ED75's Random Japanese Trip Photos

[Martijn Meerts]

3 hours ago, ED75-775 said:

I also took the time to film some video of the track ahead, but those I can't post due to server reasons

 

It's not so much for server reasons, but more a cost thing. While cloud storage is relatively cheap, videos can be extremely big. Especially with the newer devices shooting in 8k and such. We can't really force people to optimise their videos for the web before uploading them, and the forum software currently doesn't automatically do any video processing.

 

If that changes in a future version, or via an add-on we can install, it could be something we could look into again, but we would never be able to offer the kinda features that for example Youtube offers.

 

[cteno4]

Years ago in the early days of digital video a client wanted a 15 min video up for an event. I was concerned our server would not serve it well for the couple of hundred folks that might try to pull it over the two day event and also worried if it got out and went viral at all, so i proposed using a video hosting service for a month at the cost of maybe a couple of hundred dollars. They balked at this [I had done their web and it stuff very inexpensively on just what they needed as they needed to keep costs low all the time and they got use to that] and said no just put it on our site, so i did. Well it went viral from emails from those at the event and of course most folks got very very slow to forever load times. Everyone then up in arms why isnt this working! At that point you cant say “i told you so… [or thusly]” Luckily a friend did a lot of business with the little company i had recommended and they were able to get us set up and running in an hour or two on the weekend and I redirected the link and things worked and all happy. But then the bill came for $2k for the pulls they had and lots of yelling! But luckily the guy in charge had such a good reception of the video from far and wide he didnt object to the charge at that point as he was looking good and the event organizer was paying ot send DVDs of the video to 2000+ consultants. Only negative going around was i had screwed up the video, ya cant win.

 

jeff

[chadbag]

@Tony Galiani Baumkuchen is fine. We buy it when there and in fact I bought an expensive one at one of those specialty shops in the bottom of a bigger department store in Kobe last time we were there as a gift for our hosts at new years.   In fact it was one of the few places I was at that didn’t take a credit card (but did take IC cards).   I was able to quickly load my virtual Suica and pay.
 

being the good Germanophile I am I love Baumkuchen.   I won’t say it’s  better than a mochi donut though.   

Edited April 2 by chadbag

[ED75-775]

Time to head back to Tokyo one last time - this time, using the Shinkansen. In particular, these two shots from 2019 are rather special as they represent the only time I ever got to ride on a E4 series shinkansen, all of which would be removed from service by the time I was able to head back to Japan in 2023.

 

 

 

Admittedly these platypus-billed trains may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing (spoiler alert: massive 500 series fan), but travelling on high-speed, double-deck trains is always fun. Much as I enjoyed a top-deck ride on this train from Ōmiya to Tokyo, I'm still not entirely convinced it's worth breaking the bank to get one in N scale. Maybe I could bend to an E5 as that was the first shinkansen I ever rode, but so far I have resisted that temptation.

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Time to quickly stop back in Shinjuku one last time before we head onto our next destination. But wait - what's that noise? A feline yowl rings out across Shinjuku... and it's not the Shinjuku Cat? What could it be...?

 

 

It's the Cat...truck? This little kei truck operates as a mobile crepe stand, but what caught my eye is the fibreglass front and side details which make it resemble Hayao Miyazaki's famous Catbus. Quirky? Yep. Worthy of inspiring something in model form? Oh, absolutely.

 

Well, that's about it for our Train Tour around the Kanto region. We'll be headed to Nagoya shortly, so as always, please stay tuned!

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Time to say goodbye to Tokyo! Back in 2019 it was raining the day I left Tokyo, but the weather had cleared up by the time I arrived in Nagoya.

 

 

 

I'm not sure that I will have this photo-travelogue finished by the time I go back in June, but I'll keep on updating it until I reach the end of my travels to date (and to come). Now I just need to scrape up a sliver of motivation and book all of the accommodation (which I have planned out but haven't booked yet...)

 

Alastair

[Kamome]

On 4/3/2025 at 11:03 AM, ED75-775 said:

Much as I enjoyed a top-deck ride on this train from Ōmiya to Tokyo, I'm still not entirely convinced it's worth breaking the bank to get one in N scale.

Blasphemy!!

 

Nice photos and enjoying this thread.

I really loved the E4 as these ran close to me and remember commuting in to Tokyo for meetings from time to time from Kumagaya back in 2005. Always liked to get the E4 to either sit up stairs or watch the platforms whizz by at eye level on the lower deck. Weirdly I was less enamoured at the time and more fascinated by the Tokaido Sanyo trains as these represented my then minor knowledge of shinkansen.  I didn’t really consider the E2 and E4 as shinkansen at all. More reflective reminiscing of a time since passed and the E4 starter set was my first plunge into n scale. 

The seats were relatively basic, not masses of leg room either but you always got a great view of the yard just north of Ueno. 

Edited April 13 by Kamome

[Kingmeow]

10 hours ago, ED75-775 said:

Now I just need to scrape up a sliver of motivation and book all of the accommodation (which I have planned out but haven't booked yet...)

 

Alastair

 

Peer pressure to encourage you to do it!!!!!!  😁😎

 

We just spent the last 3 days doing this for a 4-week trip to Japan and a side week to Korea in the Fall.  It's tough, tiring and stressful.  Three flights and 9 hotels!  But when you get it done, there's a serene calm that surrounds you!  Of course, that calmness disappears next month when the credit card bills show up!  🤣🤣🤣

Edited April 13 by Kingmeow

[kuro68000]

On 4/13/2025 at 4:35 AM, ED75-775 said:

 

 

So what are the violet/VU lights for? Some kind of positioning aid?

[ED75-775]

We now arrive at Nagoya Station, our destination for the next few days. In 2019 I was happy to have one full day here; in 2023 I'd boost that to three days before cutting back to just two in 2024. On that first trip I stayed at the Sancoinn Nagoya Shinkansenguchi hotel opposite the Bic Camera Nagoya West Station store; while that was perfectly serviceable for my needs, I did feel it was getting a little tired and dated, so decided to try something different in 2023 and stayed at the APA Hotel Nagoya Ekimae which is now my preferred hotel in Nagoya.

 

 

 

Much like Tokyo Station, Nagoya Station has the shinkansen tracks on the eastern side of the classic lines - this seems to be a theme on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen with the same layout prevailing in Kyoto as well but not in Shin-Osaka where they're at angles to each other. Unlike Tokyo however, Nagoya Station's main concourse is located at ground level with the tracks raised above. For whatever reason or another, I have never taken a photo of the main entrances, so instead have these random shots from 2019 and 2023 to show some of the shinkansen side of things.

 

On 4/14/2025 at 2:01 AM, Kingmeow said:

Peer pressure to encourage you to do it!!!!!!  😁😎

 

We just spent the last 3 days doing this for a 4-week trip to Japan and a side week to Korea in the Fall.  It's tough, tiring and stressful.  Three flights and 9 hotels!  But when you get it done, there's a serene calm that surrounds you!  Of course, that calmness disappears next month when the credit card bills show up!  🤣🤣🤣

 

And done it is! I finished the accommodation bookings last night - accidentally paid for one beforehand, went 'meh, whatever' and paid for another, and put the last three on 'pay when you stay'. Plus I topped up my Travelex card too, thanks Easter specials! And for bonus I brought my travel insurance today too, also on Easter special. So that just leaves the JR Pass, pocket wi-fi, and then it's spending money all the way (but don't break the bank!). Though I must admit to having only a lowly debit card so I don't need to worry about credit card bills... though worrying about my bank balance is another story.

 

On 4/14/2025 at 11:21 PM, kuro68000 said:

So what are the violet/VU lights for? Some kind of positioning aid?

 

I'm not sure, sorry. I'm familiar enough with roof-mounted positioning markers and signals, but not sure if they have them on the gates too. I'd have to do some more research and real-world observation to make a call on that.

 

Alastair

Edited April 17 by ED75-775

[Tony Galiani]

@ED75-775 - please don't keep us in suspense!  What is your itinerary?

Cheers,

Tony

[ED75-775]

Heading over to the eastern side of the station now in 2019 for a quick wander around. This side of the station is also home to Takashimaya Gate Tower Mall, home to one of my favourite branches of Sanseido Books, and the JR Gate Tower which hosts the (reputedly) highest Starbucks in the world on its fifteenth floor - I suspect that 'highest' distinction is based on elevation above street level and not above sea level, but that's by the by.

 

 

 

Just in front of the station on Meieki-dori was this unusual conical sculpture, seen in the background of the above right shot. I've got no idea what its significance was, or why it was there. What I do know thanks to Google Maps is that as by June 2024 it wasn't there anymore, having been removed sometime in the last two years to make way for a construction zone. So, it's lucky I did take the time to take a closer shot!

 

 

And for bonus points, the intersection where I shot the first two images, near the Nagoya Chuo Post Office, is in fact the same intersection that the local branch of Hobbyland Pochi sits right next to. I wouldn't find that until 2023, and since I put together a short thread on train stores in Nagoya for everyone's enjoyment at that time, I'll let that speak for what to expect.

 

On 4/18/2025 at 3:22 AM, Tony Galiani said:

@ED75-775 - please don't keep us in suspense!  What is your itinerary?

 

I'm heading to Tokyo on 3 June and will spend four weeks travelling along my favourite itinerary: Tokyo (nine days), Nagoya (one day), Hiroshima (two days), Hakata (six days, but in reality five since I'm planning to ride the SL Yamaguchi while I'm down there) and Kyoto (seven days) before making my way home across 2-3 July. Any days missed out from that little list are Travel Days where I will be mostly riding trains and trying not to overload my suitcases with attempts to prop up the Japanese economy (!).

 

Of course I'm open to suggestions of things to do away from my primary interest (trains), and if other Forum members want to meet up along the way, then I'm all for it! I'm already planning to catch up with my friend @SL58654号 in Kumamoto and maybe take a trip to Hitoyoshi with him, dependent on practicalities of course. But if anyone else is over there at that time, feel free to flick me a message and I'll see if I can make something work. It's always fun meeting new people within our shared hobby.

 

Alastair

 

[SL-san]

16 hours ago, ED75-775 said:

planning to ride the SL Yamaguchi

I still have fond memories of riding SL Yamaguchi from Shin Yamaguchi to Tswano and return in October 2008 in series 12 retro coaches behind C57 1.  

Of course I then had to buy a MicroAce C57 1 (A9909) and a Tomix set of those carriages (92391) to replicate the train.  I believe that the rolling stock are different now but that models of the current train are available!😀

Enjoy

Graeme

[ED75-775]

Heading further south from Nagoya Station, one of my favourite spots to spend time with my camera is the Sasahimakomenohodo Bridge, between Komeno Station on the Meitetsu Nagoya Line and Sasashima-Raibu Station on the Aonami Line. This passes across the throat of a Meitetsu maintenance area, and there's a level crossing at ground level into the nearby JR Central yard that makes it easy to get some good photographs of the depot.

 

 

 

Taken on a wet day in 2023, I didn't linger here for long on that occasion. Having visited during the earlier morning in 2024 however, I can confirm there's plenty of train action (mostly suburban and commuter runs). Being at ground level is probably the better option since the bridge has glass balustrades and warnings not to climb onto the ledges in front of the balustrades - I guess some railfans didn't take kindly to not-always-clear photos of trains passing nearby.

 

Disclaimer: These photos are all taken from beside or near to the level crossing gates over the Meitetsu tracks into the JR Central yard. If you don't want to get into trouble, don't go across the crossing.

 

6 hours ago, SL-san said:

I believe that the rolling stock are different now but that models of the current train are available!😀

 

They are indeed! Kato lists both D51 200 (2016-8) and the series 35-4000 (10-1500) coaches for the current-day SL Yamaguchi as recently as last year's catalog with the locomotive retailing at ¥14,850 and the coaches at ¥16,500. Not sure if they're still in the 2025 catalog, as I haven't brought that yet - saving that for my first day in Tokyo in June, I seem to have made a tradition of getting at least one catalog on my first day since 2023. Personally I would recommend the Kato versions over the Tomix one, admittedly both are nice but my preference leans towards Kato. Don't ask me why!

 

Alastair

Edited Wednesday at 01:36 PM by ED75-775

[Gunzel]

I think you mean Kintetsu, not Meitetsu. 

[Kamome]

Indeed Kato’s offering of the SL Yamaguchi has been pretty comprehensive and I have been acquiring all parts of the Kato puzzle for some years.

 

10-1499 D51 200 and 35series coaches

(10-1500 and 2016-8 if wanting to purchase separately)

2024-1 C57-1

2020-2 C56 150

7008-2 DD51-1043 Shimonoseki Depot.

 

The 35 series were used from 2017. Tomix 12 series coaches are the brown/white banded paint scheme from 2005 onwards I believe.

Microace did the older 1988 onwards colour scheme 12 series coaches quite recently too if you want to be a full completionist A2473