After abandoning (thank goodness) the idea of using hot cutting tools and making noxious fumes for shaping the foam scenery, I tried sculpting it by hand with little more than a blade. I started to get cold feet and put the project to the sidelines for a while, especially while I was looking for more/new work, until I was recommended these cheese grater-like shavers that really give the foam mountains the shape that I'm looking for. There's less hassle and far more control in achieving the desired effect with these, especially in such important matters as making gradients for the track that look natural and go flush with the base. I also picked up this kit for making trees of my layout's official namesake. Courtesy of Kumamoto Nikkyosha hobby store. If I work fast enough, without rushing things, maybe I'll get it presentable by July for another Hisatsu Line-again exhibition. The one year anniversary since the day I first conceived of building and owning my own N gauge Japanese layout is fast approaching. How well would you more experience modelers out there say I've fared thus far?

Threw some Tomix math at hexagons and, given the limitations of set tracks, came up with two viable hexagon sizes that would fit Tomix geometry. Short diagonal of 280mm with 243mm radius curve centered into the center of hexagon side. Some examples below, AnyRail file. Fits most basic geometry features. A little larger than the Kato one, however seems to be much more versatile. Short diagonal of 387.5mm (280 + 72.5 + 35) with double track 317mm + 354mm radius curves centered into the center of hexagon side. Some examples below, AnyRail file. Another 100mm added to the short diagonal so the hexagon is quite large, but allows for even more features. The straights are little clunky but workable. All other hexagons are much more clunky, some calculations are in the AnyRail file if interested.

IMON shop is dangerous, so much 1/87 12mm stuff there 😄

Tonight’s update comes to you from my iPhone, for no other reason than the fact I had my camera with me all day but never even used it! Today’s goal was simple: the Paolo Walking Tour of Akihabara, and find some nice bits and pieces while I was at it. I am pleased to report that, with the exception of Yodobashi Camera, I visited every store on the list! I did not, however, buy something from each of them. The day itself did not start out all that nice though with light rain that gradually cleared, after I’d left the Radio Kaikan for the first time. I say ‘first time’ as some of the shops wouldn’t open until 11:00 and I’d arrived sometime after 10:30. Admittedly, I did even better with Greenmax Cross Point - I had to go away and get lunch while I waited for it to open, and even then once I got back I was still three minutes early! By the end of day, I had a bag full of trains and (very) sore feet. I made a brief stop at my hotel to recover and pack, then headed out to play at Popondetta Shinjuku. This time, I had more success! Apart from my ongoing ‘attempt’ to run trains at as many Popondetta stores as I can, it’s worth noting that there’s a large rental layout in Akihabara now above CleCle. He didn’t mention it and I didn’t go and look at it either. The goal was to get back and sit down… Tomorrow’s big day trip, the first of two, is supposed to take me to Kumagaya for the Chichibu Railway. I’ve just managed to regain access to my Gmail account which had the reservation info, and as a precautionary I’ve taken screenshots and saved them to my phone. Looks like we’re back on track! Alastair

Yes sorry, knew I’d forgotten something. The newer ¥500 have a golden outer and silver inner. Older ones are all gold. Some vending machines can have an issue with the newer ones. Generally this should now be rectified across the board but you may come across the odd one that doesn’t like the new style.

New notes are being released in July as well (for 1000, 5000, and 10000 yen notes): https://www.boj.or.jp/en/note_tfjgs/note/n_note/index.htm Old notes are still valid.

Build! difficult, but came out OK I think.. 🙂 Does anyone know what this building is called in Futurama?

And we’re right in the middle of the @paolo Walking Tour of Akihabara, here seen just moments from plundering one of the area’s most well-known stores: Snagged a C56 for just ¥6,600 and some replacement guard irons and railings for ¥800 while I was here. Tasty stuff! Alastair

Hapi-Line Fukui: Born Alongside the Shinkansen - Japan Railway Journal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVv82BIdL_0

@bc6 thanks for the context. For our last trip in March we asked our bank for 100,00 yen (we were gone 23 days) and got: 5 x 10,000 7 x 5,000 5 x 2,000 5 x 1,000 My wife and I split them and they fit in her purse and my regular wallet; we did not need to have anything special. We stripped out all the plastic cards we would not use so there was more room (PetroPoints, what are they?). Had no issues with using the 2,000 yen bills. And as Kamome notes no problems using the 10,000 yen ones either. Just be aware that a lot of the transit you use will be exact change only, so be prepared for that with the right coins or a Suci type card although we were on one line that was real cash only (Shimabara Railway). Coins are another thing. Since a lot of purchases will be under 1,000 yen be prepared for a lot of coins. And as Kamome says, get ride of the 1 and 5 as fast as you can. Kamome did not mention it but there is a useful 500 yen coin too. We also found way more use/acceptance of credit cards in the more rural areas we visited this time than in the past so we only had to take out 10,000 yen right at the end of the trip to see us the last 3-4 days for cash.