ED75 does Japan (take 3)

[ED75-775]

Aaaaand we're back, folks!

 

Almost a year after my last trip, and with a desire to do more, see more (and perhaps, buy more!) I start my next journey to Japan today! This time around I'll be following a similar itinerary to my previous trip, staying in Tokyo, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Hakata and Kyoto over the course of four weeks. Highlights to come include trips on two steam trains (Paleo Express and Moka), hopefully a trip to the Hiroshima Streetcar Festival and of course catching up with @SL58654号 who has kindly offered to show me around Kumamoto city, where I barely even scratched the surface of what's to see and do last trip (hey, I had a steam train to catch, after all!).

 

Plenty of photos to come once I get going, but first things first: I'm flying to Auckland later today, and overnighting with my family there once again before I fly out tomorrow morning for Tokyo.

 

Alastair

[cteno4]

Oooh another nice vicarious Japan trip to start the summer with here!

 

enjoy the trip Alistair.

 

jeff

[SL58654号]

@ED75-775 Safe voyage, mate! I await your arrival in where I call home, Kumamoto!
Bring your "Cavalcade of New Zealand Locomotives" with you, if you're willing to part with it, as I might have something to trade you for it as a thank you. 
Hopefully you'll come on a weekend here as I'm starting my new (finally) full-time job this June. 

[Tony Galiani]

Great to hear. Looking forward to your travelogue!

Sort of wish I was there to meet up again but traveling on the other side of the world right now. 
Safe travels!

Tony

[ED75-775]

Thanks guys! I’m looking forward to it too.

 

Meanwhile the train holiday has already started, as my northern relatives live close to Papakura Station, the (current) southern terminus of the Auckland suburban network. So yesterday I wandered down to get some photos. Stand by for a New Zealand prelude:

 

 

Suburban traffic nowadays in Auckland is handled totally by a fleet of CAF-built three-car EMU sets, the AM class. Here we have two leaving Papakura bound for Wāitemata/Britomart station.

 

 

Inter-regional rail travel is rare here due to politics and network contraction, but one of two exceptions is Te Huia - a Hamilton-Auckland service named after a (now-extinct) bird. The coaching stock is reconfigured ex-Auckland suburban coaches, themselves rebuilds of ex-British Rail Mark II coaches. Motive power was provided on this occasion by DFB 7335, the last of the thirty-strong DFT class. For those curious, the discrepancy between classifications stems from the locomotive being fitted with a Brightstar traction control system, with locomotives so equipped being reclassified DFB.

 

And @SL58654号 don’t worry… that spare copy of Cavalcade is riding suitcase-class as I write! Good to know it will be heading to a good home - it was an impulse buy a few years back because it had a good-quality dust jacket whereas my own copy (brought from my local heritage railway) had been very well loved.

 

Alastair

Edited May 27 by ED75-775

[ED75-775]

Short update: I made it to my hotel and am now safely checked in. This time was pretty straightforward with only a handful of rejections of my Travelex card… but it worked in the end! Narita was pretty painless too, and with the plane landing 20mins early, I was able to get an earlier train than I’d planned. I also managed not to leave anything behind this time too, so bonus I guess!

 

While I don’t remember which floor I was on last time, this time I’m on the twentieth floor with a view from the elevator waiting area over the back of Godzilla’s head. I’ll have to get a shot of that while I’m here.

Anyway, tomorrow looks to be wet again, not that it will stop me scoping out Shinjuku and the few train stores here. And Kinokuniya Books, they’re worth a visit too.

 

Alastair

[SL58654号]

Pardon, do you know what day you'll arrive in Kumamoto yet?

[ED75-775]

3 hours ago, SL58654号 said:

Pardon, do you know what day you'll arrive in Kumamoto yet?

It'll be a weekend day, so either the 15th or 16th of June. I'll email you and confirm which day suits best later tonight.

 

Well, I'm back briefly at the hotel to de-van all my purchases... yes, that's right, I've been busy perambulating around all the hobby stores in Shinjuku, and then deciding to go for the biscuit and do both Hobby Center Kato and Nakano Broadway in one go. And in true ED75 fashion, the wallet has been shown no mercy! So I'll have to take it easy and give it a little breathing room tomorrow.

 

I'll post some pretty pictures later after dinner.

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Quick grab shot for @cteno4 before the main event… someone looks hungry (and bad-tempered).

 

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Well, it's time for pretty pictures again. These are all from my big camera, as I haven't harnessed my iPhone up to the laptop yet.

 

Today's plan was originally to be spent solely in Shinjuku - train-watching while I waited for the shops to open, then cruising around some of said shops looking for bargains and a few other items. Welp, that didn't quite stay that way, and it ended up being the Paolo Walking Tour of Shinjuku (and A Few Other Places), and, as per ED75 tradition, my wallet was shown no mercy!

 

 

Having headed down to Shinjuku Station first, I spent some time figuring out whether it would be possible to get a Welcome Suica and instead purchased a normal one, then hightailed it down to the ramp behind Takashimaya Times Square and my 'favourite' crossing at Yoyogi. Here's one of my shots from that venture, which I think turned out pretty well! I won't lie, the new look for the E259-series is not my favourite, but it's not a bad look either. From here I jaunted back to the Odakyu line for some more crossing-lurking, and then it was time to start shopping. Serious shopping.

 

I had to drop back to the hotel for a little bit to ditch some unneeded stuff to make room for round 1 of my purchases at Popondetta. Then it was onto Imon... and then Hobbyland Pochi (which I had forgotten about!), and then after looking briefly at Shinjuku IKEA and instead deciding to grab a dark cherry danish from the nearby Andersen's bakery, off to Kinokuniya Books to accumulate further knowledge. Then, instead of taking it easy and just enjoying Shinjuku, I decided to break in the new Suica and head to Hobby Center Kato.

 

Long story short, I ended up following the same itinerary from my last trip out that way. This time though I got lucky enough to see the inside of the mythical fourth train shop at Nakano Broadway, which held an assortment of old and older trains, and a selection of 3D printed parts, as well as trawling through Big Yard and Poppoya which I'd also previously inspected. I'd not planned to get too carried away at Mandarake Ryusenkeijiken, but then it turned out they had more Märklin stock there then last time and some of that just had to be had.

 

 

Following a quick ride back along the Chūō Line, it was back to the hotel once more to drop (heavy!) bags of stuff off, and then off to dinner at Ieki Ramen. But before I did go back, I spent a little time at the end of one of the platforms at Shinjuku Station photographing passing trains. Here's another Saikyo Line E233 coming into Shinjuku, this time under zoom in order to remove some of the foreground clutter.

 

Well, Shinjuku has been well and truly scoped over my last three trips, and I've ended up with a hoard of knowledge and model trains as a result. Tomorrow's flexible plan calls for the same thing to happen in Shibuya. Trains! Secondhand goods! Starbucks Reserve Roastery! In the last case, it'll probably be a meal stop, as I don't actually drink coffee. Too bitter for my tastes!

 

Alastair

Edited May 29 by ED75-775

[cteno4]

3 hours ago, ED75-775 said:

Quick grab shot for @cteno4 before the main event… someone looks hungry (and bad-tempered).

Thank you, thank you, thank you @ED75-775!

 

jeff

[Grant_T]

Dammit, why did I come home. 😑 Have a great trip!

[ED75-775]

Quick grab shot from my window:

 

 

I can see the Chūō-Sobu, Yamanote and Saikyo lines from my window! Cool.

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

That smell… roasting coffee beans and fresh bread…

 

 

Must be time for lunch.

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

17 hours ago, Grant_T said:

Dammit, why did I come home. 😑 Have a great trip!

Thanks Grant, it's been a good one so far. And still more to come!

 

As I think can be guessed from my previous post, today's lunch was at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Naka-Meguro. But what was I doing all the way out there, and what was I doing before and after? Well, a little shopping, actually.

 

Today's game plan was pretty straightforward. Head to Shibuya for a look around, visit a couple of shops, move on to the Reserve Roastery for lunch and then wind up with some free time this afternoon and tonight. I jumped on the Yamanote Line down to Shibuya, and began sniffing around first for a new eki-stamp book. I could have used the original one I brought last trip, but wanted a fresh new one for this trip, and of course I also wanted the same version, which I hadn't seen so far that trip. I went all through the local Taiseido Books store near the scramble crossing and only as I came up the stairs from the basement level, there was the stamp book I was looking for, right by the front counter! Of course it would be.

 

 

That time hunting allowed me to burn up some time waiting for the local Imon store to open, and this time I decided to bite the bullet and purchase a Kato EF65-2000 for my collection. And that was it, despite there being more little bits and pieces to tempt me, especially some of the Tsugawa kits and bits. But slow and steady wins the race, and getting carried away now won't help further down line, or so I told myself. There'll be chances elsewhere to buy some of these bits. I moved on, found the local Ikea and brought a quick snack, then moved onto the local Mandarake. Or I would have had it been open, as I got there at 11:45 and it didn't open until 12:00. In need of a bathroom, I found myself visiting Hands and quickly looking at their hobby department. Some repurpose-able bits, but nothing flash.

 

Back to Mandarake, this time now open, where the sole railway content on offer turned out to be an almost pitiful assortment of Railway Collection models in box and a few train toys. I actually wasn't there for them though, instead I was there looking for an anime artbook from the series Stratos 4, and in a moment of serendipity (admittedly, after I looked it up on the website) I picked it straight off the shelf. I celebrated by walking to the Reserve Roastery, which Google Maps tells me is 1.7km and 25 minutes away.

 

 

As I've previously mentioned, coffee isn't my thing but Starbucks has enough content on its menu that I can enjoy, and I'm a sucker for good merch too. While the hot chocolate and ciabatta sandwich were good, it was a big nope on the merch. All of what I'd term the 'good stuff' was glassware which I wasn't comfortable buying and shipping or hauling around. As a bonus though, the onsite roastery got put through its paces while I was there, something I'd missed last time since I'd visited near the end of the day.

 

Moving on, I walked to the local subway station and got to witness a mixture of Tobu and Tokyo Metro trains, before riding back to Shibuya and a wasted trip to a bookstore in the Shibuya Station mall tower (nothing of interest). Rather than going back to the hotel and taking a rest before dinner, I decided to go back to Nakano and pick up a few more pieces of Märklin stuff. And with that done, back to Shinjuku...

 

 

While I found the Nakano eki-stamp hiding by the station's South Gate, had I moved a little faster and not gone to the wrong platform first, I could have jumped on this on the way back - one of the two 209s drafted in to help out while the E233's are being remodeled with their new Green Cars. Last year I had to settle with distance shots of these two unlikely intruders, but this year I finally got a slightly closer shot and that's something I'm rather chuffed with. Further down at Shinjuku, I got lucky with a Tobu 100-series finishing its run for the day and I had to hare across to get photos of that too. Those trains were new when I was little, and I've got photos of a couple in an old Max Wade-Matthews book on Great Railway Journeys.

 

It was now pretty late, but in spite of all that I was keen to try and cram in a running session at Popondetta with my new toy/s, and grab dinner at Gourmet Curry Bon Gout further down the station. Success on the latter, not quite on the former as by the time I'd asked the layout was closed for the night. Ah well Still got a few more days yet to try!

 

Tomorrow's plan calls for a continuation of the Paolo Walking Tour, this time in Akihabara. Will I be successful? Will I clear more hobby shops than I did last time? Only one way to find out!

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

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

[ED75-775]

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

Edited May 31 by ED75-775

[Kingmeow]

13 hours ago, ED75-775 said:

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

 

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!

 

[ED75-775]

Aaaaaaaaaaaall aboard!

 

 

And this time, I’m going all the way!

 

7 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

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!

 

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

[SL58654号]

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. 

[ED75-775]

Quick update for the day, it's an early start tomorrow as breakfast starts at 7:00 and my train to Oyama leaves at 7:48. Talk about a tight schedule!

 

Well, I had a spectacularly good day out aboard the SL Paleo Express today. As mentioned above, my previous trip on this train only took me partway (to Nagatoro); this time, however, I was able to get a reservation for the full distance. Also like last time the weather was pretty good which made for a very pleasant journey. What wasn't like last time is the fact that the train wasn't completely full, and indeed on the return leg the last two coaches were pretty sparsely filled compared to the leading two. Perhaps this lack of passengers was why I could reserve the same seat, 16A in Coach 3, as I'd had last trip around?

 

Having arrived in Kumagaya with enough time to grab lunch from the nearby 7-Eleven, I got onto the platform just before the train was brought in. To my surprise, C58 363 looked a little different this time, because its standard smoke deflectors had been replaced with Kyushu 'gate'-style deflectors. Chichibu Railway has done this a few times in the past, but I hadn't expected that I would get to see this myself.

 

 

The run up to Mitsumineguchi was pretty uneventful, unless you count the occasional freight train hauling limestone from the Minowa Mine to Chichibu Taiheyo Cement's Kumagaya factory. Once up there, and having sorted out my ticket with the staff (I'd been waved through the gates at Kumagaya so my ticket hadn't been punched/checked up until that point) it was off to watch the C58 being turned. Which is about really all there is to do in Mitsumineguchi - it's a nice enough little town in a reasonably scenic area, but the railway and a couple of shops catering to the locals are really the only things there.

 

 

 

Once safely back down in Kumagaya, I decided on the spur of the moment to head to Oku and try hitting up the local Märklin store. No luck; despite the store supposedly having less than a hour to closing time, it had already shut for the day when I arrived. Ah well, dinner calls and I headed off to Akihabara to try Shogun Burger - tasty! - and then back to Shinjuku to wind down and grab some anti-sunburn stuff since I'd forgotten my sunscreen at home... and hadn't replaced it before setting out. Meaning my arms got somewhat overcooked at Mitsumineguchi waiting for the C58 to be turned around.

 

Back at it again tomorrow, this time for the SL Moka which is going to be the more annoying of the two to get to, as the Mito Line drops to hourly frequency on Sundays and that means either turn up an hour early at 9:28 or cut it fine and arrive at 10:08. I've got some reading to catch up on though so figured the early one's not so bad. And since there's a Suica 'transfer gate' reader at Shimodate on the Moka Railway platform, I've got my Suica all teed up and ready to go for this next trip. See you then!

 

Alastair

 

[SL58654号]

Glad to see that you're enjoying yourself! Looks like you had a grand time on the Chichibu Railway. It's amazing that they not only run steam but use such charmingly antiquated electric engines for their cement traffic also. I like those engines as they remind me somewhat of the JGR ED19 and other early government railway electrics. 

And I don't blame you for getting sunburned. I can hardly think of food, water or anything else when my mind is situated on getting up close and personal to a real steam locomotive! Only after I'm done taking pictures or riding behind one do I work up an appetite! 

[ED75-775]

I got a bit tired last night so today's post will be a double episode.

 

Sunday's trip, as alluded to last time, was out to Shimodate for the Moka Railway and SL Moka. Despite my best planning, I didn't get to Shimodate until 10:08 rather than the planned 9:28, so C12 66 and its coaches were sitting in the siding at Shimodate waiting for the next 'up' train to Moka and Motegi to depart. Purchasing a ticket was quick and painless thanks to the ever-helpful station staff waiting at the ticket 'booth' on the platform, and then it was all just killing time and waiting for the train to run into the platform road and load up for departure.

 

Despite the weather not being the best that day and deteriorating into rain later on, it was a good run up to Motegi with plenty of nice albeit sometimes hoarse 'stack talk' as the crew put the C12 through its paces. Track condition seems a little better than last time, with some evidence of concrete sleepers and new ballast being noted in places too.

 

 

Quite apart from the C12 as the 'main attraction', there was plenty to see at Moka Station - D51 146 at the Kyurokukan museum, long-term 'stored' DE10 1014 now being displayed alongside Platform 3, and of course the two stored KiHa 20 DMUs, a third DE10 and several semi-neglected pieces of goods stock which remain largely as I remember from last year. Unlike last year though, one of the two KiHa's, KiHa 20 247, has been mechanically and electrically tidied up so its engine and doors can be operated as needed. According to Japanese Wikipedia, 247 ran the final JNR passenger train over the Motegi Line before the route was conveyed to the Moka Railway in 1988, so it definitely holds some history with this line, and in my personal opinion it'd be nice to see both it and sister 213 restored and working as a pair on heritage duties one day, condition and funding permitting.

 

 

 

One of my favourite sights along the line - and perhaps a good thing to do if you have spare scrap WaMu bodies lying around in your bits box. I'd missed photographing this 'shed' in 2023 but didn't miss this time! From memory it's between Mashiko and Nanai stations.

 

Heading back down after the steam train trip, the weather turned to rain which started getting pretty heavy after I finally got a Ueno-Tokyo line train down to Oku for the Rheingold Märklin Tokyo store. The owner remembered me from my previous trips, which was kind of him - I must have made some sort of impression! And then, instead of heading straight back to Shinjuku, I decided to hike through the rain to Tabata Station and take a trip up the Yamanote Line to Sugamo because I'd heard good things about Sakatsu Gallery from @cteno4 and @Tony Galiani. Ohhh. Bad idea. Bad, bad idea. The shop owner clicked immediately that I was a model railroader when he saw me, and he remembered the forum too! I'm almost afraid to ask just how much custom we've put their way that they remember the forum like that...

 

Well, my wallet's now a little bit lighter for it and those bad ideas may or may not culminate in a layout at some point. Well, I've got all these Japanese trains and nowhere to run them, you know what that means...

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Today’s activity was a little more low key with a visit to the Railway Museum in Omiya. I had hoped to get there a little early, but by the time I got there, it was midmorning, and I stood next to no chance of pinning a simulator slot down. Ah well, there’s always next time to try…

 

 

Compared to previous visits, I found Monday to be more crowded than my previous visits, primarily because of a couple of school groups, and more than a few toddlers. Not sure if that’s something normal or I’ve just been spoilt on my past visits with my timing. Either way, I only spent a few hours here getting up close with some favourite pieces, including my profile namesake.

 

 

Another favourite piece, ED17 1 was originally built by English Electric in 1923 as the first locomotive of the 1040 class. It’s very similar in pattern to the original EE Eo-class electric locomotives used back home between 1923 and 1968 on the Arthur’s Pass-Otira section of the Midland Line. Having driven the surviving Eo locomotive, the ED17 as a ‘first cousin’ holds a special place in my heart, which is why I plan to buy the upcoming Micro Ace version.

 

While buying lunch at a 7-Eleven near Omiya Station on the way back, I heard a lot of whistling from the nearby workshops and decided to investigate. Said whistling turned out to be the workshops rail tractor OM-1 shifting some E231 cars around. Last time I’d seen this was on my 2023 trip to Shimodate hiding under a verandah, so I was pretty lucky to see this little critter on the move.

 

After heading back to Shinjuku I had a pretty chill day - dinner at a Hawaiian burger bar in the Lumine Est mall, a trip to the laundromat to do washing - not remotely exciting, but necessary stuff.

 

Alastair

[Tony Galiani]

Hope your laundry experience went smoother than ours.  At least now we know not to push the green button ….

 

Enjoying your trip reports. Thanks for the posts  - great stuff. 

 

Cheers,

Tony