Japanese Vacation No.9 (week 3)

[westfalen]

At Gotsu there was a bit of action with the locals coming and going while I waited for Super Oki #5 to take me to Shin-Yamaguchi.

 

Westfalen,

 

is the bridge in DSC07070.JPG rail on the top?

 

thanks

 

jeff

No, it's road on both levels. The rail bridge is next to it.

[scott]

There are 8 temples within 1000 meters of the center of town there, I don't know the specific place as I can't read the signage in the picture.  Suffice to say, it is a minor branch of some larger temple.

 

Interesting--thanks!

[scott]

Lots of nice details--the bike parking is great. Now where am I going to get that many n-scale bikes? 

[Bernard]

West - your photos are inspiring! I love the shot of the train going over the bridge and you see all the boats docked under it. It shows me what type of boats I should use and how they are docked.

When you do your exhibitions with your club do you mount some of your photos for others to view?

[westfalen]

West - your photos are inspiring! I love the shot of the train going over the bridge and you see all the boats docked under it. It shows me what type of boats I should use and how they are docked.

When you do your exhibitions with your club do you mount some of your photos for others to view?

Sometimes I do, or I set up a TV and play some of my video.

[westfalen]

I've moved on to Shikoku. I was a bit later geting to Okayama than planned because I decided to get a Kodama from Hiroshima instead of the Sakura so I could have another ride on a 500, you never know when some bean counter at JR West is going to decide it's no longer economical to keep these orphans in a fleet of 700/N700 types running.

 

I got a few quick shots at Takamatsu station before I left my bag at the hotel and went off exploring the parts of the Kotoden I haven't been on. First destination was Nagao. Takamatsu station has changed since I was last here in 1998, I remember an old station oozing with good old fashioned railway atmosphere.

[westfalen]

The station master at Nagao has a small CTC panel controlling his station and the next passing siding at Ido.

 

I headed from there to Kotohira but when I came to the shops and depot at Busshozan I decided to hop off and get a few shots. The train getting scrubbed had it's ends given a good clean by hand then was run back and forth through the car washer four times, no wonder most Japanese trains are so clean. In Brisbane units get through the car wash about once every two weeks and sometimes they even get wet. The station master came up to me and asked where I was from and when I told him he said "present" and handed me an envelope with some Kotoden postcards and stickers.

[westfalen]

There was one older car at the shops, they moved it from behind some other cars and parked it outside the shop building while I was there.

[westfalen]

After a bit of a look around Kotohira I caught JR back to Takamatsu and got a few night shots of the new station (well, new to me anyway).

[keitaro]

loved the kotohira line.

 

funnily enough i was talking to ghan about this just 2 nights ago.

 

i ordered http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10167859 and http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10167855

 

the line is very old just over 100 years

 

west if possible when you return home could i get some pics from you of this line?

 

i have plans to incorporate part of this line with something fresh added to it in a future plan.

 

I wanted to go there in aug next year again but i won't have time most likely as will be heading to hokkaido etc.

[The_Ghan]

West,

 

Very nice station master.  I keep a bunch of Aussie keyrings, stick pins and those little 2” koalas that can grip your clothes on me all the time when travelling.  That way, when I come across a generous citizen like the station master I can return the favour.

 

That yard where they’re washing the cars is small enough to model.  Great stuff!!!

 

There’s a nice shrine at Kotohira.  Did you get there?  Japan’s oldest kabuki theatre is also in Kotohira.  That’s something I’d love to see.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[bikkuri bahn]

Takamatsu Station probably did lose some of its "railroady" atmosphere in its reform (I believe it was moved a bit also, away from the ferry landing-allowing for re-development and a big station square), it used to be an oily diesel railcar paradise- plenty of kiha 58's and 181's.  It does have going for it the stub end terminal configuration, relatively unusual for big JR stations.

[keitaro]

theres still dmu's to be had from the jr station on a regular basis :D

[bikkuri bahn]

Yes, but there is also electric, which makes for a cleaner environment and a more rapid transit "feel".  When there is only diesel, the smells and feeling is completely different- I know, living in Hokkaido, which is dominated by diesel EMUs on intercity routes.

[westfalen]

West,

 

Very nice station master.  I keep a bunch of Aussie keyrings, stick pins and those little 2” koalas that can grip your clothes on me all the time when travelling.  That way, when I come across a generous citizen like the station master I can return the favour.

 

That yard where they’re washing the cars is small enough to model.  Great stuff!!!

 

There’s a nice shrine at Kotohira.  Did you get there?  Japan’s oldest kabuki theatre is also in Kotohira.  That’s something I’d love to see.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

I forgot to bring a supply of Aussie souveniers this trip, the koalas are always popular. Ouside Kotohira station a group of high school girls asked me were I was from and when I told them Australia they all said in unison "Ahh Koalas".

 

It was getting late in the day so I didn't get to the shrine, perhaps a future trip now that I've got the railway done.

[westfalen]

Takamatsu Station probably did lose some of its "railroady" atmosphere in its reform (I believe it was moved a bit also, away from the ferry landing-allowing for re-development and a big station square), it used to be an oily diesel railcar paradise- plenty of kiha 58's and 181's.  It does have going for it the stub end terminal configuration, relatively unusual for big JR stations.

You might be right about the station being moved back from the waterfront. When I went this evening to check out where the ferry departed from I could have sworn that in 1994 when we spent a bit of time here we almost stepped off the station steps onto the dock, now it's almost a good 10 minute walk.

[keitaro]

didn't they dumps sand and extend it out??

 

I think it was for the govt building i may be wrong though

[westfalen]

Today I went to the end of the line south of here at Kannora on the Asa Kaigan Railway.

 

There were plenty of railcars in the yard at Tokushima.

[westfalen]

The tunnel at Kaifu, where JR and the Asa Kaigan Railway meet, defies explanation. It looks like one of those tunnels in a toy train set.

 

The end of the line at Kannora is a dead end on a viaduct in the middle of nowhere. You can imagine the viaduct extending across the valley with a tunnel through the opposite hillside if the missing link between there and Nahari had been built.

[westfalen]

Next to the station was a small temple with an old wooden shrine out the back. In a small building was what appeared to be the portable shrine they parade through the streets on festival days.

[westfalen]

Some more shots of the shrine and Kannora station.

[Martijn Meerts]

Now that's a train station you don't see everyday .. Would be a cool one for a (j-)module ;)

[westfalen]

On the way back it was drizzling rain so I decided not to break my journey in a couple of the small towns enroute and kept going, eventually getting all the way to Okayama before returning to Takamatsu.

 

I'm off to my final destination of Osaka in the morning. I haven't made any detailed timetable but Sunday I plan doing some of the Kintetsu 3'6" gauge lines then head down to Wakayama. On Monday I will go to Amagasaki in the morning to see if I can get some shots of the Sumitomo Metals narrow gauge industrial railway and another day I will get to the Akagawa truss bridge.

[westfalen]

didn't they dumps sand and extend it out??

 

I think it was for the govt building i may be wrong though

You may be right but when I arrived I got the impression that the platforms were shorter than I remembered, maybe it was a bit of both.

[bikkuri bahn]

According to wikipedia, the station was moved 300m to the west (inland).  The former station was across the street from the Kotoden Takamatsu Chikko Station.  The ANA Clement Hotel now occupies that space.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Takamatsu,+Kagawa+Prefecture,+Japan&hl=en&ll=34.351227,134.048084&spn=0.002471,0.006866&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.775203,79.013672&vpsrc=6&hnear=Takamatsu,+Kagawa+Prefecture,+Japan&t=h&z=18