ED75's Random Japanese Trip Photos

[ED75-775]

Tsugi wa Shibuya. Shibuya desu...

 

Yep, we're heading next to Shibuya which for once is not solely about trains! While I'll freely admit to having struck Imon Shibuya on my 2024 trip, on both my 2023 and 2024 trips I've been there to visit the Starbucks Reserve Roastery. And yes, I also had to do a few tourist-y things because why not?

 

 

 

Starting this time with my 2024 photos - I spent a bit of time lurking on the station platforms, but there's not much variety here beyond what you'd see at Shinjuku, so we won't linger here too long. Adding an E235 to my fleet remains on the 'to-do' list though I'm not sure if that'll be crossed off in 2025. Maybe if one comes up at the right price, perhaps?

 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Shibuya Station ranks as second-busiest in the world with three million passengers per day pre-pandemic, at least according to this Japan Today article. That's a lot of people... Alright, let's get out of here. It's getting a bit crowded!

 

Alastair

Edited January 4 by ED75-775

[ED75-775]

For most tourists, Shibuya means one thing - scramble crossing. I've stopped here both times in 2023 and 2024, and this time we're jumping back to 2023 on the way back to Shinjuku after a meal stop at the Reserve Roastery.

 

 

This is the scramble crossing, or at least part of it, as I wandered across to get a photo of at least some of it. I think I was more interested in the many brightly-lit screens here then anything else... note also that I was walking across the road as I took this, so would have definitely been in dumb-tourist mode. Not a good idea!

 

 

Also relatively close by, the statue of Hachiko - the famous dog who waited at the station for nine years after his owner, Professor Hidesaburō Ueno died in 1925. Thanks to a 1932 newspaper article though the story of Hachiko and his loyalty would live on. While a statue of Hachiko would first be placed here in 1934, sculpted by Teru Andō, it was scrapped during World War II; the current statue dates from 1948 and was sculpted by Andō's son Takeshi. It's a highly popular tourist spot now, to the point I found it pretty hard to get a decent photo of in 2023.

 

Alastair

 

[ED75-775]

Heading slightly further into Shibuya, it's hard to miss Shibuya 109, a Tokyu Group-owned department store targeted at women. The name - 109 - is actually a wordplay which I didn't know until again looking it up: firstly it's a reference to its owner (10-9 in Japanese is tō-kyū...) and secondly, its operating hours of 10:00AM to 9:00PM. I didn't feel compelled to go in and look, as my main reason for being there was... the Imon Shibuya store just up the road. Yep. One-track mind!

 

 

Admittedly the Imon store in Shibuya is not bad, it's about the same size as the Shinjuku one although a good chunk of space has been taken up by what looks to be a H0 scale layout at the front of the store. I'm not sure if it was a H0j layout or a H0 13.2mm layout, as that's not my area of specialization. But anyway, it's worth a visit if you're in the area!

 

 

This view from memory came a little later in the day as I waited for the local branch of Mandarake to open. I'd just stopped at Tokyu Hands to use the bathroom and quickly snapped this shot on the way back to Mandarake. And though the camera doesn't do a good job of showing it, I'm actually standing on a slope, with only the fence on my left and retaining wall on the other side of the road giving that way you'd be forgiven for not realizing that straight away!

 

Alastair

Edited January 4 by ED75-775

[ED75-775]

Time for another quick update while I wait for the 2025 Märklin New Items video to drop. Last time we were still over in Shibuya on our way to Mandarake; now, we jump over to Nakameguro for a quick look along another drainage - no, sorry, that's the Meguro River, which has been once again concrete-lined to prevent damage to local properties.

 

 

And here is the sole reason for being out here: the Starbucks Reserve Roastery! Opened in February 2019 and designed by Kengo Kuma, this roastery is the only one purpose-built as such with all five others being housed in converted buildings. At three thousand square meters across four floors, it's an impressive location and a great place to stop for a snack. Or if you prefer, there's coffee, tea, cocktails, souvenirs... Yes, it's a little bit more expensive than the average Starbucks and doesn't have the full menu of drink options you'd find at a regular branch, but it's an experience in and of itself. Well worth a trip if you're in the area, even if you prefer the 'local' offerings to a multinational chain business.

 

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

A few quick interior shots before moving on once more - this time towards Tokyo itself.

 

   

 

These jugs and dispensers caught my eye due to the unique designs - how whimsical and unique. Though that could be said of the entire interior with the massive copper-cad roasting cask rising through all four floors and surrounding by sakura blossoms (again copper - contrasting nicely with the Japanese cedar exterior cladding.)

 

 

Jumping back to my first visit in 2023, and this is the ground-floor area known as the Reserve Roastery with the larger of the two on-site roastery areas off to the right, the main counter directly ahead with the Princi Bakery area and stairs up behind that. The many pipes hanging from the roof are part of the bean delivery systems that feed both the roasters with raw product, and deliver it to either storage silos pending bagging onsite and distribution across Japan, or direct to the staff for use in brewing customer beverages. The mezzanine second-floor hosts the Teavana tea bar. I'll let this SoraNews article speak for the various other parts of the complex I won't be showing - otherwise we might be here awhile at what is the largest Starbucks in the world.

 

 

And to wrap up before we move on, here's a view during dinner across Nakameguro from the fourth-floor balcony. The third and fourth floors have great balconies where you can sit and enjoy your meal and beverage should you prefer to do so, otherwise there's a bit of seating inside including some gallery seating around the third-floor roastery section. I got lucky enough to film that in action last year!

 

And finally, to those who have made it this far with me, thank you for joining me on the journey. Please bear with me over the coming months because I'll be ramping up my postings (hopefully!) to a more regular basis, the reason being... I am planning another trip to Japan for mid-2025! I've set myself the target of reaching the end of my previous three holidays in photos before I embark on trip number four, which will no doubt be as vicarious as the last few. And hopefully this time I will be more restrained and not set out to achieve the goal of absolutely demolishing my wallet in the name of trains!

 

Alastair

Edited January 8 by ED75-775

[ED75-775]

Tsugi wa Shinbashi. Shinbashi desu...

Continuing our circle-ish tour around the Yamanote Line anticlockwise, we pass briefly through Shinagawa on our way to our next stop, Shinbashi. I didn't spend much time here at all, most trips I've just passed through though in 2019 on my first trip to Yokohama I stopped here briefly to transfer from the shinkansen to a Yamanote Line train to get home. To date it's been the only time I've done this, as on successive trips I've had a Suica card of any variant rather than a JR Pass for my Tokyo leg, and I've found the Saikyo Line to be the best way of doing the Yokohama-Shinjuku trip as it's both cheaper and I can ride it right back to Shinjuku without changing trains!

 

  

 

One quirky thing I noticed on the Shinagawa concourse was this post box which has been thoughtfully themed as a KuMoYuNi luggage and mail electric rail car. Not sure how the 0 kilometer post features into all of this as the original Tokyo terminus was closer to Shinbashi than Shinagawa. But it's a neat detail nonetheless!

 

Alastair

Edited January 8 by ED75-775

[railsquid]

6 minutes ago, ED75-775 said:

  

 

One quirky thing I noticed on the Shinagawa concourse was this post box which has been thoughtfully themed as a KuMoYuNi luggage and mail electric rail car. Not sure how the 0 kilometer post features into all of this as the original Tokyo terminus was closer to Shinbashi than Shinagawa. But it's a neat detail nonetheless!

 

Alastair

 

It represents the 0km post for the Yamanote Line and the Hinkaku Line (品鶴線, aka the Yokosuka Line).

 

 

[ED75-775]

Finally, we arrive at our next stop: Shinbashi, or, as it's sometimes transliterated, Shimbashi which is the version I'll stick to using from here on. The current station is a short distance - about 100 meters as the crow flies - from the original Shimbashi station, referred to as Shimbashi Teishajō. That building was demolished in 1914 to make way for Shiodome Freight Station, which closed in 1986, which in turn enabled the construction of a recreated Teishajō station which opened in 2003 as a historical site. Further south are the remains of the Takanawa Embankment, which were unearthed in 2022 and are now partially-listed as this article confirms.

 

 

During my 2023 visit, there was no escaping the history of this site (and had I known the old Shimbashi station site was so close by, maybe I'd have made the effort to visit it). From the images plastered on the floor of the concourse displaying various trains and locomotives which have worked through Shimbashi...

 

 

...to this rather elegant stained-glass window. I suspect the peacock may be a reference to the nearby Hama-rikyū Gardens, once the seventeenth-century abode of the Tokugawa shogunate and now a public garden, although whether there were historically peacocks there I've no idea.

 

 

Alastair

Edited January 9 by ED75-775
Clarification of text

[ED75-775]

And as a final reminder of this area's railway history, there's a steam locomotive right out the front of the station!

 

 

According to the steamlocomotivejapan website, C11 292 was built in 1945 by Nippon Sharyo, and spent its working life firstly in Osaka and later Himeji where it was last used in July or August of 1972; it wasn't however formally written off until September of that year by which time it had been moved to Shimbashi for static display. It's now a well-looked-after display piece in front of the station, and the whistle has been piped up to work on compressed air which it does twice daily at 3:00PM and 5:00PM.

 

 

 

Heading over to the other side of the station, and taken on my way back from a detour out to Daiba, was this banner again showing several trains and locomotives connected with this area, and the main driving wheelset from (I think) a D51 class locomotive.

 

 

Eki-stamp location: This one's hidden under the arches on the southern concourse so takes a bit of hunting. It features of course the C11 in silhouette form, which makes it well worth seeking out. That I did take the time to seek it out, I can thank @Tony Galiani for that after he told me two days before about the C11. I shall of course endeavor to post a few more of these stamp stations where possible, but unfortunately not the stamps to go with them.

 

Alastair

[Tony Galiani]

Funny thing is I had just learned about the C11 a few days before we met in Tokyo.  Spotted it from the train and subsequently went by there to check it out.

BTW - learning a lot from these posts and looking forward to your 2025 iteration.

Cheers,

Tony

[ED75-775]

Time for a brief diversion! On my 2023 trip I took the Yurikamome people mover out to Daiba to visit the Gundam Base and have a look around that area. I spent quite a bit of time out there just browsing, and buying a plush Miffy toy from a shop there (being of Dutch descent, I grew up with Miffy as a child).

 

 

If memory serves, this was taken beyond Shibaura-Futō on the spiral leading up to the Rainbow Bridge and looking more-or-less towards Tennozu and the Shinagawa Container Wharf. Keep heading south from here, and eventually you'll pass the JR Central Oi shinkansen depot (plus the JR Freight training school and Shinagawa freight terminal) and wind up near Haneda Airport. The Oi depot area looks interesting, at least from Google Maps, with the satellite view showing not only a M250 freight unit laying over in the sidings on the narrow-gauge side, but also both Doctor Yellows in the shinkansen sidings!

 

 

Arriving in Daiba and getting out of chronological order here (I was getting ready to head home) is this statue of the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam, from the Mobile Suit Gundam anime series of the same name. During my visit I got to see it configured in Destroy Mode, which it does four times daily as noted by this Japan Travel article. My own association with the statue came from watching Gundam Build Divers which occasionally featured the Unicorn on-screen. Apparently it has also cropped up in one of the Love LIVE! series too, though I've not gotten into those so won't comment.

 

 

Also hitting up the Gundam Base inside, there's more than just shopping for kits or spending time in the workshop space customizing them. At the time of my visit, the G-Base had some dioramas recreating events from the then-current series Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, including this one based on a moment in Episode 12 when Suletta breaks out her Gundam's big gun and absolutely clears the field with it... on a low-power setting, no less.

I was quite taken with the dioramas, and snapped photos of all of them; while I probably won't go deep into Gundam modelling, I can at least appreciate the effort made by the modelers who built these dioramas, and maybe crib a few ideas from them too for down the track.

 

Next time, we head back to the Yamanote Line and continue on towards Tokyo.

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Back in 2023 I had the opportunity to train back to Shinjuku from Shimbashi and get dinner again at a favourite curry restaurant... instead I didn't, and decided to take a walk up the Yamanote Line. Not entirely a bad idea, I guess...

 

 

It was mid-evening by the time I got back to Shimbashi and started walking. Still busy out at that time of night, or so it felt to me, and I couldn't resist snapping a quick 'slice of life' scene along the way.

 

 

Before long, I found myself winding up at Yūrakuchō - or, as I pointed out on my 2023 trip blog - @Kamome442's layout, which I am sure will be one of the greatest exhibition layouts ever when it finally reaches that point. Reading each progress update is a joy; keep at it, Joe! This was the view looking towards the south exit of the station, taken in full dumb-tourist mode as I meandered across the pedestrian crossing.

 

 

Blurry grab shot, yes - topical? Also yes. I believe this is the bridge on the module Joe is currently building. Apologies, it isn't a very good shot but just 'for the record'.

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

On reaching Yūrakuchō, I needed to stop for dinner, and a surprise discovery was this Oginoya shop in the arches under the station. For those not familiar with the name, Oginoya are the family business that has been making toge-no-kamameshi, the famous ekiben from Yokokawa Station in Gunma Prefecture, of Usui Pass and Shin'etsu Main Line fame. This shop opened post-pandemic, and has been a good spot to get your fix from if you can't get to some of Oginoya's other retail partners across Tokyo.

 

 

And speaking of toge-no-kamameshi, here it is! Traditionally it's served in a Mashiko pottery bowl, and certain options allow you to buy the bowl and its contents (current Oginoya price at time of checking: ¥‎1,400) although I don't recall how much I paid for mine, and not being sure I didn't want to ask if I was allowed to keep the bowl (possibly not with the option I paid for). It was an interesting dish, whether I'd have it again or seek out one of their other options I'm not sure, and those picked vegetables in the little plastic container had my taste buds cockatoo screaming! Oginoya's website does suggest that there are other options than the standard so perhaps I'll have to seek one out. There are a few other locations across Tokyo that'll sell you toge-no-kamameshi including the major ekiben shop on the Tokyo Station concourse.

 

 

Having thus satiated and revulsed myself in unequal measures, we now march onwards to the north entrance to Yūrakuchō Station, and yet another bridge for Joe to build. Just a random grab-shot so again not much detail, sorry Joe!

 

 

Given that this photo was taken a short time later, I'd like to suggest that the Yūrakuchō eki-stamp is located near the northern entrance to the station, but I can't recall. Given all the walking I had to do, which I think I did solely for the eki-stamp (!), it would have been rude not to have gotten it.

 

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Jumping back to 2019 to conclude our whistle-stop tour of Yūrakuchō, this was the view from the leading carriage of E231-550 as it ran anticlockwise through Yūrakuchō on its way to Tokyo. Four trains in one picture if you include the fact I was on board one myself when I took this! Thanks again to Joe who helped me to identify, via his layout thread, where I was at the time when I took this.

 

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Ladies and gentlemen, we will soon be arriving at Tokyo Terminal. You might think from that this would be our last stop, right? Well, no. Still a lot more to see on this tour!

 

 

 

We now arrive at Tokyo Station, a grand edifice of red brick which had its origins as far back as 1889 when plans were first laid out for a central station to link the various lines making their way into and out of Tokyo; construction wouldn't however begin until 1908, with the station itself completed and put into service in December 1914. Originally starting off with just four tracks, it now has twenty-five or so (Wikipedia isn't very clear on this, mostly to do with the Yokosuka Line platforms downstairs); sixteen or so of which being for conventional lines while the remainder are for the shinkansen.

 

 

This shot was taken on my first full day back in 2019 on the Marunouchi side of the complex - where else? - though I didn't spend long here as I was really only interested in changing trains and heading to Oku to visit the local Märklin store. On each of my trips I always end up stopping here briefly, though only ever for a short time as I pass through. Conversely, I don't spend much time on the Yaesu side at all, having only walked out of that entrance once in 2023.

 

 

If one walks the full length of the façade, you'll find these informative placards explaining about how Tokyo Station was restored to its original three-story splendour after being rebuilt in a truncated two-story form after World War II. This one highlights the roof profiles of the unrestored and restored building. Another one that sticks in my memory, for instance, talks about the bricks and how they had to be a specific size, among other things.

 

Alastair 

[ED75-775]

Moving on to 2024, and a sunnier view on my Travel Day to Nagoya:

 

 

While transiting here with my newly-activated JR Pass, I headed west with suitcases in tow to Wadakura Fountain Park in the Imperial Palace Grounds. Here, Japan's first Starbucks Greener Store can be found. Unlike the Reserve Roastery featured earlier, this one's a standard Starbucks location but with an emphasis on reducing waste, be it in construction or everyday use.

 

 

And a quick grab shot of the interior - the wooden frame stands above the counters, while the pickup points were off to the left. Not a bad place, though if you do intend to come here I would suggest not doing what I did and leave your suitcases behind! Two cases, one backpack and one camera bag, all not necessarily light... equaled one strained neck muscle by the time I got my shinkansen south. Note to self: carry less stuff where you can, or fork out for takkyubin service.

 

 

Speaking of takkyubin and delivery, the Tokyo Central Post Office is located diagonally across from the Tokyo Station Marunouchi South Exit. I've only stopped there once or twice, in fact in 2019 I sent my last parcel home from there after launching several from Kyoto! I don't have any photos of it though, and I don't have any worthy photos of my trip east to Maihama to look for a Starbucks mug for a family member either so we'll skip that leg of my travels. Time to keep heading north!

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

This next stop probably needs no real introduction other than to say it's Akihabara. We all know what that means!

 

 

This was the view in June 2023 with the Radio Kaikan over to the left on what was a (very) wet day thanks to Typhoon Mawar. Why I picked that day to do what I did, I don't know, but I did! My goal was to follow @paolo's video series around all the train stores but I only managed about half of them before my stomach grumbled loudly enough that I headed back to Akihabara Station and found a convenient Starbucks. In 2024 the weather was only moderately better, but I must confess to having done much better and not skipped lunch thanks to a trip to a convenience store while waiting for Greenmax Cross Point to open!

 

 

Another of my 'not-my-best-but-it's-all-I've-got' photos, this is the nerd haven that is Mandarake Akihabara which has been a must-stop on all of my trips thus far (and will be again later this year!) Diagonally across from it is Hobby Land Pochi's second Akihabara store, while in the background is Akiba Culture Zone, home to model train and hobby shop Scaleton. Oh oh, I think that's a worrying sign that I remember where some of these shops are by now...

 

 

And just because, and it's one of the few train stores I have photographs of, here's Popondetta's main Akihabara store. It wasn't clear to me straight away, but the floors are each worked as individual stores with no interconnection besides the staircase hiding behind the vending machine. It's a dangerous place once you've got it figured out though. The sister Popondetta branch dealing with second-hand goods above the Gachapon Kaikan is also well worth a visit too and I've had a few bargains there in the past.

 

For whatever reason, two of my three day trips to Akihabara so far have been in the rain. Only in 2019, and on a one-evening stop in 2023 post-Chichibu Railway visit, have I had anything remotely approaching nice weather. I'll have to see whether I can buck that trend later this year, as yes, I have now booked my airfares for June 2025! And maybe, just maybe, I'll remember to take more photos. It seems to me that my primary focus in going to Akihabara is to commit sometimes irresponsible financial decisions, so perhaps it's time to leave the camera behind and just rely on my phone if I need to snap any.

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Proof enough that it was literally hosing down by the time I got 'lunch' after my Akihabara ramble in 2024, as snapped from a Starbucks within Akihabara Station:

 

 

Looking west along the Sobu Line wasn't so bad, but the trains were well packed because of the weather and also time of day, so it was challenging to get space on one. I eventually managed to squeeze on board and head home to Shinjuku and what may have been an early night given my plans for the following two days (steam train rides on the Chichibu and Moka Railways).

 

 

And to wrap up this look at Akihabara, have some E231-500s.

 

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Heading further north, we arrive at Ueno Station, where, as with Akihabara, I have taken relatively few photos. A handful in 2019, slightly more in 2023 - and that's been it as I skipped it in 2024. So this post will be comprised solely 2023 photos.

 

 

After arriving on the shinkansen from Oyama, I hiked aboveground to catch my next train on to Oku (we'll head there shortly). Based on a little Google-fu and checking the station maps in my 2019 timetable, I'd say I was on platforms 5 and 6 for the Utsunomiya and Takasaki Lines when I took this photo.

 

 

This sign near the head of the platform caught my eye... pointing a translation app at it confirms that it's a message from the Ueno stationmaster asking railfans not to head beyond that point with their cameras. I am not sure what the reason for this would be, other than perhaps badly behaved photographers...

 

 

...eh, not that the locals are too worried, so - when in Rome! This fellow was rather interested in this departing E231-1000. He wasn't the only railfan I bumped into there; another fellow from the US had been trying to get some photos featuring speed blur but hadn't had much luck. With his targets slowing down or just accelerating depending on which direction they were heading, I think I can understand why.

 

Alastair

Edited January 22 by ED75-775

[kuro68000]

4 hours ago, ED75-775 said:

 

This sign near the head of the platform caught my eye... pointing a translation app at it confirms that it's a message from the Ueno stationmaster asking railfans not to head beyond that point with their cameras. I am not sure what the reason for this would be, other than perhaps badly behaved photographers...

 

I remember a few years back JR was warning people not to go beyond the yellow lines, and that having one foot on the line and the other well over it wasn't safe. Both feet within the yellow lines!

 

Railfans with cameras are a particular problem because they are too busy looking down the camera and trying to position for the best shot. There were incidents with them falling off the platform or getting dangerously close to the train with one foot.

 

Nice sign. Classic manga style drawing with excellent detail. Even without the text it is easy to understand.

[ED75-775]

Moving on from Ueno, our next stop is Oku. There's not a lot here for tourists; what is here however is the Oku Rolling Stock Center, catering to part of JR East's passenger fleet and a selection of locomotives and maintenance vehicles. And a short walk away from that, via a handy underpass by the station, is the Tabata locomotive depot and Tokyo Shinkansen Rolling Stock Center. Let's begin our visit to this area on the Oku side.

 

 

This was the view on approach to Oku Station on my first visit, with a DE10 and EF81 95 in its Super Express Rainbow livery parked up in the sidings at the south end of the yard. Getting a decent photo was nearly impossible thanks to the catenary masts, but we will get some better, and closer, photos of EF81's and DE10's later though!

 

 

Oku Station itself is a fairly utilitarian building alongside the tracks as this 2024 photo attests, with a single island platform overlooking the main rail yards. The eagle-eyed among you may note the Oku eki-stamp station in the near entrance way. Also visible is a neat feature on top of the adjacent building: a structure painted to resemble an EF81 and 'Blue Train' carriage in reference to Oku's former role as the home depot for some of these trains...

 

 

And here's a closer look. Although the 'Blue Trains' are now long gone, and only a handful of EF81's remain (now allocated to Oku thanks to a merger between Oku Rolling Stock Center and Tabata depot), there are in fact three withdrawn 'Blue Train' carriages still parked in the yard, two dining cars and one sleeping car, which are visible from the platform. They're not in great overall condition though.

 

As far as trains at Oku, there's plenty of commuter action with E231 and E233 sets, and occasionally other train types within the yard. Occasionally you might see something rarer, as the depot is home to both the E655 Nagomi and E001 Train Suite Shiki-Shima sets, the latter of which I got to see at a distance in 2019. And of course there's the Cassiopeia carriage set although this is pretty hard to miss when it's around.

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Intermission - Oku Area

Before we continue our Train Yard Tour around Tabata and Oku, here's a few highlights and 'huh' moments I've observed over the years in this area.

 

 

While the big stuff will always catch my attention in some way or another, it's not the main reason I'm in Oku - this is! Märklin Store Tokyo Rheingold one of only nine Märklin dealers in Japan, and one of only three selling Märklin H0 in the Greater Tokyo area (one of those is a Tenshodo store in Ginza). It's got a small stock holding mostly of locomotives and some rolling stock and other bits, but the owner is relatively friendly and does speak English. He also recalls that I'm from New Zealand too... somehow I have made a name for myself in Japan!

For those who continue further north it's possible to visit the Toden Arakawa Line which I have not yet done, perhaps I might this trip and possibly combine that with a depot lurk? For those not aware, one of two tram stops near this store is Arakawashako-mae Station, home to the Arakawa Line depot and Toden Memorial Square, which houses one each 5500-series and 7500-series tram (though is only open on weekends and holidays, 10:00AM to 4:00PM).

Märklin Store Tokyo Rheingold website link: https://rheingold-tokyo.jp.

 

 

Heading south along Tokyo Metropolitan Road 458, we pass one of only a few roadside shrines I've seen in my travels - Shinmeisha Shrine. I'm afraid Google Maps and its reviews are no help here as to how long the shrine has existed for, but I snapped a quick photo of it in 2019 for my records. Notice how the building to the left has been made to fit around the shrine!

 

 

Almost back to Oku Station, and we have ourselves a McDonald's parking lot. Disclaimer - at time of writing, I work for McDonald's, and at that point in time I took this (2019) delivery services were a completely foreign concept to my team and I (they aren't now, and we don't like that!) so these little delivery scooters were rather intriguing. I can recall joking to my franchisee at one point some years/months later that we needed a few of these and that I'd be keen to be the guy in charge of them. Nowadays, perhaps not so much!

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Time now to return to the rail yard, where we have some DE10 action to keep us amused for the time being.

 

 

DE10 1752 was the assigned shunting engine in use at Oku on my first trip in 2019; at the time I snapped it, 1752 was officially allocated to Takasaki Depot, having been transferred there with eight other DE10s and one DE11 from Utsunomiya Depot in March 2017. Because of how Takasaki Depot's responsibility has been structured, these DE10s can turn up almost anywhere in Kanto there's a need for them, with at least one or two assigned to work at Oku to shunt the Vehicle Center there.

 

On this particular occasion, 1752 was being used to shuffle some HoKi 800 ballast hoppers around the yard and extract one, HoKi 1344, for a trip into the maintenance shed. These last two photos were snapped through the railings of the depot gate, which conveniently happens to be next to the entranceway to the underpass that runs under Oku yard.

 

 

 

Oh, and I mentioned the underpass, right? The east end is just to the south and behind the Oku station building. The west end, on the other hand, is smack-bang next to the depot gates so a great spot to park up with your camera if you see anything! This shot's from 2023 after I'd been to Rheingold and toured around the rail yards before hiking off to Minami-Funabashi to have dinner at IKEA Tokyo-Bay. Yeahh, I know... going all that way for cinnamon buns and Swedish meatballs? Digression: IKEA has not (yet) opened a New Zealand store, our first one will open sometime in 2026 in the Auckland suburb of Sylvia Park. No timeline for when they'll come to the South Island but I'll not be betting against them opening a branch here in Christchurch.

 

 

Alastair

Edited Wednesday at 10:56 AM by ED75-775
Because photos will not stay put!

[ED75-775]

Carrying on across to the other side of the rail yard complex - Tabata Locomotive Depot. Until a few years ago this was an independent facility neighbouring onto the Oku Vehicle Center; nowadays it's part of Oku Vehicle Center. This facility is in two parts, the locomotive depot and a Shinkansen depot. Coincidentally it's also home to JR East's entire EF81 fleet, which I suspect I've seen in almost its entirety during my visits here. Let's start with a taster from 2019:

 

 

Looking across the yard throat towards the Shinkansen depot, we have an E6 and E4 side by side, my first sighting (of two!) of the latter. The second would be when I rode one from Omiya to Tokyo after a visit to the Railway Museum, and which gave me an excellent grandstand view as we passed through Tabata. Somehow single-deck cars just won't cut it anymore!

 

 

With security fences abounding, getting a decent shot requires getting creative so I had to push my camera lens up against the fence I suspect for this shot. EF65 1102 and 1105 bracket yet another Takasaki DE10, 1695 in the sidings or what I've personally referred to as the 'paddock'. Another digression; my nickname for these sidings is apparently used here in New Zealand to describe a similar set of sidings at the Wellington locomotive depot. Not sure why, but there you go!

 

 

Just visible in the background of the previous shot was the maintenance shed, which on that trip housed another EF65 and DE10. Getting a decent photo here is not possible, as the fence line is hard against the road and therefore one takes their life in their hands to get a closer look! The road here is not busy, but that's still not an invitation to try. Fortunately, there's a handy driveway further along where you can stand against the gate and look down the other end of the maintenance shed. We'll stop there in a bit!

 

Alastair

Edited Wednesday at 12:28 PM by ED75-775

[ED75-775]

Moving briefly now to 2023, and back in the paddock:

 

 

On this occasion, after riding the Moka Railway's SL Moka, the 'paddock' sidings held a few interesting items - a short E195 rail set, one of the E493 EMU sets and electric locomotive EF81 80. Again, the security fence did not allow a decent look but two boys had found a better vantage point - a concrete slab in a raised garden bed, and once they'd moved on I was able to stand on said slab and shove my camera under the fence somewhat. This was probably one of the better shots I got on this expedition, not that it says much as the fences made it challenging to get anything I'd call decent!

 

Looking back across my other photos, I note that another Takasaki DE10 (1695) had been shoving EF65 1102 around on the Oku side of the depot; EH500 2 ran through with a southbound container freight, the other E493 set was also on the Oku side of the depot and that was basically it for my photographic trainspotting notes!

 

Decamping now to 2024 and after riding the Chichibu Railway's SL Paleo Express:

 

 

Remember the driveway I mentioned? It's not a perfect vantage point, but it allowed this iPod Touch shot of our old friend EF81 80, sister EF81 139 and an unidentified DE10 in the maintenance shed area. I think if I was to try this again, I'd raise my focus a little higher so that I'm not lopping bits of catenary masts off and featuring way too much foreground. Well, I'll be able to try again in a little over five months' time!

 

 

 

And on the same day, down in the paddock with the E195 and E493 sets, another DE10 at rest - this time DE10 1603. With the setting sun and a bit of high cloud behind, this felt rather dramatic, a nearly perfect end to a nearly perfect day - on this occasion, the Märklin store had been closed early! I had to return the following day after another ride on the SL Moka, and got very nearly drenched in the process because the weather had turned foul. So no depot stop that time - just a random walk to Tabata Station, a short train ride to Sugamo, and then risk another drenching en route to Sakatsu Gallery before heading home for the night! Don't regret going to Sakatsu though, even if my wallet might say otherwise...

 

Note to self: be very careful when taking recommendations from more experienced modelers. They may end with irresponsible financial decisions!

 

Well, that concludes our stops within the Tokyo area. We'll start heading further afield in future installations. And again I will need to up my posting regimen; it's only five months to go until holiday time!

 

Alastair