A sticker commemorating the "400th" anniversary

Since 26 December, two four-carriage units of Keikyu 600 series have got stickers under a windscreen. On the one hand, it commemorates the 50th anniversary of Kawasaki Ward of Kawasaki City. In 1972, seven wards were established as Kawasaki City became a government ordinance city. The government ordinance city is an important term when it comes to devolution, but this article does not focus on it.

On the other hand, it reads "TOKAIDO KAWASAKI SHUKU 400TH". It apparently shows the 400th anniversary of something, but what is Tokaido Kawasaki Shuku? The first word sounds like Tokaido Main Line, one of the most important railway in Japan, but do they have a connection with each other? The answer is yes. Those who have studied Japanese history must know it and might have already realised what does this sticker mean.

Tokaido was the most important route that dates back to the 8th century. The route has changed as the time passed, and the most well-known Tokaido is not so old. It was developed in 1601 as the most important road connecting Edo (now Tokyo) and Kyoto. As the route was designed to be heavily used by travellers and couriers, there were post station towns consisted of various facilities including inns and horse stables.

There were 53 stations between Nihombashi in Edo and Sanjo Ohashi in Kyoto, and thus they were called Tokaido Gojusan-tsugi (lit. 53 stations of the Tokaido). A series of ukiyo-e woodcut prints with the same name, created by Utagawa Hiroshige, is well known across the world.

The Kawasaki-shuku (also pronounced as Kawasaki-juku), established in 1623, was the second post station after Shinagawa-shuku. Initially, there was no post station between Shinagawa and Kanagawa, but the distance between these two stations was approximately 12.2 miles, so long for horses running at high speed that the Tokugawa Shogunate (de facto government) decided to establish another station in between. The photo above is the road exactly what was called Tokaido in the Edo period (1603-1868), and the signboard next to a traffic signal reads "Tokaido Kawasaki Shuku".

Tama River and Kawasaki-shuku

There is a small museum called Tokaido Kawasaki Shuku Koryukan. This model shows how was the area used to be in the 17th century. It was not so far from Edo (approximately 11 miles to Nihombashi), but not a few people had to spend days here when water levels of Tama River rose and thus no boat service was available.

The Kawasaki-shuku was mostly ruined by the end of the Edo period due to financial difficulties. It is said that one day in 1857, Townsend Harris (the first American Consul General to Japan) planned to stay here for the night but had to change his schedule because of poor facilities. The shuku finally came to an end when Kawasaki station of the first railway in Japan opened in 1872.

Kawasakidaishi - Higashimonzen, 5 Jan 2023

Coming back to the year 2022, Kawasaki City office decided to promote the anniversary so that the logo, created by an ordinary office worker, has been chosen for programmes and events that the City office plans to carry out.

According to Keikyu, the two trains will have the stickers until 28 January. They mainly run on Daishi Line, and their schedules are available here unless they are not in service or run other lines of the network.

The Red List of Trains in Japan (Jan-2023 update)

The Red List of Trains in Japan has been updated with eight new articles as listed below, many of which are in western Japan. In addition, "Current Status" of many articles have been modified as the new year began.

• JR East E655 series Nagomi
• Keifuku MoBo 21 series
• Keifuku MoBo 101 series
• Keifuku MoBo 301 series
• Keifuku MoBo 611 series
• Kyoto Subway 10 series
• Kyoto Subway 20 series
• MRT 300 series

Information about recent changes on "Current Status" can be found HERE !

New Year Greetings 2023

The year 2023 has began.

The last year was not full of happy memories due to fundamental changes of circumstances that affected almost everyone in this world. There might be some difficulties this year as well, but I wish all of you lots of luck and happiness and overcome those obstacles.

Whilst celebrating the dawn of the new year, I would like to notify readers of this blog and followers on Twitter a few things as follows.

About this blog

As I have been busier than before and the number of viewers is dwindling in recent months, I wondered if it was worth keeping this blog regularly updated. Finally, I have decided to update this blog once every TWO weeks from January 2023. I had posted an article every Saturday, but from today, a new article will generally be available on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. There might be more articles when necessary, for example, when an important announcement has been made by a railway company. I shall inform you via Twitter when a new article is available.

You can also visit my Japanese blog which is updated once every two weeks - the first, third (and fifth) Fridays of each month.

About social media

I have been using Twitter and it is the service I mostly rely on to communicate with other people. However, as concerns about a bleak future of Twitter grow, I have also been using Mastodon since last year. I would be appreciated if you follow my account. Feel free to ask me any question related to railways in Japan or other general topics.

Thank you for your understanding.

Looking back this year (2022)

Today is the New Year's Eve, the last day of this year. It might be the best day to look back this year with several train photos I took.

Unlike my Japanese blog, I do not post new photos to this blog or Twitter very often. Articles on this blog are not always "casual" (according to friends of mine) as I seldom use such expressions like "I think". Not a few people might have thought that I do not take photos very often, and focus on discussing about something on this blog instead. But in fact, I did enjoy trainspotting this year as listed below.

Janurary

Two four-carriage units of Keikyu 1500 series forming eight coaches. This so-called "4+4" coaches of the 1500 series has been phenomenally rare in the last 15 years. As withdrawal of the series continues, almost of all four-car units are expected to be withdrawn by March 2023.

February

Mizushima Rinkai Railway's KiHa 35 series. The KiHa 35 series is a type of diesel train developed by Japanese National Railways for commuter rails. This is the only operational one in the country, which runs only a handful of days every year. A major overhaul was carried out recently so that this train is likely to be in service for four years unless it breaks down.

March

Tobu 100 series SPACIA. It has served Limited Express services between Asakusa and Nikko or Kinugawa for more than 30 years, and it is still one of the most well-known trains in Tokyo. However, as a brand new train enters service in mid-July 2023, the incumbent SPACIA might not last long.

April

Kintetsu MoTo 51 series, a quasi-electric-locomotive that is used for empty coaching stock movement. A Keihanna Line's train was about to be despatched to another depot. I was on a trip to Nara at the time, and it was a completely unexpected encounter with this train.

May

415 series in Kyushu. This old rolling stock had been used in the southern island of Japan for nearly 50 years, but I suspected that all 415 series trains would retire when West-Kyushu Shinkansen high-speed rail opened. It was correct, and they were abruptly taken out of all services in September.

June

No train photo in June, as I was simply busy and the rainy season discouraged me to go outside.

July

E2 series bullet train. JR East repainted a unit ivory and green in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen lines. Schedules of this train had been avilable on the official website, but JR East stopped updating information so that it is a little bit hard to figure them out today.

August

Izukyu 3000 series. JR East gradually withdraws 209 series commuter trains but a few of them were resold to this small private railway in the west of Tokyo. The 209 series has been infamous for being prone to troubles because of cheap structures, but it seems not a matter of concern for Izukyu.

September

211 series in Shizuoka. JR Central has been replacing the 211 series and other 30-year-old suburban trains with brand new trains since this year, but the series, which was developed by Japanese National Railways, are still common in this area. The JNR trains might be dramatically decline in the latter-half of 2023.

October

E235 series on Yamanote Line painted black. In spite of the 150th anniversary of the railway history in Japan, companies held very few events commemorating the milestone. Instead of them, I visited several places by myself to see monuments in Tokyo and Yokohama, as I wrote on this blog before (see also HERE).

November

Keifuku (also known as Randen), one of two tram networks in Kyoto. This tram line is heavily used by tourists going to Arashiyama in the northwest of Kyoto city centre, and services are very crowded in November as many people visit there to enjoy autumn foliage. In that case, all services are formed of two coaches like this.

December

381 series, Limited Express Yakumo. The 381 series is now the very last train painted beige with red stripes, the traditional livery adopted by Japanese National Railways. As the 381 series is due to be replaced with brand new trains from 2024, many railway enthusiasts are expected to visit Okayama, Tottori or Shimane Prefectures to see it.

They were my favourite photos I took this year. Other photos might be uploaded to The Red List of Trains in Japan in due course.

Finally, I would like to thank everybody who read any article on this blog this year. I will keep updating it in 2023 too. Please check the next article I post tomorrow.

A shortcut to Keiyo Line platforms

E233 series on Keiyo Line

Keiyo Line is a commuter rail in Tokyo, owned and operated by JR East. It is 32 miles long and connects Tokyo and Soga in Chiba Prefecture. There are several important places near the line, including Tokyo Disney Resort and Makuhari Messe. Musashino Line trains also run Keiyo Line tracks to Tokyo station.

An extremely long corridor

Keiyo Line platforms at Tokyo station is notoriously far from other platforms, as if they are different stations. Walking 400 metres (approx. 440 yds) sounds a good exercise but it is surely a nightmare especially when having suitcases. There are lifts, escalators and moving pavements, but it is still a hard work. According to JR East, it takes up to 20 minutes when changing from a Keiyo Line train to other trains and vice versa.

Fortunately, there is a shortcut. Not at Tokyo, but an adjacent station, Yurakucho. Most people do not know that Yurakucho station and Keiyo Line platforms at Tokyo station are very close to each other. In 2016, Toyo Keizai published an English article referring to it. It reads "If your starting point is closer to Yurakucho than Tokyo, you should definitely get off at Yurakucho. Exit this station from the north end called Kyobashi-guchi, and walk across the street heading toward the Tokyo Kokusai (or International) Forum. In about four minutes, you’ll reach the entrance to the Keiyo Line of the JR Tokyo station" (emphasis added)

A "voucher"

This article duly summarised the point, but it lacks the most important fact. You do not have to tap out and tap in at these stations. If you show a ticket or Suica card and tell a station staff at Yurakucho station that you are going to Keiyo Line, the staff gives you a small voucher. If you hand the voucher to another staff at Tokyo station, you can enter without paying extra. To put it simply, both Yurakucho and Tokyo are effectively regarded as one single station. The same applies when going from Tokyo to Yurakucho station.

A Tokyo station entrance inside the International Forum

How long does it take? It is about a five-minute walk. If you go from Yurakucho station, leave the station from Kyobashi exit, cross the road and just go inside the International Forum. There are very few signs, but signboards of Hall C, B and A navigate you. Do not go to any of these halls, but simply go straight, and you will find a staircase. Then, you will find ticket barriers.

This de facto fare exemption is only applicable when you come from or go to a southbound train on Yamanote Line (e.g. Hamamatsucho and Shinagawa, or even beyond). If you are from or going to Tokyo station and beyond, you cannot choose this route and you have to simply change trains at Tokyo station.

It might not look easy, but worth trying it if you use Keiyo Line frequently.