International Railroad Discussion > Pedro in Japan - part 1

I did a trip to Japan from November 20 to December 4. It was a family trip, but I managed it to use trains as much as possible to move in cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoia and Hiroshima. 
My trip started flying from Belo Horizonte CNF airport to São Paulo GRU airport by Azul,  a one hour flight. Than, a flight from GRU to  Washington IAD by United Airlines, a nine hours flight. The last flight from IAD to Tokyo HND was the most difficult, about forteen hours of flight by ANA. The two international flights were done on Boing 787. ANA was far ahead the best airline company in this trip. The 787 were very clean, the staff were very kind and the food served much better than United and Azul Airlines. 
I start showing a bit of the fantastic Tram system of Hiroshima. Since last August, the trams can enter in Hiroshima station, so it is easy to move from the Shinkansen to the trams.

1) A tram arriving in Hiroshima station ;

2 - 3 ) A beautiful tram running on the main street of Hiroshima.
 

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/25 16:47 by pedrop.

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4 - 5) A beautifl tram crosses the Aioi bridge, also know as T-bridge, near the Atomic bomb dome. This is the bridge that was targed to the atomic bomb in 1945;

6) A cab view.

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

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7 - 9) Trams moving at Hiroshima station;

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

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10) The tram terminal inside Hiroshima station;

11) Shinkansen in Hiroshima;

12) To the Shinkansen tracks.

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

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13) More work to add new tracks in Hiroshima station;

•  

14)  inside a tram;

15) Hirosima station.

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

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16 - 18) Old trams.

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

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19) A beautiful tram on the streets of Hiroshima;

20) One of the trams destroyed by the atomic bomb in a picture at the Hiroshima Peace Museum;

21) A video of my ride in tram from Hiroshima station to Honkawa-cho stop. The full version is in my youtbe channel.
That's all for today.

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

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I loved your street video.  Reminds me of back in the day in the US when we had streetcars and automobiles living together :-)

Thanks for Watching, you post.  I say thanks for posting, Pedro.

Pedro, great report from Hiroshima!

I've been quietly enjoying your reports from Brazil. But this one, I'll comment - after visiting Hiroshima for the first time 25 years ago, I've made multiple visits since, including earlier this year. I've watched the HUGE redevelopment at Hiroshima Station, which is barely recognizable from even a decade ago. Back then, Shinkansen passengers first had to descend to the non-HSR platforms, then exit from there and make the long walk to the Hiroden (streetcar) boarding area.

As you reported, now they make a more direct connection, thanks to the streetcars ascending to the 2nd floor, going right into the Hiroshima Station complex. I hinted in a past report about a "bigger" redevelopment project and this is one of them!

Your photo #13 might be the next redevelopment project (real estate related) at Hiroshima Station south exit. That area is where the old Hiroden boarding area used to be, and looks like the tracks have been removed already? I'll try to see firsthand what that area will become when I visit Hiroshima next time.

Regarding photo #20, I can't quite identify what type that streetcar was, but it looks short enough to be a single truck tram. Similar tram, #156 survived the blast, and is still operable today, although Hiroden only runs it for special events, no passengers allowed. Some Class 650 streetcars, the "A-bomb survivors" still exist, and I've documented #652 in revenue service - future report.

Enjoyed the photos and the videos!

Great stuff.   Its very nice to see a clean city!

Those are great photos, especially of the new terminal area.  I thought these items were of interest:
 -  the rigid overhead in the station platform area
 -  the transition area from catenary to the rigid.  It almost looks like some of the entry sections are switchable between tracks, but it's probably just for isolation purposes.
 -  the arrival / debarking platform
 -  the short platform C.  I wonder what it is used for;  it does have a display.

I was surprised in the video that [ some ] incoming cars had to wait at the throat for a departing car to exit.  Perhaps the timings for the new station are still being developed -- or it was decided for safety purposes a full stop before entering was a good idea ?

Again, enjoyable photos -- looking forward to more.

SZ
 

Thanks for your comments on my post. Searching on Google I discovered that the Hiroshima station will be a big complex of trains and stores. In fact,I could perceive this reality while walking around the station. Nice stores like Big Camera and a shopping center attract many tourists and residents to the area. This link to a video tell us more on the project Hiroshima Station:
Transformed: A Bustling New Gateway to the City - Japan Railway Journal | NHK WORLD-JAPAN https://share.google/0zwCN1UqmULlyvC2u

The tracks still on the streets below the new viaduct, but I imagine they will be removed or relocated a bit to allow the planned circular route around the city explanned in the video above.
Hiroshima is really a nice city and I intend to return there. I had plans to visit Nagazaki also, but I changed it after discover that Hiroshima has a lot to see and I needed more time to explore a bit of it. In my next trip to Japan I intend to visit Nagazaki and its nice trams system also.

Steinzeit2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Those are great photos, especially of the new
> terminal area.  I thought these items were of
> interest:
>  -  the rigid overhead in the station platform
> area
>  -  the transition area from catenary to the
> rigid.  It almost looks like some of the entry
> sections are switchable between tracks, but it's
> probably just for isolation purposes.
>  -  the arrival / debarking platform
>  -  the short platform C.  I wonder what it is
> used for;  it does have a display.
>
> I was surprised in the video that [ some ]
> incoming cars had to wait at the throat for a
> departing car to exit.  Perhaps the timings for
> the new station are still being developed -- or it
> was decided for safety purposes a full stop before
> entering was a good idea ?
>
> Again, enjoyable photos -- looking forward to
> more.
>
> SZ
>  

Posted from Android

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/25 19:24 by pedrop.

Steinzeit2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was surprised in the video that [ some ]
> incoming cars had to wait at the throat for a
> departing car to exit.  Perhaps the timings for
> the new station are still being developed -- or it
> was decided for safety purposes a full stop before
> entering was a good idea ?

I can speculate based on past practice of the old boarding area.

The short track is boarding area C, for trams destined for Eba (Line 6). Hiroden assigns single car and Class 1000 (Green Mover LEX) which is the shortest of the new "low floor" trams to Line 6.

From west to east, boarding areas are lettered D, C, B, and A. D, B, and A can host the longer and articulated/coupled trams, old and new. D is for trams destined for Port of Hiroshima via Kamiya-cho (Line 1), B is for Miyajima-guchi (Line 2), and A for Port of Hiroshima via Hijiyama-shita (Line 5). Line 5 travels a shorter route to Port of Hiroshima, but Line 1 detours via the popular commerce area at Kamiya-cho.

Passengers just detraining from the Shinkansen will see boarding areas A --> D, from left to right as they face south.

In the past, trams made a stop to confirm the signal (and the switches) are correct for the destination/boarding area, so I speculate it's more about safety than timing.

Hi, the old tracks are in most part of the old route. I am wondering if they will be used in the circular route planned to be built until 2029.
Here it is a video of the area I did while walking there.

22) The construction site in front of the station;

23) Work on the other side of the station.
cchan006 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pedro, great report from Hiroshima!
>
> I've been quietly enjoying your reports from
> Brazil. But this one, I'll comment - after
> visiting Hiroshima for the first time 25 years
> ago, I've made multiple visits since, including
> earlier this year. I've watched the HUGE
> redevelopment at Hiroshima Station, which is
> barely recognizable from even a decade ago. Back
> then, Shinkansen passengers first had to descend
> to the non-HSR platforms, then exit from there and
> make the long walk to the Hiroden (streetcar)
> boarding area.
>
> As you reported, now they make a more direct
> connection, thanks to the streetcars ascending to
> the 2nd floor, going right into the Hiroshima
> Station complex. I hinted in a past report about a
> "bigger" redevelopment project and this is one of
> them!
>
> Your photo #13 might be the next redevelopment
> project (real estate related) at Hiroshima Station
> south exit. That area is where the old Hiroden
> boarding area used to be, and looks like the
> tracks have been removed already? I'll try to see
> firsthand what that area will become when I visit
> Hiroshima next time.
>
> Regarding photo #20, I can't quite identify what
> type that streetcar was, but it looks short enough
> to be a single truck tram. Similar tram, #156
> survived the blast, and is still operable today,
> although Hiroden only runs it for special events,
> no passengers allowed. Some Class 650 streetcars,
> the "A-bomb survivors" still exist, and I've
> documented #652 in revenue service - future
> report.
>
> Enjoyed the photos and the videos!

Posted from Android

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/25 14:50 by pedrop.

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Seeing the construction, I am curious if Hiroshima still has some hot spots, or did they haul off all of the radioactive debris years ago.

ts1457 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Seeing the construction, I am curious if Hiroshima
> still has some hot spots, or did they haul off all
> of the radioactive debris years ago.

The radioactive fallout was taken care of decades ago. Much of that work was done during the American occupation after the war. 
 

pedrop Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi, the old tracks are in most part of the old
> route. I am wondering if they will be used in the
> circular route planned to be built until 2029.
> Here it is a video of the area I did while walking
> there.
>
> 22) The construction site in front of the
> station;
>
> 23) Work on the other side of the station.

I'm looking at the "official" project page from Hiroden (Hiroshima Electric Railway):

The proposed "new" loop line will use the existing tracks up to Matoba-cho, where the old approach tracks to Hiroshima Station will be removed. That includes the remaining tracks visible in your video in the distance, which will be removed along with the Enkou-bashi-cho stop.

The thumbnail still of your video has the store front for "Big Camera." When Japan's consumer electronics economy shrank, camera stores (including competitor, "Yodobashi Camera") took over the retail sale of those items, and other stores lost much of their presence or went out of business. This might be of interest to people who haven't visited Japan in a generation or two, if they want to buy consumer electronic items besides cameras and camcorders. Household appliances (refrigerators, ovens, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, TVs, audiophile stuff) are also sold at these "camera" stores.
 

Yes, I visited both Big Camera and Yodobashi, specially the Hobby section. I think Yodobashi is much better. I found a big amount of stuff of model railroad in N scale, 100% covering Japanese models. I also like airplanes and I found a nice Douglas DC-3 in 1/100 scale. I think the prices of electronics are more expensive than in US. 

cchan0066
>
> I'm looking at the "official" project page from
> Hiroden (Hiroshima Electric Railway):
>
> The proposed "new" loop line will use the existing
> tracks up to Matoba-cho, where the old approach
> tracks to Hiroshima Station will be removed. That
> includes the remaining tracks visible in your
> video in the distance, which will be removed along
> with the Enkou-bashi-cho stop.
>
> The thumbnail still of your video has the store
> front for "Big Camera." When Japan's consumer
> electronics economy shrank, camera stores
> (including competitor, "Yodobashi Camera") took
> over the retail sale of those items, and other
> stores lost much of their presence or went out of
> business. This might be of interest to people who
> haven't visited Japan in a generation or two, if
> they want to buy consumer electronic items besides
> cameras and camcorders. Household appliances
> (refrigerators, ovens, air conditioners, vacuum
> cleaners, TVs, audiophile stuff) are also sold at
> these "camera" stores.
>  

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

Looks like you had a great trip Pedro with many interesting pictures!

Larry

Hi Larry
Yes, it was a nice trip. I will post the second part of this series soon.




Ritzville Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Looks like you had a great trip Pedro with many
> interesting pictures!
>
> Larry

Posted from Android

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1