ED75 does Japan (take 2.3)

[ED75-775]

Today's entertainment was... a bit mixed, shall we say.

 

Last time I was down in Kyushu, I did it as a half-day trip from Kyoto with the afternoon being taken up by a trip over the Yamaguchi Line on the SL Yamaguchi. This time though, I could take my time and do a more leisurely visit to the Kyushu Railway Museum in Mojiko. Almost walking right onto a Shinkansen at Hakata Station was a bonus, and then as I waited at Kokura for my train, my timing was once again perfect as EH500 66 howled through with a northbound freight. Somehow I got lucky and took a good photo of it without too much effort which with a moving train can be challenging.

 

 

My train to Moji happened to be one of the two prototype 821-series passenger trains which looks to have aged quite well for a set that's now five years old or so. Though would I be right in guessing it's the work of Eiji Mitooka? From there it was a short shamble to the Railway Museum, though first I paid a little more attention than I did in 2019 to the steam locomotive memorial at the end of the Moji platforms. Here, a semaphore signal and lever have been preserved along with the main driving wheelset of steam locomotive 28627, a feature which I only paid cursory interest to when I was here last time.

 

 

The Kyushu Railway Museum hasn't changed much in four years, other than that most of the trains you could walk through are no longer accessible and 'gate guardian' 59634 now has a new set of cab windows! The SeRa 1 coal hopper at the rear of the display line is still off-limits to visitors, no idea why. Just like last time I had to do the mini-train drive which was felt even more of a squeeze, and this time I also managed the 811 simulator inside which was possible thanks to it being a weekday so therefore not as busy. I have to admit I didn't do very well to start with, completely overshooting the mark at Edamitsu but coming within 26cm at Space World despite being 9secs late! Guess I wouldn't make a good Japanese train driver then.

 

 

Besides the steam locomotives, one of my favourite vehicles at the museum is KiHa 07 41, the railcar that inspired me to purchase the MicroAce KiHa 07's when they came out, plus gave me a passing interest in the Meitetsu visual novel (the Raillord Reina is paired with another, also preserved IRL, KiHa 07). The interior is closed which I would say is a anti-viral thing which is sad because it's a lovely vehicle to walk through, but I should still have photos from my previous trip.

 

From here, I decided not to haul the full way back to Kokura by train, but bailed out at Moji station to do a bit of walking. Apart from wanting photos of the engine terminal and scrap tracks at Kitakyushu Freight Terminal, I had plans to try and reach the hobby store Stage 1. Eventually, I managed all three goals. The scrap tracks yielded five-thirds of three different EF81s (broken into thirds, hence the weird fraction), the engine terminal could only provide DD200 5 and ED76 1016 plus the front end of an unidentified EF81-450/500, and via Apple Maps 'scenic route' which took me around the rear of the store (!) I managed to walk the full distance to Stage 1 from Moji, and thence onwards to Kokura. I'm a mad mileage man alright!

 

The reason for visiting Stage 1 was that @Kamome had mentioned they had an N-gauge rental layout and I was keen to try out some of my new toys. Despite the fact that the owners don't speak English, the one that did serve me went out of his way to accommodate, whipping out his Google Translate app so he could communicate with me. I got a little bit over 30mins for the standard 30min fare of ¥400, and all three of my new and on-hand steamers got a run on what was my first time driving on a rental layout. I loved it!

 

Once back at Kokura I had to nosy through the local Mandarake (minimal trains), found a poster full of Galaxy Express 999 themed manhole covers and a statue of the Conductor in the station area, and then rode standing-class on a Hikari Rail Star back to Hakata where I planned to reserve my seat for the SL Hitoyoshi. And this is where things... fell apart. I got to the ticket counter, the reservations agent started looking things up and even whipped out a plan book of carriage seating layouts...

 

Then apologized to me. The train - was fully booked out.

 

I was gutted.

 

Oh well, not much you can do about that, it wasn't the agent's fault and to be fair he did look at both days and even at the sector I wasn't interested in. I decided to set off in search of the local Andersens Bakery to see if they had any of their moreish cinnamon buns (nope!) and visit Volks Hobby Showroom (a waste of time, no trains) before mooching back to Hakata Station for a cutlet curry dinner at Champion Curry which perked me up some.

 

TBH I'm still going to go and see the Hitoyoshi at Kumamoto either way on Sunday. Mum suggested that it might be worth asking while I'm there if anyone has cancelled their reservation for this train and if so maybe I might be able to ride. Which would be a dream come true, otherwise I will have the perfect excuse to come back before the end of next March - and if so, I will book as early as possible. Does any member here have experience with picking up cancelled reservations, and what's the likelihood of there being any chance I'll get lucky?

 

Tomorrow's plan calls for a visit to Hakata Mandarake, and more book-shopping because I found a photo book of Kyushu steam locomotives in Nagoya and I'd like a copy of it. Hopefully I can find a bookstore that has it, it wasn't at Maruzen in Hakata station which did not have as good a selection of books as I hoped. Or maybe after finding the Books Sanseido store in Nagoya, I've got unrealistically high expectations. Place your bets as to which you think it is, folks...

 

Alastair

Edited June 16, 2023 by ED75-775
Wrong EH500 number.

[Kamome]

On 6/16/2023 at 1:17 AM, ED75-775 said:

nfortunately the SL Hitoyoshi does not run to its namesake town anymore, as large parts of the Hisatsu Line were destroyed including the two major bridges over the Kuma River during the 2020 Kyushu floods.

I would say, riding the SL Hitoyoshi to Hitoyoshi had some fantastic countryside although there was a definite lack of anything to see or do while you waited for the return journey. Think we killed some time sampling sake in a local distillery which definitely took the edge of the boredom.  Sorry you didn’t get to ride it. As it’s being retired, demand has gone crazy. Typical that few are interested until it’s threatened. 

 

I must say, there doesn’t seem to be any pictures of you being “kawaii” aboard the Kitty train yet , Alistair.   I hope you embraced the pinky purple goodness. None of us are judging and you’re amongst other “Te-chan” (Tetsudo Otaku)😂

 

The chaps at Stage 1 don’t speak any English so definitely a good place to test out your Japanese. They’re extremely friendly although I think the summer months get pretty quiet for rentals other than the super committed.  I’ve popped in on the odd weekend day and it’s sometimes deserted, other times all 4 HO lines and 20 N lines are being used. I guess it’s a pretty seasonal hobby after all.  Last time I popped in, there was definitely an expectation to buy, with a little bit of hard selling. The owner is very friendly although seemed a little irritated he couldn’t get me to purchase a Yume Kukan set for ¥47,000. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d preordered it and paid ¥12,000 less than he was charging. Just said he already knows I like Kokutestu. (JNR era) For me ¥12,000 goes quite a long way on railway bits or RC parts but they’re plenty of punters that can splash out of Endo and KTM brass that frequent the place regularly.  It must be tough for a company that don’t sell online, especially when they have a good number of staff and a large retail space. 

 

Shame you didn’t come up at the weekend as I was going to possibly head up there today to run some HO stuff. 

 

Kyushu railway museum’s displays haven’t changed for a very long time and annoyingly, since covid, many of the static rolling stock that you used to be able to go in, has been closed on my last visit post covid. They do change the photo exhibition every month or so which is usually what gets advertised on posters in stations around northern Kyushu. It certainly doesn’t have the gravity of Omiya or Kyoto but it’s a nice little museum and I quite like the artefacts upstairs such as the collection of picture tickets from named trains. 

 

Looks like you’re having a fun time anyway. 

 

All the best. 

Edited June 17, 2023 by Kamome

[ED75-775]

@Kamome thanks for clarifying about the SL Hitoyoshi. Though I’m not raising the white flag just yet... it’s going to take all the nerve and brass neck I can muster, but I plan to ask at the Kumamoto booking office tomorrow to see if there’s been any cancellations. If not, then at least I get to see the train and while that doesn’t carry as much emotional weight as actually riding it, I’ll take what I can get.

 

If you are keen in meeting up, do let me know, I think from memory I don’t move on until Tuesday. Like with Tony I can be somewhat flexible, the exception being my trip to Nagasaki on Monday. I’ve found a hobby store up in Urakami that supposedly has some N-gauge stuff so it sounds worth a squiz! Suggestive sales optional (insert work reminder here...)

 

And yes, the trip so far has been fun - Kyushu has lots of little lessons for the tramway museum back home as we set up our own display building. Just no photos of me on the Hello Kitty though sorry. I do have photos of it at Hiroshima and Hakata though, and for extra bonus points...

 

@Wolf‘s 500 Type EVA was onboard in my luggage, and granted it’s also set V2, how many times can you say that a model of a train rode on board its actual IRL prototype?

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

No pretty pictures of trains today sorry guys, beyond a couple of subway rides to rest my well-worn feet I didn't set foot on any trains today! Buying them though, now there's a different story...

 

Today was spent trawling bookstores in search of a book I'd seen in Nagoya, a visit to Hobby Land Pochi, walk out to Tenjin to do Mandarake and then trying to find another bookstore and dimly remembering that Yodobashi Camera does model trains. Spoiler alert: Yodobashi Hakata has a bit of stuff, plenty of track and some trains and scenics stuff. Walked back to Tenjin, found the book I was after (Kyushu locomotive photo album for ¥5,500). Then it was back to Champion Curry for another cutlet curry with extra cutlet and double cheese. Not remotely exciting, huh?

 

Truth be told, a slow day like that is sometimes good for you and I enjoyed it no less. Especially since I'm back to the craziness tomorrow with a trip down to Kumamoto. Really hoping that there might be a cancelled booking I can scoop up, but we won't know until tomorrow. Ah well, if not then I get to see a steam train anyway. The last working one I saw was 8630 at the Kyoto Railway Museum when we whizzed through en route to Hiroshima last week, given that engine was undergoing overhaul in 2019 (I watched the workmen there lifting an axlebox off one of the axles) I'm hoping it will be in a position where I can get a good photo of it when I'm there. Running would be even better, although the Museum has not posted which locomotives will be running in June. I may have to ask them.

 

 

By the way, here's the book of Kyushu photos I was hunting. Most around locomotive depots, but there are some interesting in-service shots, and plenty of modelling fodder all round. One of my favourite images features 8620-class No. 48674 fitted with a C56 tender at Kagoshima ward (depot?); given the locomotive had wasp stripes on the rear of the tender and the front headstock, I'd say that this was either a or the depot shunter. Tempting to recreate but for the scarcity of C56 assy parts and 8620 engine units to pair...

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Greetings from Kumamoto!

 

 

The A-Train is at Platform 6, there’s jazz playing over the station PA, the weather is slightly overcast... and I GOT A SEAT ON THE HITOYOSHI!

 

Somehow, by whatever means, there were two seats on this afternoon’s train back to Kumamoto. And all it took was a quick check at the Kumamoto Midori-no-Madoguchi!

 

I don’t care that I won’t be riding the northbound leg, I still got my seat. And I’m chuffing happy with that.

 

All abooooooooaaard!

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Got back from Kumamoto late this evening, now back in the hotel after a bath and doing washing. Tomorrow's my last full day down here so it's off to Nagasaki where I plan to hit up a model store in the Urakami area. Learned my lesson from last time, checked the interwebs and they are open tomorrow so hopefully some more trams to add to the collection!

 

Today's trip started by getting down to Kumamoto nice and early in the hopes that A.) I could pick up a reservation for the SL Hitoyoshi and B.) watch said train come into the station. Success on the first account, thanks to spare seats on the 'up' journey from Tosu to Kumamoto, and even bigger success on the second, as I got not only the Hitoyoshi but the A-Train and the Kawasemi Yamasemi at Kumamoto Station too! Crazy packed platforms when the steam locomotive arrived though with DE10 1207 hanging off the back as tail gunner for the day.

 

 

Having located a hobby shop on the map, I decided to head off to Nikkyosha and, if possible, get a Kato Kyushu DE10 to run with my SL Hitoyoshi back home. What I had completely forgotten about was that Kumamoto has trams, and I was able to ride the oldest car in the fleet, 1951-built 1063 in all its well-worn splendour. I just soaked it up. Then after I got my model, I headed back to the station for a quick stop at a bakery to buy some lunch and pick up the Shinkansen to Kurume where I'd transfer to the local line for the last leg.

 

Something caught my eye while I was there - the SL Hitoyoshi was scheduled to depart shortly after 'my' local train. Hang on, had I really gotten ahead of the steam train? Yep. It showed up not long after that. I then beat it again to Tosu, where I was lucky enough to film it from the end of Platform 3 as it coasted in. From there it was an hour and a bit of sheer train-watching joy, mostly passenger trains but ED76 1022 also showed up with a big fat rake of KoKi's. Plus as an added bonus, the sad-looking hulk of 230-class 2-4-2T No. 268 is preserved on what I guess is former railway land next to the station overbridge.

 

 

I also managed to snag my copy of the Kumamoto and Tosu eki-stamps; that at Kumamoto is in the Midori-no-Madoguchi office, while the Tosu one is also in the station booking office, but this time in a basket on the counter rather than at a dedicated stamp station. I'm particularly fond of the Tosu one which features No. 268 but the Kumamoto one isn't to be sneezed at with its depiction of Kumamoto-jo. Still working on the Hakata one from memory, I haven't seen that yet.

 

Little bit more to follow soon!

 

Alastair

Edited June 20, 2023 by ED75-775

[ED75-775]

Tosu was a wonderful place to train-spot and as an added bonus I got the Yufuin no Mori - twice - while I was there. But at 3:11PM I was heading out via steam train back to Kumamoto along a line that... just exists. To be honest, the first section is mostly forgettable; it's not until you leave the near-coastline and get into the hills that you get some scenery. I loved being on board the SL Hitoyoshi, and seeing some of the different things they did like uniform photo sessions for the kids and an on-board library (again for the kids, no train books for adults).

 

 

I had to try a banpeiyu cider while on board... and absolutely loved it, now I need to know where I can get more of them before I return home (and find a distributor who will carry them for me). I chose not to sample anything else food wise though. I'm glad I had the experience as it's highly likely by the time I return to Japan, this train will have been retired. A shame! I can only hope that the locomotive will be parked up somewhere where the public can see it, and where it can be effectively maintained in the event they do decide to return it to service. I understand a similar approach, but maybe not quite with the public access, is being considered for C58 239 up in Iwate now that it too has finished its Joyful Train duties.

 

 

And one for the cosplay fans - @Cat does steampunk for special events, @Yugamu Tsuki dresses up to run his trains, and then there's this cosplayer who was on the afternoon service in full Hachiroku costume from Maitetsu! She was very friendly and willing to pose for photos - it took me a while to pluck up the courage to ask her. On seeing her at Tosu, I suddenly had the main theme from the novel running through my head (for those not aware, Maitetsu is a visual novel based around a fictional version of Hitoyoshi).

 

We arrived back at Kumamoto at 5:33 and I headed off to the nearby shopping mall to try and find some dinner once the train had left. Easier said than done, as my indecision nearly meant I couldn't find anything I liked the look of! Eventually I plumped for an Italian restaurant and got a fresh margherita pizza and a ginger ale for just ¥1,980. Good pizza, not at all expensive.

 

As I've mentioned, tomorrow will take me to Nagasaki on the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen and Relay Kamome expresses. Catch you then!

 

Alastair

[cteno4]

Alastair,

 

wow, I get tired reading your travelogue! You are able to pack so much in and then update the travelogue a couple of times a day! Thanks for doing this it’s really fun to have a vicarious trip through your posts. You are certainly having a very rich trip.

 

jeff

[Cat]

Sweet — I'll have to look that series up.  Sounds like a delightful trip!

[ED75-775]

Hahhh, I certainly feel tired after the massive effort I put in each day right now. Though that could also be down to the fact I’m running on six hours sleep per night right now.

 

Trips like this are not a common occurrence for me so I do like to get in as much as I can and make the most of the adventure! I think I’ve already blown my previous Japan trip well out of the water both with what I’ve done so far... and the amount of train stuff I’ve brought. Still got Kyoto to go though so it’s not over just yet!

 

 

Tonight’s update will follow in a bit, but for now here’s another pointless food photo from Takeo Onsen. The restaurants at Nagasaki Station didn’t take my fancy, but the ekiben did!

 

Alastair

[Yugamu Tsuki]

I'm twitter mutuals with that particular cosplayer actually XD

 

I am glad it went smoothly and you were able to ride the SL Hitoyoshi in action before it shuts down next year. It looks like you are packing a lot into this trip and hopefully not suffering from burn-out too much.

[ED75-775]

Ohhh, do send me a link to her page please! I'd love to see some more of her work - she got a few photos with other trains and at Tosu station as well. And yes, I'm glad I got to ride the SL Hitoyoshi too. I've packed an awful lot into this trip so far, and burnout is not an issue, lack of sleep however is...

 

Just a quick update tonight as I've finished (almost) repacking my bags and preparing to move onto Kyoto tomorrow. I'll have to send another parcel away, this one will probably be in the neighborhood of five kilograms thanks to the four Starbucks mugs that will be riding box-class tomorrow. I have a thing for collecting Starbucks mugs and have been getting one from each city I've stayed in, or visited where possible. This shipment will feature mugs from Hiroshima, Hakata, Kumamoto and now Nagasaki too!

 

And speaking of Nagasaki, I spent some time there today but didn't get as much done as I expected due to the 28-29 degree heat. So no trip up the Dutch Slopes, no walk to Urakami Cathedral to view the remains of one of humanity's darkest hours, just plenty of airconditioned tram-riding around the Nagaden network. I also tried hitting up a local hobby shop near Urakami in the hope they had some trams I didn't have (nope), and also Hobby Off which again was a bust. Which only goes to prove @Kamome right that Kyushu is not the best place to hunt model trains.

 

 

I managed to bag an unreserved seat on the Huis Ten Bosch to Takeo Onsen, then caught the Kamome to Nagasaki where the station design is functional but underwhelming. So onwards to Urakami, where my first hobby shop of the day was packed to the rafters with stuff, but nothing begging to be brought. Onwards, then to Urakami depot where photography is not so easy. But I did manage to snag a few shots of the depot area from publicly accessible spots, including this one from the tram stop as 201-series car 212 brakes for its stop. Parked with its snout out of the depot is sister car 207, the 'City Cruise Akari' which I just so happen to have in N-scale thanks to a trip to the Greenmax Cross Point store in Akihabara.

 

 

I had no luck photographing a tram along the canal-side line by Oura Cathedral, but enjoyed a few rides with my Welcome Suica, including one on 'new girl' 6001 which surprised me with the 'step' between floor and seats, an unusual design I've never seen anywhere before. But as the day grew late, and I finally tracked down my Starbucks Nagasaki mug on the third store, I decided to head up to Michinoo Station for the nearby Hobby Off. This meant taking a ride on a hybrid YC1 DEMU set, up to a small station on what turned out to be a single-track route. The trip was enjoyable enough, and there's a small memorial outside the station including a C57 front bogie wheel remembering how a relief train stopped here to collect victims of the blast.

 

This one was a pure railway indulgence folks, nothing more to it with almost all of my photos taken of trains or trams! And I loved hearing the singing spur gears and familiar thumps from the track, the only disappointment for my purist senses being no screech from a trolley pole and no 'ding-ding' of a footgong, instead Nagaden uses air horns! Still was a good trip and I don't doubt my tramway colleagues back home may be interested in the fact that Nagaden's fleet still uses derivates of the Brill 77E truck - we have a couple of ex-Japanese single-motor examples which reputedly came from this network many moons ago and which have become useful for holding things we haven't restored yet while they themselves wait to be restored.

 

Catch you all tomorrow from Kyoto!

 

Alastair

 

 

[ED75-775]

Well, it’s moving day once more and Sakura 556 has just blitzed through Shin-Yamaguchi en route to Shin-Osaka. I can report plenty of KiHa goodness plus a few 115s and some ballast hoppers noted in the sidings.

 

Turns out my guesstimate about the parcel was correct, it came in at a whopping 5.63kg. Yowch! This one is headed to my maternal grandparents for safekeeping, which means I have to go and see them (which I don’t do very often) when it arrives. I am hopeful that it arrives safely, as there’s four Starbucks mugs in there too and I really don’t want them getting damaged, but I’ve done all I can and it’s now up to the careful handling of postal staff to get everything safely home.

 

 

Departure from the hotel got a bit mucked up because I left my umbrella behind, and it took a few minutes to get it back. It also turned out I’d left a Miffy keyring for Mum as well, so I’m glad to have that back! Over to Starbucks for a drink, book my seat reservation (nothing available before 2PM), then figure out how to kill some time. Hmmm, it’s a weekday, maybe Popondetta has spare track space?

 

So ¥400 and one hour later, that’s me after my second rental layout experience. Good times!

 

EDIT: just left Tokuyama now. Shin-Osaka here we come!

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Well, I'm now in Kyoto for the last week of my holiday, it feels like it's gone too fast. And despite being a bit of a homebody, I've actually enjoyed being fully independent on this trip and being away, which is probably a good sign that I'm enjoying myself.

 

Four years ago I stayed at the ibis Styles Kyoto Station, and having had such a good time there I thought I'd come back again. Last time I had a south-facing room, but can't remember what floor it was on; this time around, I'm on the tenth (top) floor with a view towards the north. Taken earlier tonight:

 

 

And in inimitable style, once I'd arrived, dropped my bags off and had a quick rest, I was out the door and hauling off to visit the Kato store in Kyoto Station and Popondetta Aeon Mall. The Kato store hasn't changed much although the Kyoto-themed layout in the back room is now gone, while Popondetta has ditched its restaurant and focused all the grown-up train stuff and some other second-hand goodies in the former restaurant space with one layout, while the main rental layout occupies the old store together with the kiddies' stuff and other miscellaneous themed goods.

For the first time in a while, I haven't brought anything from Popondetta, but I am tempted to buy a customized steam locomotive from the Kato store. Not sure which one, they have various D51s, C57s and two C11s to choose from.

 

 

I also haven't posted any food photos, so here's tonight's dinner from Kyoto Ramen Koji up in the station. A bowl of 'special' ramen with half a dozen slices of chashu pork, a bowl of rice, and fried chicken with shredded cabbage and mayonnaise plus a chilled orange juice. For just ¥2,050 that's one good meal!

 

Tomorrow's plan calls for a visit to the HRS Märklin Store in Osaka, and at this stage I'm also planning to do Rail Gallery Rokko as well. @Wolf's 500 Type EVA has been riding suitcase-class since Nagoya and as much as I love the look of this train, it's time to move it on and make a little more space in my suitcase. If I get time, I might also knock Hobby Land Pochi off too, since @Tony Galiani mentioned they have trams there, and if there's one other thing I'm fond of besides trains, it's trams.

 

Alastair

[cteno4]

Oh man I got full just looking at that picture! That will keep you fueled! Glad you are enjoying your trip and being out on your own exploring. It takes a bit of getting use to but good to do while you are young and adventurous! I know too many people that did not travel a lot on their own while young and never were able to feel comfortable when older doing that sort of travel. Plus you will have great memories for your lifetime to enjoy. Suck it all in and enjoy!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[ED75-775]

Thanks Jeff!

 

On the train to Rokko now and my Rare Cop Radar just went into overdrive:

 

 

Yes, the Twilight Express Mizukaze came out to greet me! And if that’s not enough, a little ways down the track I spotted a type I never thought I’d see live - a pair of DD51s! Could this be a portent of a good day to come?

 

So that’s seven Joyful Trains sighted including a Sakura Sakebi KiHa 40 at Okayama yesterday and the Boso Bicycle Base in Tokyo... oh, and Twilight Express-liveried EF65 1115 at the depot near Shin-Osaka yesterday for good measure too. That’s good going so far!

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Just leaving Hirakatashi now on the Keihan Main Line heading to hobby store number 2 for today, the HRS Märklin Store. And already today has far and away been more than I expected!

 

 

My first call of the day was at Rail Gallery Rokko to drop off @Wolf‘a EVA Type 500. They have a great stock holding there, and Tokonami-san is incredibly friendly, even going so far as to try and accommodate the fact that neither of us fluently spoke each other’s language.

This time I didn’t make any rolling stock purchases, but picked out four RM Library books. And then... I don’t know what Tokonami-san and Stephan has arranged, but Tokonami-san just... gave them to me. No payment needed. And I was happy to pay too! The only thing I can express to both Stephan and Tokonami-san is gratitude. And I didn’t really do all that much, I just got Stephan’s train and delivered it to Rokko. So, to both gentlemen... thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

 

 

With a free carrier bag and 40th Anniversary pen thrown in, I set off again to the Rokkomichi station and got a local back to Osaka where I changed trains for the Loop. Plenty of action on the way back including a few EF210s on freight duties, which is probably a great subliminal message that I *must* get one in N scale (ahem!).

 

Catch you all later!

Alastair

Edited June 21, 2023 by ED75-775

[Wolf]

37 minutes ago, ED75-775 said:

And I didn’t really do all that much,

 

Went to store. Went BACK to store next day. Set up weird Payment method to get the not small funds back into the holiday wallet. Carrying stuff around all the time. Checked condition of item. Even repaired what was repairable. All in your vacation.

 

I dont want to know what else you consider "not much" lol

 

Thanks a ton for your efforts, I was hunting the Tomix version for ages.

[ED75-775]

Hahhh, it was no trouble really. I’m glad I could help out!

 

As I write this I’m back on the Keihan Main Line bound for Tofukuji after a stop at HRS Märklin Osaka. And the fun has continued!

 

 

One thing that hasn’t changed is the friendly service at this store, or the fact that the owner will give you a cup of coffee when you visit. Just as last time, I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’m not a coffee drinker, but it’s a gesture I appreciate all the same. True customer service, and to be honest, the coffee was actually just what I needed after all the running around that morning.

 

This shop is the only official licenced Märklin store outside Europe, and has a lot of OOP stock on the shelves. To my surprise, my Travelex card didn’t want to talk to the EFTPOS terminal, but I had my New Zealand bank card handy. Success! Now I have even more trains, and a fellow CMMRC member is the proud owner of a Class 66 Märklin Store-themed diesel locomotive and six matching container cars for it to pull. Four years ago, I got to buy another, different Store loco for Aaron which he loves, and I’m glad to be playing agent at large for him once again.

 

I am tempted to go back once more and purchase one more wagon I didn’t get this trip around, but we’ll see how we go. Catch you all later for another update!

 

Alastair

[kuro68000]

20 hours ago, cteno4 said:

Oh man I got full just looking at that picture! That will keep you fueled!

 

Japan has the best food. Cold soba or ramen in the summer... Muscat ice shavings...

[disturbman]

I heartily disagree. It's good, but there are plenty of other good cuisine for warm weather.

[ED75-775]

Which reminds me, I haven't tried any Japanese seasonal desserts yet. I must do that...

 

Just finishing up for the night, and my bank balance has officially filed a restraining order against me. I am actually horrified at the damage I've managed to do to it! Good news is, whatever is left on my card at the end of the trip can go back into the bank balance and get it heading in the right direction again. That is, if I leave anything on the card!

 

Tonight's fun revolved around a subway ride out towards Hobby Land Pochi in the hopes that they would have something to tempt me. But the only thing they had worth having was Tomytec Toden 6181, so that got snaffled and I headed back to the same ramen restaurant as last night for the same meal, via Yodobashi Camera which turned out to be similarly sparsely stocked to the Hakata branch. Then it was back to the hotel to chill and update my Rolling Stock Registers. Rather anticlimactic? Or just the perfect finish to a great day out? Over to you, fellow forum members!

 

At this stage I plan to do Denden Town tomorrow, simply for the fact I can get that out of the way and not have to go back again once I've been and looked. I will probably also go back to the HRS Märklin Store and get their 2022 specialty container car, which at just over 40 feet IRL would look great with some of my shorter container cars. Hey, I don't mind, it's a great excuse to ride some more trains! Then the rest of the holiday can be spent in the Kyoto area doing sightseeing and a return visit to the Kyoto Railway Museum. Still thinking about re-doing the Toei Studio Park as I understand they've done a bit more with it in the four years since I've been, but that's something for this weekend otherwise.

 

See you all tomorrow!

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Been a while since I've updated, so I'll do a quick one tonight before bed.

 

As alluded to in my last post, I decided to pay a trip to Denden Town in Osaka on Friday, specially so I could get it out of the way (and out of my system) so that my wallet could recover afterwards. It has now filed a complaint against @paolo whose informative videos were instrumental in causing it so much harm - I have assuaged it that it will have a few weeks' breathing space once I return home though just how much breathing space that will be I have no idea, or when exactly within that few weeks' timeframe it will get that chance? My latest rail enthusiast magazine and a new book or two are just begging to be brought, and my car needs a warrant...

 

 

Anyhow, here's me in front of Pochi. Downstairs is almost all trains which is great and I'd snagged a nice-ish looking C59 for ¥12,500 which turned out to be a minor glue bomb that was beyond my non-existent skills to fix. Oh well, Hogarakadou has a replacement shell on the shelf at their retail store, since I'd lose a half day going down to Fukuyama to get it myself I'll ask Zenmarket to do it! At least they can get it posted.

 

 

Ooooooooooooooohhhhh! That's starting to look pretty sharp! This prototype Tomix C58 239 was quickly snapped in a case at Joshin Kids Land. Makes me very happy I have reserved one, although I am disappointed to see that the traditional Tomix undernourished under-cab area has continued. When will Tomix take a leaf from Kato's book and learn to balance form and functionality? In other news, Joshin also has a good stock of Iori Koubou kits and me being the sucker for early railways that I am, I couldn't resist buying my first coach kit. More rabbit-holes to go down!

 

 

The last part of the day was spent heading home via Makino once again, as I wanted to pick up one more wagon from HRS Märklin Osaka, and this time the Travelex card had enough funds to clear the sale (which it didn't the previous day). My ride from Tofukuji to Kyoto was this 205 series set, the last of the old Kokutetsu trains still running in this area following the demise of the last 103s in 2020.

 

I still had a little time though before dinner, and decided to hike down to Umekoji Park in hopes of photographing the Kyoto Railway Museum's SL Steam on its last trip of the day. I succeeded in that, but three older folk hanging around for something other than the parade of commuter units and the occasional freight clued me in that something special was on the way. Said special thing turned out to be the Twilight Express Mizukaze which was heading into Kyoto to pick up passengers. I went haring off after it, but wasn't able to get to the station in time to see it depart. I did however see some of the ritual that goes into its departure as I reached a JR staff building - plenty of train crew waving Twilight Express-green flags, two holding a special banner - all pure pageantry, but very interesting all the same.

 

Not terribly much from that day, sorry folks, but there'll be a double or triple update tomorrow if I can help it.

 

Alastair

Edited June 26, 2023 by ED75-775
Missing some stuff I did.

[ED75-775]

Saturday was train day. Nothing else to it.

 

Unfortunately I missed breakfast at the hotel as I'd slept in and through my alarm due to being a little too tired after my adventures thus far, but a nearby Bellmart under the Shinkansen tracks soon fixed that. Right, time to move on, the Umekoji Park trams are open and there's a steam train running at the Kyoto Railway Museum! May as well make the most of what day I have left.

 

Last trip around, I only managed to get into Kyoto 2001 on the western edge of the park, and of course three of the four trams (703, 890 and 1606) parked under the shelter near the aquarium. But this time, I managed to also get into Kyoto 935 as parked near the eastern main gates, which also had a photo display on board, and a volunteer who spoke a little English. And with the Shiden Café, alias Kyoto 505 also open for business, I decided to try a strawberry kakigori as morning tea. Hmm, not bad!

 

 

One thing that had changed since my last visit was 2001's position at the western end of the park. Originally orientated north-south, it had been moved to a new spot on an east-west orientation to make way for a new Starbucks store, and an event space that was hosting a pop-up kiddies' water play area. It still had the same historic photo displays on board though and I was more than happy to snag a few photos for the inspiration. @cteno4 may be on to something there!

 

  

 

One other thing I hadn't expected to be able to do this trip was to get into the tram barn located halfway between the western entrance and the four trams under the 'shelter', as it had been closed on my previous visit. But this time, I got lucky! Well, to be honest, I'd used my Papago translation app the day before to confirm it would be open, and it was. There's not terribly much inside beyond a few models, some photos and a 'cinema' area with a video running, plus two trams: Kyoto N-den car 27 and standard-gauge car 29. While 29 has been preserved as a static exhibit that you can board and explore, 27 is capable of running on a short length of non-electrified line thanks to a number of battery cells hidden under its seats, and charged from solar panels on the roof. Sadly though, it doesn't look to have run in a while, as evinced by the badly overgrown tracks outside.

 

Another interesting feature in the nearby area is the Umekoji Highline, a linear 'park' of sorts set up using part of the former connecting viaduct that linked the Tokaido and San'in Main Lines on a north-west alignment near Umekoji-Kyotonishi Station. While the physical track was cut off by the extension of the Umekoji-Kyotonishi platforms, the viaduct remained, with some track in place, and now hosts a few food trailers and a railbike experience down the last leg. The last-mentioned experience wasn't open, but the railbike was parked near the end of the 'park' section so I could get a decent photo of it.

 

KRM hasn't changed much, although they'd announced earlier in May that KaNi 24 12 would be taken off exhibition and be scrapped due to 'deterioration' sometime mid-year. I wasn't able to get a tour of the inside, but a inexpert glance at it suggested that it looked completely repairable. Being a weekend as one might imagine there were hoards of toddlers and school-age children which meant dodging the occasional kamikaze and needing plenty of patience to snap photos of some of the rolling stock and exhibits. Speaking of photos, last time I had to rely on my iPod Touch and cellphone to take photos as my camera was by this stage postmortem, but this time I had a good camera and got some good photos with it too... before it ran out of battery near the end of the day. Once again, out came the iPod!

 

 

This month, it appears that 8620-class locomotive 8630 was being used as the main steam locomotive for the SL Steam train ride. This was highly welcome, as when I visited in 2019, this locomotive along with C57 1 had been under overhaul. And speaking of the C57, it was parked near the workshop building looking very complete and not at all like something was wrong. But inside the workshop was the tender of D51 200, off its bogies and with the wheelsets parked separately nearby. The engine unit itself was parked in the roundhouse. This of course left me with more questions than answers about why both locomotives were pulled from SL Yamaguchi service. I doubt we'll find out in a hurry!

 

With the MaiTe 49 observation coach taking up a bay in the roundhouse, both 4-4-2T 1080 and 0-4-0T B10 20 had been shunted outside for display, giving a nice new perspective on both, while since my last visit C56 160 had been turned around to face smokebox-first out of the roundhouse instead of tender-first as it had in 2019. But if there was one black mark on the museum's fleet, it had to be C61 2. This locomotive hasn't been undercover in some time, and its physical condition is starting to deteriorate visibly. I understand from Japanese Wikipedia that this locomotive was damaged in a minor derailment in July 2018 and hasn't operated since then, but to have left it largely outside since then is not a good look, irrespective of the reasons why.

 

Stay tuned for more!

[ED75-775]

Yesterday's adventure took me a little further off the (railway) track than I had been before in Kyoto - literally.

 

Having looked at the Toei Studio Park, I decided this time to give it a miss as at ¥4,500 base entry plus additional costs to do things like the Evangelion experience, it wasn't cost effective this time around. I still planned to head west though, back to Saga-Arashiyama Station to visit the steam locomotives preserved in the Saga Torokko Station, and then maybe wander a little further afield to the Togetsu-kyo bridge and Randen station. I already knew that this trip, things would have changed slightly as 'preserved' D51 51 had been removed from its plinth in front of the station and scrapped in December 2019.

 

Arrival onsite confirmed that yes, the D51 was well and truly gone as had both the semaphore signal next to it and the wheel artwork behind it. But the other three locomotives on site, C56 98, C58 45, an 0-4-0WT and the remains of D51 603 were still very much safe and sound, and on this occasion the hall they were in was being used as a concert venue for three musicians and a singer. Possibly opera trained but don't quote me on that, my only ventures into music have been a failed attempt at piano and a slightly more successful attempt at playing guitar.

 

 

With my curiosity satiated for the moment, and departing to the strains of Amazing Grace, how appropriate for a Sunday when I'd normally be at church, I decided to ignore the bamboo forest, head south and find the Randen station. Back in 2019 I had known fairly little about this company and its tram-train operations but this time I was aware - and interested. Before long I'd found my way to Randen Arashiyama Station. The gurgle of the ashiyu footbath on Platform 2 intrigued me, and after a quick fossick online about how to get a ticket (¥250 for entry plus a small towel that you get to keep) I was in and enjoying a good footbath.

 

For those not interested in trams, Randen Arashiyama is smack in the middle of the tourist area with plenty of shops, cafes, and a few temples and shrines to visit as well. Another fun thing to look at is the Kimono Forest art installation around the station, a collection of 600 poles containing different kimono fabrics and which I'm told light up at night. Having enjoyed a good soak at the ashiyu, I decided to visit one of the cafés on Platform 1 and try a mango kakigori. And it was good! The shop does several different flavours with or without condensed milk depending on your preference - standard being with - and all are a very reasonable ¥1,000. Good way to cool off on a hot day!

 

 

Thus satiated once again, I set off to find Togetsu-kyo. Bit of a challenge on a summer Sunday really, hordes of people everywhere including in a Miffy shop along the way I had to look at; being of half-Dutch origins, I grew up with a Miffy toy and one or two Miffy books which Mum has kept and carefully put away (plus I brought myself a plush Miffy bunny at a shop in Tokyo DiverCity earlier in the trip). Long story short, I found my way to the bridge, took a couple of photos, and decided it was too hot and busy to be hanging around. Time to go back already!

 

 

Being rather hot and all, I needed a drink along the way. Luckily, a stand outside the station could cater to that with a ¥200 bottle of ramune fresh from a cold-water bath with ice block on top. It was the first time I'd tried on, and of course it came in the proper Codd-neck bottle too. The stall also did what looked like pickles on a stick, but I wasn't game for one of those. Bit too niche for me, thanks! I staggered back to the Saga-Arashiyama Station, caught the train back to the hotel, and cooled off for a bit before heading out again, this time bound for IKEA Tsurumachi.

 

One thing the blogs about IKEA don't mention, there is no free bus anymore, they both cost ¥210 and for paying said price you get a ¥500 off voucher for purchases over ¥2,000, not that I spent that much but I still have the voucher as a souvenir. But what sticks in my mind, moreso than the stopover at Osaka Station to visit the Nintendo Store (crazy bugnuts busy), or IKEA itself where I arrived with just enough time to get dinner, was the fact that along the way I decided to play with some different modes on my camera. Sports Mode seemed to be a good idea for shooting fast moving targets, right? What about shooting a static object from a fast-moving vantage point?

 

And for once, I demonstrated signs of genius. Sports Mode turned out to be just the thing to capture two DD51's on pixel - DD51 1183 and DD51 1191 - in absolutely clarity. Further down the tracks, EF66 131 got the same treatment but didn't quite turn out as clear due to it being farther away, along with an EF65 into the bargain. I'll post some shots from said experiment later.

 

Alastair