My Japanese Trip Aug/Sept 2010 Part 2

[westfalen]

A couple of days ago from part 1.

 

We spent the afternoon in Sapporo after travelling from Kushiro this morning. After a trip up the TV tower three of us went for a tram ride. Our hotel is at Shin-Sapporo right above the station.

[westfalen]

Sapporo tram depot.

[westfalen]

Sapporo tram depot part 2.

[westfalen]

We are now back on Honshu at Hirosaki for the night. Some shots from Shin-Sapporo this morning and enroute at Hakodate and Aomori.

[westfalen]

Enroute to Hirosaki Part 2. After we checked into the Best Western across the street from the station My two friends and I caught a JR local out to Owani Onsen and rode back on the Konan Tetsudo, a line I hadn't done before. I did the Konan's other two lines that were open at the time in 1996 but didn't have time to do the Owani line.

[westfalen]

Konan Tetsudo Owani station.

[westfalen]

More Knoan Tetsudo.

[westfalen]

Here's one for the language experts that I just found on my mobile phone that I took back in Aizu Wakamatsu in our hotel.

 

I assume they mean 'extinguisher', but

[bikkuri bahn]

Glad you got a picture of Sapporo Transportation Bureau M101 (the double door tram, in original colors, not the modern green).  It doesn't run very often, but sometimes I get lucky when waiting for a tram and that one comes rolling up.

*I'd love to blow up that fake church in front of Kushiro Station- so tacky...

[cteno4]

Here's one for the language experts that I just found on my mobile phone that I took back in Aizu Wakamatsu in our hotel.

 

I assume they mean 'extinguisher', but

 

glad you did not open that, there was a pissed off panther that has once been tinned in there! not a happy beast...

 

good one!

 

jeff

[westfalen]

A few shots from the trip along the Gono Line on our way from Hirosaki to Akita starting with the view from the Best Western Hirosaki. We had been unable to get seats on the 'Resort Shirakami' so we took a leasurely trip from Hirosaki to Higashi Noshiro aboard a two car kiha 48, unfrotunately this meant we had no time to do the Akita Nairiku Jukan Railway but I had ridden it in 2006 and we had a good run along the coast on the Gono line. We're off to Tokyo tomorrow via the Kitakami Line.

[westfalen]

Gono Line part 2.

[cteno4]

Damn a new harbor scene idea! loading wave barriers! fun fun fun!

 

thanks

 

jeff

[gmat]

westfalen,

Will your group be doing some shooting at Shinjuku Station before you leave for Hakone? You are probably familiar with what I'm going to say, but here goes. I can recommend the southern tip of platform 5/6 as you can get the 8:25 (Odoriku?) coming up from the south. If you are lucky, you can get the Chuo rapid line Orange 201, the last one in service. The northern edge of platform 7/8 is good for shooting trains coming from the north and west to Shinjuku. The Chuo line uses both platforms from about 8:00 to past 9:00 so you might miss some trains coming from the south. Both areas are relatively free on morning commuters and are not blocked by structures at the end. The Yamanote, Sobu and western bound Chuo lines can't easily be shot from these locations. The Yamanote line has two sets of specially marked cars. One is for Suumo and the other I haven't seen close up. Sorry, no photos yet.

 

Some photos illustrating what I said.

Both from platforms 5/6.

Taken 8:25.

 

Ohayo Tochigi? Should be there at the same time, around 8:36.

 

Both from platforms 7/8.

 

Will be shooting against the sun at 8:30.

 

Best wishes,

Grant

[miyakoji]

westfalen, those KIHA40s look good.  Is there a name for that livery?

[westfalen]

westfalen, those KIHA40s look good.  Is there a name for that livery?

They did look good, but I'll have to leave it to the experts for a name.

[westfalen]

Gmat, that looks like a good photo spot. I don't know if we'll have time in the morning but if we don't I might try to fit it in myself on Friday or Saturday.

 

Today we traveled from Akita to Tokyo via the Ou, Kitakami lines and Tohoku Shinkansen. My room mate and I went up to Nippori and spent 45 minutes on the foot bridge just south of the station before joining the rest of the group for a visit to the Tokyo Metroplolitan Government Building obersvation deck at Shinjuku. My room mate hadn't been to Tokyo before and couldn't believe the volume of trains passing Nippori.

[westfalen]

Nippori.

[to2leo]

Not sure if this question has been asked but please feel free to share your favorite train spot(s) and train(s) with us.  I cannot wait for another chance to travel to Japan!

[gmat]

Westfalen,

It was nice meeting you at Shinjuku. I'm sorry that I couldn't properly stick around to say Hi to the rest of your party. I had to get ahead and practice shooting a few shots to set things up.

Taken at Seyagaya-Daita Station.

 

 

 

 

Looks like the weather will be better tomorrow and Saturday.

 

Best wishes,

Grant

[westfalen]

Westfalen,

It was nice meeting you at Shinjuku. I'm sorry that I couldn't properly stick around to say Hi to the rest of your party. I had to get ahead and practice shooting a few shots to set things up.

Taken at Seyagaya-Daita Station.

Looks like the weather will be better tomorrow and Saturday.

 

Best wishes,

Grant

It was good to meet one of the names behind the posts even if only briefly and thanks for the bag of goodies. The ride from Osaki to Shinjuku this morning was my room mates 100th train of the trip so I gave him the Yamanote Line train to commemorate the event. I'll have to wait until I get home to look at the DVDs but that's only a couple if days now. I can see other members of the group in your photos but I was mistaken about which side I was sitting on, I swapped seats for a while but must have just moved back by the time we got to your location. Speaking of DVDs we found the Kellogs breakfast cereal with the Cassiopea DVD tonight at the supermarket next to our hotel for 238 yen, then at the 100 yen shop next door a selection of about a dozen railway DVDs for 850 yen each.

[gmat]

By the next time that you visit Japan, this portion of the trip should be underground from Yoyogi-uehara to Umgaoka stations for the Express and Romance trains. Also, even the Express and Romance trains have to slow down before passing this station, so you can get a fairly decent photo. But at this time the odds of being blocked by a passing train is still great.

 

Best wishes,

Grant

[westfalen]

By the next time that you visit Japan, this portion of the trip should be underground from Yoyogi-uehara to Umgaoka stations for the Express and Romance trains. Also, even the Express and Romance trains have to slow down before passing this station, so you can get a fairly decent photo. But at this time the odds of being blocked by a passing train is still great.

 

Best wishes,

Grant

We saw all the construction going on, there is always something changing in Tokyo. Here are some photos from today. The weather wasn't very cooperative, this was my third trip to Hakone and every time it has rained, on the 2006 tour I went round the Gotemba line while the group did Hakone and it rained then too. The recorded commentory on the ropeway continuously taunted us about the views we could see on a fine day. Because of the rain we caught a bus straight back from Hakone Machi to Hokone Yumoto instead of Kowakidani and spent some time photographing trains.

 

The first photo duplicates the first photo I took in Japan 20 years ago, but the train then was a 10000 series.

[westfalen]

Hakone part 2.

[westfalen]

Hakone part 3.