12 August, 2023

Shichirigahama, Kamakura

Enoden is a small private railway in the ancient capital of Kamakura, and the railway itself is recognised as a tourist spot. There are many places to visit, such as Hase-dera (temple), The Great Buddha and Enoshima. In these days, many Slam Dunk (a basketball manga) fans from other countries such as China and South Korea visit a level crossing near Kamakurakokomae station.


Trains run along a beach. Sadly, the Sagami Bay (also known as the sea of Shonan) has been infamous for being dirty mostly because of pollution. Even so, there are a few places where magnificent scenery is available. Shichirigahama Beach is one of them.


When it is sunny, you can see the sunset and the island of Enoshima. When it is clear and dry, you can even see Mt. Fuji as well.


As time passes, the colour of the sky changes dramatically. These photos were taken in less than an hour, but look very different. Which one is your favourite?


Shichirigahama station is approximately 16 minutes from Kamakura, seven minutes from Enoshima and 20 minutes from Fujisawa by an Enoden train. Trains run every 14 minutes except in the early morning and late at night. The beach is just 200 yds from the station.

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25 July, 2023

(Updated) About my social media accounts

Twitter has been changing with significant negative impact on users, and frequent technical troubles have been observed as well. Getting rid of the blue bird logo and replacing it with X does not necessarily mean that the service will terminate, but it is unlikely to be something useful without (or even with) charging. Hence, I would like to list up alternative social media accounts that I currently use once again.


Mastodon

networker_365@mastodonapp.uk is my English account, and I appreciate your following. Some other servers which do not regulate illegal or antisocial posts including mstdn.jp and pawoo.net have been blocked or restricted, meaning that users of those servers may not be able to follow or even find me.

I also post some train photos to KHKQ@fedibird.com. All posts are written in Japanese, but I recently started attaching English alternative text (ALT) to each photo. At the moment, I generally do not follow back any non-Japanese speakers from this account (except those I know well on Twitter or other platforms).


Bluesky

I recently created a Bluesky account. I will use it more and more in coming months as I stop frequently checking X (Twitter) timeline. (*Update: 16 September)


Threads

I also have a Threads account, but I do not use it daily. When Threads connects to fediverse, I will follow Threads accounts from Mastodon mentioned above.

Sadly, it is reported that the number of active Threads users plummeted after a honeymoon period. I believe that unless Meta provides a timeline only showing accounts that one follows in a chronological order, Threads will never be an alternative for Twitter.


X (Twitter)

Twitter is still an easy tool to communicate with a large number of active users, and it is also easy to attract a wide audience. That is why I still retain my Twitter account even though I use it far less than I did until last year.

I do not think that the platform will be closed anytime soon, but there is nothing certain about its future. Therefore, I would like to kindly ask considering alternative options and follow me on other platforms before it is too late. I appreciate your understanding.

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22 July, 2023

50 years on: a comparison (part 4)...Towards the Northeast

The article uploaded last month showed that Tokaido Shinkansen became faster and more frequent in the last 50 years. It is not hard to imagine how have trips between Tokyo and Nagoya, Osaka and Okayama become easier.

Then, how about travelling from Tokyo to Tohoku region and vice versa? Today, there is Tohoku Shinkansen, the fastest high-speed rail in Japan whose trains can run at a speed of 320 km/h (200 mph), but it was still under construction in 1973. Thus, train journeys relied on Tohoku Main Line and other relevant lines. This article looks into six prefectural capitals in the region, namely: Fukushima, Sendai, Morioka, Yamagata, Akita and Aomori. Note that all tables below show regular services only.

The trains in 1973 started from or terminated at Ueno station, which was about 10 minutes from Tokyo station. The official timetable recommended all passengers arriving at Tokyo and taking another train from Ueno to take a 30-minute time allowance.


Fukushima, Sendai and Morioka


Yamagata


Akita


Aomori


Personal Views

Not to mention the journey duration, it is intriguing that there were fewer services in 1973 despite railway was more heavily used than it is today. In other words, Shinkansen must have contributed to more demands. Even with extensive motorway networks and modern airports across the country that we see today, high-speed rails clearly play an important role.

However, night trains do not exist today because there are cheap bus services and even decent business hotels everywhere. As the time passed, night trains became an obsolete option and therefore they were mostly discontinued by the 2000s.


Types of Rolling Stock (2023 and 1973)

Finally, types of rolling stock for abovementioned services were as follows.

2023

1973

*There were also locomotives and coaching stock that I have never seen (as they were withdrawn before the privatisation of JNR).
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08 July, 2023

At a Construction Site of the New Maglev Station

On Friday 17 June, JR Central opened a "square" in front of Hashimoto station in Sagamihara City (Kanagawa Prefecture). Here, Hashimoto station of Chuo Shinkansen has been constructed since 2019, and the construction site can be seen from this mound. It is called Sagamihara Rinia Hiroba (lit. Sagamihara Maglev Square), but hereinafter referred to as the Mound.

The Chuo Shinkansen is the first maglev rail in Japan and is scheduled to open between Shinagawa (Tokyo) and Nagoya in 2027, though it is highly likely to be deferred for several years mainly due to fierce criticism from the Governor of Shizuoka Prefecture. Trains will run at a speed of up to 505 km/h (314 mph).


The Mound is less than a five-minute walk from Hashimoto station (JR and Keio lines), but it is not easy to find its entrance as there are only few small signboards. The Mound is open for public once or twice a week, presumably for local residents. It is not a well-maintained facility so that infants and physically-challenged people might feel it difficult to walk.


Since the most part of the line will be underground, construction workers have been digging the ground to build the new station. It is not possible to see platforms or tracks, but just shows how deep the station will be. Lorries with literally tonnes of excavated soil were slowly moving every minute.


There is a blueprint of the station in the middle of the site. Those who are well-versed in civil engineering might be interested in it.


The Mound is 1,500 sq metres (1,794 sq yards) big. It will be closed in the near future as the construction goes on. According to a staff I spoke to, no decision has been made yet about this land after the construction completes, but it is likely to be a bus terminal and a roundabout.

Sagamihara Rinia Hiroba opens on Fridays and certain Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm, and is free of charge with no appointment required. Those who plan to visit should check the official calendar in advance, which is available on JR Central website.

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Location: Hashimoto Station, Sagamihara City

24 June, 2023

50 years on: a comparison (part 3)...Bullet Train

Tokaido Shinkansen, the first high-speed rail in Japan opened in 1964. It was extended to Okayama in 1972 as San-yo Shinkansen opened, and further to Hakata in 1975. Thus, the 1973 timetable contains service patterns that lasted just three years. This article describes how bullet trains between Tokyo and Okayama have changed in the last 50 years. Timetables in this article show regular services at off-peak times (daytime) unless specifically noted.


Shinkansen train layouts

There was only one Shinkansen rolling stock in 1973: 0 series. The 0 series was still being mass-produced amid the surge in demand. Trains were formed of 12 or 16 coaches, but there was no dining car at that time. Instead, there were buffet cars. Three types of trainsets as shown below were in use.
"B" means a buffet, "G means Green Cars (first class, reservation mandatory), "N" means non-reserved standard-class, and "R" means reserved standard-class.

 Coach  Hikari  Kodama 
1 N  N 
2
3
4
5 R+B  N+B 
6 R  N 
7
8
9 G 
10
11 R+B
12 R  G 
13 R+B 
14 R 
15
16

Some Kodama services formed of twelve coaches did not have nos. 1-4 (i.e. the front coach was no. 5).


Today, Tokaido and San-yo Shinkansen services are mostly provided by N700A series or N700S series. There are also eight-car San-yo Shinkansen services, but this article only focuses on 16-car trains that run to and from Tokyo.

 Coach  Nozomi  Hikari  Kodama 
 1  N  N  N 
 2 
 3 
 4  R 
 5 
 6  R 
 7  R 
 8  G  G  G 
 9 
 10 
 11  R  R  R 
 12 
 13  N 
 14 
 15 
 16 

Today, there is no specific train unit exclusively for Nozomi, Hikari or Kodama, but all of them are allocated equally to all three types of services. As trains are faster (i.e. duration is shorter) than it used to in 1973, there is no buffet or dining car.


Shinkansen schedules (1973)

Nine years had already passed since Shinkansen opened, and service patterns in 1973 were not as simple as they were in 1964. There were five patterns as listed below. Alphabets are added for convenience.

   Calling at 
A Hikari 
 (Tokyo – Shin-Osaka or Okayama) 		 Nagoya, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka & Okayama 
B Hikari 
 (Tokyo - Okayama) 		 Nagoya, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka, Shin-Kobe, Himeji & Okayama 
C Hikari 
 (Tokyo - Okayama) 		 Nagoya, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka & all stations to Okayama 
D Hikari 
 (Tokyo – Shin-Osaka) 		 Nagoya, Maibara, Kyoto & Shin-Osaka 
 Kodama  All stations 

Hikari departed Tokyo station every hour on the hour as well as half past every hour, while Kodama left the station at x:20 and x:50 every hour. There were more services at peak times, including Kodama services running between Tokyo and Mishima. The fastest pattern was as follows, with four return journeys every day.

 Hikari 1
 Tokyo  6:15 
 Nagoya  8:16 
 Kyoto  9:08 
 Shin-Osaka  9:25 
 Okayama  10:25 

It took 4 hours and 10 minutes by the fastest Hikari. The slowest Hikari from Tokyo to Okayama (pattern C on the table further above) took 4 hours and 30 minutes. Kodama (calling at all stations) from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka took 4 hours and 10 minutes (Tokyo – Nagoya took 2 hours and 45 minutes). There was no Kodama running the entire line.


Shinkansen schedules (2023)

Today, there are three service patterns: Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama. Many Nozomi services do not start or terminate at Okayama but as far as Hiroshima or Hakata, and there are services towards Kyushu Shinkansen as well, but this article excludes anything beyond Okayama.

Four Nozomi trains (daily services) depart Tokyo station every hour, but there are more non-daily services in addition to them. Hikari and Kodama run every 30 minutes. Service patterns are as follows (regular services only). Mishima station is served by Hikari every two hours.

Calling at
a Nozomi 
 (Tokyo - Shin-Osaka or farther) 		 Shinagawa, Shin-Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka, Shin-Kobe, Okayama... 
b Nozomi 
 (Tokyo - Hiroshima) 		 Shinagawa, Shin-Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka, Shin-Kobe, Himeji, Okayama... 
x Hikari 
 (Tokyo - Okayama) 		 Shinagawa, Shin-Yokohama, (Mishima,) Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, Nagoya, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka & all stations to Okayama; 
y Hikari 
 (Tokyo - Shin-Osaka) 		 Shinagawa, Shin-Yokohama, Odawara, Nagoya, & all stations to Shin-Osaka 
 Kodama  All stations 

The fastest train between Tokyo and Okayama is as follows:

 Nozomi 1
 Tokyo  6:00 
 Shinagawa  6:07 
 Shin-Yokohama  6:18 
 Nagoya  7:34 
 Kyoto  8:08 
 Shin-Osaka  8:22 
 Shin-Kobe  8:36 
 Okayama  9:09 
 (arriving Hakata at 10:52) 

As the maximum speed on the line was raised from 210 km/h (131 mph) to 300 km/h (187 mph), the duration between Tokyo and Okayama is now 3 hours 9 minutes, an hour shorter than in 1973. However, Kodama from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka takes 3 hours and 54 minutes, merely 16 minutes shorter than in that 1973. This is because Kodama trains have to wait at almost all stations to be surpassed by faster services.


Shinkansen is the symbol of Japanese railways, and literally everything has dramatically evolved in the past 50 years including speed and frequency. Tokaido and San-yo Shinkansen provide the most frequent services among all high-speed railways in the world, even though they are no longer the fastest.

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