International Railroad Discussion > Random Japan, from Hokkaido to Kyushu

Here are some random video clips from the JR Rail Pass marathon trip last May. My brother and I covered all main islands of Japan in one week, Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku.

First clip is at Fukushima, about 170 railroad miles north of Tokyo. Tohoku Shinkansen Komachi (E6) and Hayabusa (E5) blast by the station at ~320 km/h then I pan my camera to the noses of E3 and E2 sets coupled together. They uncouple and the E3 set departs toward Shinjo on the Yamagata Shinkansen Line.

Second clip is at Hiratsuka, on the Tokaido Line. I was waiting for JR Freight's Toyota Long Pass Express when the 251 series EMU showed up. I wasn't going to record video until I spotted the 215 series EMU in the distance coming my way. 251 Series is used on the Limited Express Super View Odoriko, while the 215 series is often used on the View Yamanashi train, which I've ridden last year.

I'm about to enter the 33.5 mile long Seikan Tunnel onboard the Limited Express Super Hakucho in the third clip. Leaving Honshu, going to Hokkaido. If you look carefully, the 1435 mm gauge track for the Hokkaido Shinkansen is already laid.

Once in Hokkaido, I catch a JR Freight EH500 "Kintaro" locomotive switching near Hakodate, fourth clip. EH500 is shoving a car full of 12' containers, building a southbound freight train.

Fifth clip is in Kyushu, specifically, Shin-Tosu station. This is several days after Hokkaido, where we had already travelled to Toyama, Kanazawa, Fukui, Osaka, Okayama, and Sakai-Minato. Kyushu Shinkansen "Tsubame" shows up with the 800 Series, which I hopped on on our way to Kumamoto. Note the alarms sounding off when the safety door opens.

Sixth clip is at Kagoshima-Chuo station in southern Kyushu. We're about to board the first eastbound local in the morning to visit Miyazaki (stopped on the left in the clip), and I spot a DE10 diesel locomotive in a unique paint scheme. Back in 2010, Japan's public television station NHK sponsored a train called "BS Digital" to publicize their new satellite-based digital TV channels. Several DE10s assigned to this train were painted dark, and this is one of the very few still in that paint scheme after the promotion was over. Some claim "BS Digital" inspired the Seven Stars.

I'm onboard the Sunrise Express sleeper train in the seventh clip, after visiting the island of Shikoku the night before. I'm racing an eastbound Tokaido Line E233 EMU past Odawara here.

Eighth clip is at Tokyo station, where I had just de-trained the sleeper limited express Sunrise at 7:08 am. The Sunrise Express is departing Tokyo here, deadheading to the yard near Shinagawa. 14 cars make up the train, 2 sets of 7 cars coupled together, Sunrise Izumo and Sunrise Seto. Unfortunately, trains run on time in Japan, so I missed the 7:04 am Shinkansen Toki to Niigata by 4+ minutes (not including the transfer time, which for me is about 2 minutes) which would have allowed me to ride a steam excursion.

The end of the marathon trip ended my brother's visit to Japan, as he boarded the Narita Express to the airport later, but I had 2 more days left on my JR Rail Pass, so I still had some foaming left. Since I couldn't ride it, I decided to chase the steam excursion, which I'll report on later.

- DE10 diesel locomotive in "BS Digital" paint scheme, at Kagoshima-Chuo.
- Video as described above.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/15 08:16 by cchan006.

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This is a great video,well put together. It looks like they take good care of the trains. Thats a cool coupler system. Thanks for sharing.  Ed B.

The Sunrise express is a very interesting train. Thanks for all your postings.

Nice pictures! Video was very interesting!!!!

King_Coal Wrote:
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> The Sunrise express is a very interesting train.
> Thanks for all your postings.

You're welcome. Here's an English wikipedia on the 285 Series EMU, the type used on the Sunrise Express:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/285_series

I've also ridden its predecessor sleeper EMU, the 583 series more than a decade ago. They are no longer used in regular service (due to aging), but are reserved for seasonal specials.

Nice to see the wide variety - thanks for posting!