International Railroad Discussion > Sunrise and Okayama (Japan)

Bakersfielddave mentioned the sleeper EMU Limited Express Sunrise in his 2013 trip report to Japan:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?6,3259854

That sleeper train is often my "weapon of choice" when I need to visit western and southern Japan with a limited time. The westbound Sunrise departs Tokyo at 10:00 pm, and arrives in Okayama at 6:27 am the next morning, covering 733 km (456 miles) while I get rest. This allows me to do a full day's activity around Tokyo, and still get to Fukuoka, Kyushu (a.k.a. Hakata) via Shinkansen in time for a mid-morning breakfast to start the next day. The Sunrise sleeper provides a much needed assist to travel 1175 km (730 miles) from Tokyo to Hakata between midnight and 6 am when the Shinkansens don't run.

I often use the eastbound Sunrise, too, if I need to return to Tokyo in a hurry. It departs Okayama at 10:33 pm and arrives in Tokyo at 7:08 am next morning. Unfortunately, I had to cut my March 2014 "Hachiroku" steam trip in Kyushu short, because the Sunrise was sold out.

Limited Express Sunrise is actually two 8 car sets coupled together between Tokyo and Okayama, named Sunrise Izumo and Sunrise Seto. The Izumo travels to Izumo-shi to the northwest, which is on the Japan Sea side. The Seto travels across Seto Inland Sea via Seto-Ohashi (bridge) to Takamatsu, which is on the island of Shikoku, the smallest of the four main islands that make up Japan.

In the first clip, you see the Sunrise Izumo uncouple and depart Okayama first.

In the second clip, Sunrise Seto departs, and DMU Rapid "Kotobuki" departs for Tsuyama. I suspect the engineer of the DMU saw me and waited a few seconds to depart, so I can get a clean shot of the Sunrise Seto. I deduce that from the delay between the end of the departure bell and the DMU actually departing. Both are scheduled to depart at 6:34 am (sharp). For the Japanese DMU foamers out there, the train is made up of Kiha 47 and 40.

- Eastbound Sunrise Seto at Okayama, waiting for Sunrise Izumo with the nose door open.
- Capsule hotel-sized B sleeper room I used on March 18-19.
- Video of a few trains at Okayama (more on next post)

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Okayama is the rail gateway to Shikoku, where passengers can ride across Seto Ohashi (bridge), a series of bridges that carry both automobile and rail.

In the third clip, southbound Limited Express Shiokaze #9 departs west out of Okayama, using the unique "Anpanman" train set. Anpanman is a Japanese cartoon series, where characters are based on different types of bread. Not well-known outside Japan, but very popular with kids in Japan.

- "Rear" of the train, the east end.
- Anpanman is the bald, round-faced character wearing red with black cape.
- "Front" of the train, west end, which will eventually lead south across Seto Ohashi.

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Okayama can hold its own as a tourist destination. Japan's famous Korakuen (garden) is in Okayama, and the city has a nice little streetcar system. Folklore hero Momotaro (Peach Boy) has his origins in the Okayama area, and in fact, there's a freight electric locomotive using Momotaro as the nickname. Unfortunately, it has been many years since I've visited Okayama just to foam or tour. I've used Okayama in recent years instead as a stepping stone to another destination, to Shikoku, or to transfer to/from the Sleeper Limited Express Sunrise.

- Trains at Okayama. I took the yellow Ako Line train to intercept Shinkansen 500 near Bizen-Katakami.
- Marine Liner Rapid, the west end. First car is a first class "Green Car" with large windows for enjoying scenery.
- Marine Liner Rapid I took back in January 2002, a "Momotaro" train set.

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Okayama happens to be the sister city to San Jose, CA, the largest city in the Silicon Valley, near where I live currently. However, what's important for Japanese railfans is that industrial designer Eiji Mitooka is an Okayama native:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiji_Mitooka

There will be many references to Eiji Mitooka in my future reports on Japan, especially in regards to JR Kyushu and its trains. For example, Eiji Mitooka designed both the exterior and interior of the Super Luxurious "Cruise Train" Seven Stars.

- Joyriding across the Seto Ohashi in the Momotaro Marine Liner back in 2002.
- Sunset across Seto Inland Sea.

That's all for now.

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