International Railroad Discussion > A few from Tokyo

In April and May I traveled by train and ferry from my home in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to Japan, where I subsequently spent two weeks. While I am still in the process of sorting through the thousands of photographs that I took both on the way there and within the country, I thought I might share a couple of highlights from Tokyo.

1. An E7 series Shinkansen leaves Tokyo bound for Kanazawa passes the Kita Ward municipal building with the Tokyo Skytree visible in the background.

2. The Skytree, the world's second tallest structure, looms large. Being so disproportionately tall to the other buildings in the area, its true size cannot really be appreciated.

3. A Tokyo-bound train composed of an H5 (in green) and an E6 (red) approaches Kita. The H5 is enroute from Hakodate, having used the new Hokkaido Shinkansen line through the Seikan Tunnel, a service that was only just innagurated in March. The E6 began its run in Akita. The two sets were coupled together in Morioka, where the Akita Shinkansen meets the Tohoku Shinkansen line.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/16 16:56 by pennengineer.

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1. A 185 series operates a southbound Odoriko service past Shin-Koyasu station on the Tokaido Main Line.

2. An E233-3000 series train heads southbound on the Tokaido Main Line (unfortunately, I failed to identify this service).

3. A  205-1100 series Tsurumi Line service approaches Kokudo Station, the last stop before reaching the terminus at Tsurumi.

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1. An E231 series train near Shin-Okubo station on (I believe) the Takasaki Line.

2.  A southbound E5 series train at Oyama.

3. A view of Mt. Fuji from the window of a train on the Tokaido Shinkansen line.

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pennengineer Wrote:
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> 1. An E231 series train near Shin-Okubo station
> on (I believe) the Takasaki Line.
>
> 2.  A southbound E5 series train at Oyama.
>
> 3. A view of Mt. Fuji from the window of a train
> on the Tokaido Shinkansen line.

Excellent photos and a great report! 

The explanation of E231 at Shin-Okubo can get complicated, but I'll start with the popular nickname for the service, Shonan-Shinjuku Line. It runs on the Yamanote Freight Line between Tabata and Osaki. On the north end, the Shonan-Shinjuku Line can terminate at either the Takasaki Line or the Utsunomiya Line (a.k.a Tohoku Line). On the south/west end, it can mimic the many terminus of the Tokaido Line or actually end on the Yokosuka Line.

It's basically a "short cut" between Akabane and Kawasaki-Yokohama area, bypassing the busy Tokyo station but taking on even more people at Tokyo's (and Japan's) busiest station, Shinjuku. The line relieved a lot of congestion off of the Yamanote and Saikyo Lines on the western semi-circle of the Yamanote Line loop. I used the Shonan-Shinjuku Line quite frequently during my recent visits to Tokyo, specifically to catch freight trains at Omiya and Shin-Kawasaki (and nearby) on the same day. Standing room only is the name of the game on this line!

More on the E233 (Tokaido Line) on the next post.

pennengineer Wrote:
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> 2. An E233-3000 series train heads southbound on
> the Tokaido Main Line (unfortunately, I failed to
> identify this service).

Tokaido Line trains used to be easier to identify. Not anymore, due to the opening of the Ueno-Tokyo Line in March of 2015.

There used to be through tracks for the 1067mm Japanese "standard" gauge line between Tokyo and Ueno decades ago before the construction of the Tohoku Shinkansen extension from Ueno to Tokyo. Those lines were severed due to the Shinkansen line coming out from underground on the Ueno side to reach the above-ground platforms on the Tokyo Station side.

JR East embarked on a mega project in 2008 to revive the "standard" gauge line between Tokyo and Ueno due to the intolerable congestion on both the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku Lines from people transferring between Ueno and Tokyo. The new Ueno-Tokyo line rises above the Shinkansen Line and straddles above it for a short distance before descending on either side. Quite an engineering marvel, as this line was constructed while the trains were running full schedule underneath, and I'm aware of no known daytime cancellation of trains during the 7 year project. Most of the critical work was done at night, when the trains weren't running below. Japanese railfan publications from 2-4 years ago have some spectacular coverage (and photos) of the project.

Anyway, the E233 you saw could be a genuine Tokaido Line train originating in Tokyo, or could be a Takasaki or Tohoku (Utsunomiya) Line train. You would have seen a "Ueno Tokyo Line" on the display board, in the latter case.

FYI, Joban Line trains also use the Ueno-Tokyo Line, but the handful that make it past Ueno terminates in Shinagawa, so you wouldn't have seen it where you saw it, at least for now.

Great photos.  I'm off on my 13th trip to Japan in three weeks, you make me look forward to it even more.

The first photo almost looks like a model.  I spent a short time there in 2010, the Arakawa tram line passes under the underpass near the station and visible at the bottom of the tree covered area (Asukayama Park) is the car of the Asukayama Park monorail that provides free disabled access to the park.  I didn't have time to go up to the park while I was there but there is a Tokyo tram and a D51 Mikado on display there.

Especially love that last photo!

Cheers,
Jack