International Railroad Discussion > Straight from the Airport (Tokyo, Japan)

On my recent trip to Japan, my flight landed at Tokyo Haneda Airport 45 minutes early. I already cleared customs by 4:15 am.

Most passengers on my flight lounged around the terminal, taking a nap, buying drinks from vending machines, and waited for shops to open. Lucky few had friends and relatives pick them up. Highway buses, Tokyo Monorail, and Keikyu trains don't start running until the 5 am hour.

I had 2 1/2 hours of free time until the JR ticket office opened, where I planned to pick up my Tokyo Wide Area Pass. So I went railfanning right away. How? Railfan by Taxi.

Taxis in Japan operate all day and all night. From 10 pm to 5 am, there's a 20% surcharge, but with a favorable exchange rate, I was willing to pay ~$30 (4400 yen) to JR East's Nanbu Branch Line OdaSakae Station, about 10 km (6.2 miles) from the Haneda Airport.

Back in 2021, during the middle of the pandemic, I visited Japan, but was not allowed to use public transportation during my quarantine period of 14 days - no taxis either. I was issued a Smartphone by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to track/prevent potential cluster infections, so I had to oblige. However, I was allowed to rent a car (one way) to reach my destination, so that's what I did. Before I dropped off the rental, I squeezed in a little railfanning and discovered OdaSakae Station. That explains the 1st clip, M250 "Super Rail Cargo" Freight EMU heading outbound to Ajikawaguchi (Osaka) in the 11 pm hour about 3 years ago.

During my recent trip (2024), I nabbed the inbound M250 (to Tokyo Freight Terminal) just past sunrise after the taxi dropped me off, 2nd clip. The first southbound Nanbu Branch Line passenger train of the day shows up next, modified Class 205 EMU, 3rd clip. My visit at OdaSakae concludes with the inbound "unit" train Fukuyama Express, 4th clip.

I hopped on the next northbound Nanbu Branch Line train (same EMU set in the 3rd clip after turning around) and planned a quick joyride on the Keikyu Line system to return to Haneda Airport to pick up my rail pass...

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Here's Hiroshi-san's report from 2014:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?6,3463534

There's only one set of Keikyu’s Yellow Happy train, and I nabbed it on my way back to Haneda Airport. Here's how it happened:

I visited Hatcho-Nawate Station in 2015, by taxi, to specifically nab the M250:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?6,3756456

I knew from that visit that Hatcho-Nawate is served by 2 separate railroad organizations, JR East's Nanbu Branch Line, and Keikyu Railway's Main Line between Shinagawa (Tokyo) and Misakiguchi (near Yokosuka). So I planned a joyride from OdaSakae --> Hatcho-Nawate --> Keikyu Kamata --> Haneda Airport. As I was waiting at the lower level (Keikyu Railway platform) a yellow EMU sped past, not stopping. I got a glimpse of the destination board - Limited Express to Haneda Airport.

I quickly looked at the route map, waited for the next local, hopped on, and went on a Yellow Happy Chase. I figured I didn't have much margin, so after I transferred to a Haneda-bound train at Keikyu Kamata, I detrained at the next stop, Kojiya, hoping to intercept the Yellow Happy Train on its trip out of Haneda Airport.

That's it for the Yellow Happy Ending.
 

Very nice looking trains they have in Japan.

Looks like one of the intermodal trains.
Had the cab mounted on an intermodal cars?

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival

GP25 Wrote:
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> Looks like one of the intermodal trains.
> Had the cab mounted on an intermodal cars?

Nickname, "Super Rail Cargo," also known as M250 freight EMU:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M250_series

I've collected enough video clips to post a more comprehensive report on the M250. Hopefully more people become interested before I do that.

Those trains are really fascinating to see.

I hope to see more videos. Japan really has a lot of interesting trains.
I wish we have similiar trains here

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival