My 10th trip to Japan

[westfalen]

I've been working on Japanese trip No.10. A fellow train driver/railfan from Brisbane and a member of my model railway club will be spending eight days in Japan in late November/early December. Any thoughts or suggestions on the itinerary by this forum's knowledged and esteemed members is welcome.

 

Tuesday 27/11/12

 

Travel by train to Varsity Lakes then Surfside Buslines route 761 to our motel across the road from Coolangatta Airport

 

Overnight

La Costa Motel

Bilinga

 

Wednesday 28/11/12

 

1050 dep Coolangatta Airport (Jetstar JQ11)

1855 arr Narita International Airport

Pick up railpasses to start next day

Make train reservations.

Transfer by free shuttle to hotel (10 min)

 

Overnight

Toyoko Inn

Narita Kuko

 

Thursday 29/11/12

 

Today we travel from Narita Airport by Ltd Exp to Tokyo station where we have an hour to change to the Tokaido Shinkansen to Toyohashi. Our Shinkansen should be a 700 or N700. This afternoon/evening we spend some time train watching in Toyohashi and riding the trams.

 

0745 dep hotel (free shuttle)

0755 arr Narita Airport Terminal 2

0816 dep Narita Airport Terminal 2 (Ltd Exp Narita Express No.6)

0927 arr Tokyo

1033 dep Tokyo (Hikari No.509)

1158 arr Toyohashi

 

 

Overnight

Hotel Associa

Toyohashi

Hotel located above station

 

Friday 30/11/12

We have a couple of options today to travel to Nagano, an all day ride along the scenic Iida Line or a quicker trip via Shinkansen to Nagoya then the Chuo Line giving us more time in Nagano.

Either this afternoon/evening or next morning as time permits we ride the Nagano Railway which runs former Odakyu Railway romance car EMUs and old JR Narita Express sets.

 

Option 1

1008 dep Toyohashi (Ltd Exp Wide View Inaji No.1)

1240 arr Iida

1306 dep Iida (local all stations EMU)

1600 arr Okaya

1625 dep Okaya (Chuo Line local EMU)

1635 arr Shiojiri

1654 dep Shiojiri (Ltd Exp Wide View Shinano No.17)

1753 arr Nagano

The earliest the Iida Line can get us to Nagano is dep Toyohashi at 0600 and arr Nagano at 1653.

 

Option 2

0914 dep Toyohashi (Tokaido Shinkansen Kodama No.663)

0943 arr Nagoya

1000 dep Nagoya (Chuo Line Ltd Exp Wide View Shinano No.7)

1254 arr Nagano

More time could be spent in Nagoya on this option, catching a later service to Nagano.

We will most likely be going via Nagoya this day as we've all done the Iida Line and the Chuo Line will get us all the way to Nagano in daylight. If we leave Toyohashi a bit earlier we could have three or four hours in Nagoya by catching the 1300 departure from there.

Overnight

Toyoko Inn

Nagano-Eki

Zekoji-Guchi

 

Saturday 01/12/12

 

Sometime during the day we travel to Takasaki via the Hokuriku Shinkansen which is worked by E2 sets. Takasaki is on the Joetsu Mainline from Tokyo to Niigata on the west coast so there should be plenty of train watching to do. There is also the private Joshin Railway which runs 33.7 km to Shimonita.

 

There are many trains to choose from depending upon how much time we spend in Nagano but one option is

1303 dep Nagano (Hokuriku Shinkansen Asama No.526)

1357 arr Takasaki

 

Overnight

Toyoko Inn

Takasaki-Eki

Nishi-Guchi No.1

 

Sunday 02/12/12

 

Today we will try and get a steam train ride, the private Chichibu and Mooka railways which run regular weekend steam services are nearby and Takasaki is the home depot for JR East’s heritage steam locos D51 498 and C61 20. The Mooka Railway has a C11 and a C12 tank loco.

 

If we do the Mooka Railway we can use the following timetable continuing via the Joban Line to Ueno where, providing we can reserve space on arrival in Japan, we will board the overnight Akebono sleeper train via Niigata and the west coast for Aomori in the far north of Honshu, a distance of 772.8 km. The Akebono has a variety of accommodation ranging from deluxe rooms to reserved seats.

 

0733 dep Takasaki (Joetsu Shinkansen Asama No.504)

0758 arr Omiya

0810 dep Omiya (Tohoku Shinkansen Yamabiko No.205)

0826 arr Oyama

0848 dep Oyama (JR Mito Line local EMU)

0909 arr Shimodate

1036 dep Shimodate (Mooka Railway) This train should be steam hauled.

1206 arr Motegi

1421 dep Motegi

1558 arr Shimodate

1649 dep Shimodate (JR Mito Line local EMU)

1736 arr Tomobe

1802 dep Tomobe (JR Joban Line Ltd Exp Fresh Hitachi No.52

1908 arr Ueno

2115 dep Ueno (Ltd Exp Akebono sleeper train)

 

Overnight on Akebono sleeper train

 

Monday 03/12/12

 

It should be dawn around Akita so we should see about 160 km of northern Honshu in the daylight before arriving at Aomori at 0955. After a break for breakfast/morning tea and some train watching at Aomori’s dead end station we catch a limited express through the Seikan Tunnel to Kikonai, the first stop on Hokkaido. We will have just over an hour and a half there for lunch and more train watching. The freight timetable doesn’t show intermediate times between Aomori and Hakodate but there are two or three trains that may pass through while we are there. After lunch we return trough the Tunnel to Shin-Aomori where we catch a couple of Shinkansen south to Furukawa, just north of Sendai, arriving at dinner time. In the evening we can watch Shinkansen passing through or catch a local railcar to Kogata on the Tohoku Main Line to do a bit of night time train watching there.

 

0955 arr Aomori

1151 dep Aomori (JR Tsugaru-Kaikyo Line Ltd Exp Super Hakucho No.15)

1307 arr Kikonai

1434 dep Kikonai (Ltd Exp Super Hakucho No.34)

1559 arr Shin-Aomori

1608 dep Shin-Aomori (Tohoku Shinkansen Hayate No.34)

1714 arr Morioka

1723 dep Morioka (Hayate No.112)

1825 arr Furukawa

The trip to Kikonai is mainly for the sake of going through the tunnel again.

Overnight

Hotel Route Inn

Furukawa Ekimae

 

Tuesday 04/12/12

 

Today we take a railcar along the JR Rikuu-East Line through the mountains to Shinjo where we change, after lunch, to a ‘mini’ E4 series Shinkansen for Ueno. From Ueno we get the Yamanote Line to our hotel at Otsuka on the north end of the Yamanote loop where it crosses the Arakawa tram line. We spend our last two nights in Japan here.

 

0920 dep Furukawa (JR Rikuu-East Line local railcar)

1003 arr Naruko Onsen

1005 dep Naruko Onsen (This should be a through train, it may split at Naruko Onsen)

1108 arr Shinjo

1318 dep Shinjo (JR Yamagata Shinkansen Tsubasa No.114)

1650 arr Ueno

 

Overnight

Toyoko Inn

Tokyo Yamanote-Sen

Otsuka-Eki Kitaguchi No.2

 

Wednesday 05/12/12

 

This day we plan to meet up with a Japanese railfan my workmate met on a previous trip who says he will show us around some points of railway interest.

Day in Tokyo

Our rail passes expire at midnight tonight.

 

Overnight

Toyoko Inn

Tokyo Yamanote-Sen

Otsuka-Eki Kitaguchi No.2

 

Thursday 06/12/12

 

Last minute shopping. (visits to hobby shops that is. )

This afternoon we catch a Keisei Railway Skyliner to Narita Airport for our flight home. Check in opens three hours before departure.

 

1645 dep Nippori

1721 arr Narita Airport Terminal 2 (Keisei Skyliner No.42)

2025 dep Narita (Jetstar JQ12)

 

Overnight on plane

 

Friday 07/12/12

 

0625 arr Coolangatta Airport

 

After clearing customs we catch a Surfside Buslines route 761 to Varsity Lakes station for our train home.

 

The flights and hotels are all booked but the means of getting from place to place are subject to change as we go along depending on whether we come across something interesting or a new train none of us has been on before. My workmate and I are both into freight operations so anything of that nature could through our timetable out the window as well.

[bikkuri bahn]

Looks like a good plan.  Toyohashi Station may be a good place to see some late night freight action (neighboring Shizuoka Pref. sees the highest volume of freight traffic in all of Japan on the Tokaido Main Line), hopefully at least your hotel room will overlook the line below, so you can spend a happy sleepless night If you have a diagram from the JRF timetable handy, you will see the extremely dense number of freight trains scheduled on this stretch of track.

 

Kogota Station shows potential for freight on the Tohoku M.L. Some sampling of the action:

 

 

[bikkuri bahn]

To add: if you have time in Nagano, may be worth a trip up to the Obasute switchback, you may catch one of the tanker trains:

 

Toyohashi Sta. through freights at night:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-n4WCKG2js&hd=1

[westfalen]

Looks like a good plan.  Toyohashi Station may be a good place to see some late night freight action (neighboring Shizuoka Pref. sees the highest volume of freight traffic in all of Japan on the Tokaido Main Line), hopefully at least your hotel room will overlook the line below, so you can spend a happy sleepless night If you have a diagram from the JRF timetable handy, you will see the extremely dense number of freight trains scheduled on this stretch of track.

 

Kogota Station shows potential for freight on the Tohoku M.L. Some sampling of the action:

 

My friend stayed at that hotel on a pervious trip which is why we're staying there.

[westfalen]

To add: if you have time in Nagano, may be worth a trip up to the Obasute switchback, you may catch one of the tanker trains:

 

When I get home from work I'll get out my freight timetable and check that out, thanks.

[NuclearErick]

i know im a newbie in this forum but if u are interested my day off is every thursday im near of Nagoya 10 mim of that Station i can get there in Toyohashi in no time

 

my english is not that good sorry  :crybaby2:

[miyakoji]

In the Obasute switchback video, that reverse move without someone at the back of the train surprised me.  They do this to get the Cassiopeia into Ueno, but in that maneuver there is a crew member at the back of the train, and someone here pointed out that he has a valve to apply the emergency brakes.

[westfalen]

i know im a newbie in this forum but if u are interested my day off is every thursday im near of Nagoya 10 mim of that Station i can get there in Toyohashi in no time

 

my english is not that good sorry  :crybaby2:

Your English is good enough.

 

We haven't any definite plans in Toyohashi other than our arrival time, as our depature date gets closer I'll let you know what we are doing. It would be good to meet up with other forum members.

[westfalen]

Amended timetable for a couple of days to get in an afternoon at Obasute and a ride on the Ueda Dentetsu.

 

Friday 30/11/12

 

This morning we travel via Nagoya and the JR Chou Line to the switchback crossing loop at Obasute about 21 km south of Nagano where, according to the freight timetable, we should have time to film three or four fuel trains passing through.

 

0914 dep Toyohashi (JR Tokaido Shinkansen, Kodama #633)

0943 arr Nagoya

1000 dep Nagoya (JR Chou Line, Ltd Exp Wide View Shinano #7)

1204 arr Matsumoto

1210 dep Matsumoto (JR Shinonoi Line, local EMU)

1257 arr Obasute

Film fuel tanker trains.

1608 dep Obasute (JR Shinonoi Line, local EMU)

1641 arr nagano

 

Overnight

Toyoko Inn

Nagano-Eki

Zekoji-Guchi

 

Saturday 01/12/12

 

This morning we can ride the private Nagano Railway to which runs former Odakyu Railway romance car EMUs and old JR Narita Express sets to Yudanaka and back before we travel to Takasaki via the Hokuriku Shinkansen which is worked by E2 sets, along the way we can catch the Ueda Electric Railway which runs from Ueda to Bessho-Onsen. Takasaki is on the Joetsu Mainline from Tokyo to Niigata on the west coast so there should be plenty of train watching to do. There is also the private Joshin Railway which runs 33.7 km to Shimonita.

 

0908 dep Nagano (Nagano Electric Railway, Ltd Exp)

0953 arr Yudanaka

1011 dep Yuanaka (Nagano Electric Railway, Ltd Exp)

1056 arr Nagano

1109 dep Nagano (JR Hokuriku Shinkansen, Asama #522)

1121 arr Ueda

1158 dep Ueda (Ueda Electric Railway, local EMU)

1227 arr Bessho-Onsen

1304 dep Bessho-Onsen

1333 arr Ueda

1439 dep Ueda (JR Hokuriku Shinkansen, Asama #530)

1520 arr Takasaki

 

Overnight

Toyoko Inn

Takasaki-Eki

Nishi-Guchi No.1

[westfalen]

At the Toyoko Inn at Narita Airport.

 

Couldn't get on the Akabono on Dec 2nd but so we ended up with deluxe rooms on the Hokotosei through to Hakodate. Otherwise all going to plan so far.

[bikkuri bahn]

Safe travels and looking forward to your reports/impressions.

 

*I reckon you must be on the tokaido shinkansen as I post this, lucky you

[JR 500系]

Nice!  *Green with Envy*

 

It's so nice to be train travelling in Japan with a fellow rail fan! I mean, there will be so much excitement and so much photo-taking + discussions on top of each and every train ride! Everyone will also be hyped to take as much train as possible in a day! Very nice! 

 

I reckon you're at Toyohashi now? 

 

Do share some photos with us upon your return and enjoy the rest of the train rides! 

[cteno4]

Ohhhh a vicarious Westfalen trip! Keep us posted!!!

 

Enjoy!

 

Jeff

[westfalen]

Here are a few shots from the first couple of days. The third is my fellow Brisbane train driver Dave comparing Seiko pocket watches with the guard of Kodama 649. Last night at Toyohashi we saw what appeared to be a brand new N700 on a test run.

[westfalen]

We saw the train in the second last photo at Shinanoi, there were railfans waiting for it with cameras all the way from Obasute.

 

The Christmas lights are up at Nagano station.

[bikkuri bahn]

Last night at Toyohashi we saw what appeared to be a brand new N700 on a test run.

 

Yes, that would be the N700A, one of the three G series trainsets (G1~G3).

 

We saw the train in the second last photo at Shinanoi,

 

Here's that train leaving Nagano, ex JR 205 series bound for Fuji Kyuko Rlwy:

[westfalen]

Thanks, I had a feeling you might know what it was.

[Mr Frosty]

What is this? 

 

[westfalen]

Locomotive of shinkansen rail welding train that was stabled for the day in the spare platform at Toyohashi station. I was going to get shots the rest of it the next morning but it was gone. There was a similar loco at the other end, several rail carrying cars and a car with weldig equipment that welded the rails together as they were fed out to the track.

[westfalen]

Some of today's photos.

 

Nagano Railway and Ueda Electric Railway.

[westfalen]

Ueda Electric Railway, Takasaki and Shim-Maebashi where we caught C61 20 returning with the "SL Minakami".

[westfalen]

Takasaki

[JR 500系]

Oh wow!

 

Thanks for the pictures! I bet you're having a smashing good time taking all the trains! There are so many trains which i dont know! Amazing!

 

Nice! You caught the E4 coupling process! 

[Densha]

That former Narita Express is so low in height!

[westfalen]

That former Narita Express is so low in height!

I thought the same thing when I looked at the photo. One change the Nagaden has made is to remove all the toilets as I found out when I went looking for one.

 

No update tomorrow night as we will be on the Hokutosei heading for Hakodate. We are planning to go back as far as Kikonai on an Esashi Line local to get a rideon a kiha 40.