My Japanese Trip Aug/Sept 2010

[westfalen]

We made our way from Abashiri to Kushiro today. Along the way at Shiretoko-Shari I spotted one of the prototypes for Micro-Ace's snow plow.

When we arrived at Kushiro the rest of the group did a return trip back to Toro on the Norokko sightseeing train. I jumped into a taxi and headed out into the suburbs to hunt down the Taiheiyo Sekitan Hanbai Yuso, a private coal hauling railway. I'll post the rest of the photos I took there along with some video in the private freight railways thread.

[westfalen]

Kushiro.

[bikkuri bahn]

I see tomorrow you'll take the Hanasaki Line to Nemuro, possibly one of the loneliest stretches of track in Japan (I lived in Nemuro for two years).  If you visit the museum at Cape Nossapu and happen to see a young woman that works there (her name is Tamae)- she's an old student of mine, please tell her that Palmer sensei says hello!
By the way, Higashi Nemuro Station (really just a halt) is the easternmost railway station in Japan. You'll pass/stop there as the line curves inward on its approach to the city.

[westfalen]

I see tomorrow you'll take the Hanasaki Line to Nemuro, possibly one of the loneliest stretches of track in Japan (I lived in Nemuro for two years).  If you visit the museum at Cape Nossapu and happen to see a young woman that works there (her name is Tamae)- she's an old student of mine, please tell her that Palmer sensei says hello!
By the way, Higashi Nemuro Station (really just a halt) is the easternmost railway station in Japan. You'll pass/stop there as the line curves inward on its approach to the city.

I'll keep a look out for both.

[westfalen]

We went out to Nemuro and then a bus to the easternmost point of Japan at Cape Nossapu today, it is, as bikkuri bahn says, one of the loneliest outposts of JR. A world away from the Yamanote Line or the Shinkansen. I didn't see Tamae at the Cape but I did get a shot of the sign at Higashi Nemuro that I think I missed when a friend and I rode the line in 1997.

[westfalen]

Nemuro Part 2.

The real easternmost point of Japan according to my GPS is over at the lighthouse rather than at the monuments were the bus loads of Japanese tourists were dutifully lining up to take their photos.

[westfalen]

Went for a walk in Kushiro this evening and found a little hobby shop just around the corner from the hotel in the main street near the station were I picked up a Micro-Ace A0651 0-6-6-0. Cost 120,000 yen list price but lucky to find one at any price and still cheaper than my first one cost at home with a discount.

[miyakoji]

I love those Hokkaido station names.  Does it have something to do with the Ainu language?  It seems like half the names there include "betsu".  Or is it because it's separate from Honshu?

[Bernard]

Westfalen - What are the 2 photos of the monuments suppose to represent? You had a beautiful day to take photos!

[westfalen]

Westfalen - What are the 2 photos of the monuments suppose to represent? You had a beautiful day to take photos!

Some more shots of Cape Nossapu. As far as I can tell the monuments at Cape Nossapu are mostly to do with Japan's claims over the Kuril Islands, the light house visible in the second shot out to sea is actually Russian territory just over 3km away.

Miyakoji, my take on 'betsu' is also that it is part of the Ainu language much the same as a lot of place names in Western Australia back home end in 'up' which is common in the local aborigonal language.

[bikkuri bahn]

Miyakoji, my take on 'betsu' is also that it is part of the Ainu language much the same as a lot of place names in Western Australia back home end in 'up' which is common in the local aborigonal language.

Yes, that's correct.  In Ainu, the word "betsu" means river. In fact most place names in Ainu have something to do with rivers or bodies of water, which reflects I suppose the Ainu lifestyle based on hunting/fishing before the "wajin" (Japanese) arrived with their rice-based agriculture.

[bikkuri bahn]

Went for a walk in Kushiro this evening and found a little hobby shop just around the corner from the hotel in the main street near the station were I picked up a Micro-Ace A0651 0-6-6-0. Cost 120,000 yen list price but lucky to find one at any price and still cheaper than my first one cost at home with a discount.

I've been to that hobby shop.  Friendly staff, and interestingly, one of the few shops on that street that was open in the evening hours (the main drag in Kushiro has been in decline for at least 10 years, and gives off the atmosphere of a ghost town).  About that model- I thought my HO plastic Tenshodo C58 at 43,000 yen was expensive, didn't know N scale plastic could fetch 6 figure prices(!).  Nice find though, and certainly will make a nice memento of your trip to eastern Hokkaido.

[westfalen]

Went for a walk in Kushiro this evening and found a little hobby shop just around the corner from the hotel in the main street near the station were I picked up a Micro-Ace A0651 0-6-6-0. Cost 120,000 yen list price but lucky to find one at any price and still cheaper than my first one cost at home with a discount.

I've been to that hobby shop.  Friendly staff, and interestingly, one of the few shops on that street that was open in the evening hours (the main drag in Kushiro has been in decline for at least 10 years, and gives off the atmosphere of a ghost town).  About that model- I thought my HO plastic Tenshodo C58 at 43,000 yen was expensive, didn't know N scale plastic could fetch 6 figure prices(!).  Nice find though, and certainly will make a nice memento of your trip to eastern Hokkaido.

One too many zeros, I meant to say 12,000 yen, around $150 Australian. I paid $160 for one at home on discount about 5 years ago, the normal price I recall being around $200. The shop owner took it out of the box and beckoned me to follow him upstairs where we gave it a test run on a layout up there. It always pays to go into every hobby shop you see because you never know what you'll find. I'll be turning it into an American logging engine like the first one but might name it "Kushiro" to commemorate where I bought it.

[westfalen]

We spent the afternoon in Sapporo after travelling from Kushiro this morning. After a trip up the TV tower three of us went for a tram ride. Our hotel is at Shin-Sapporo right above the station. Can't post anymore pics, says my upload folder is full.

[bikkuri bahn]

Our hotel is at Shin-Sapporo right above the station.

You're above probably the most interesting (in terms of variety) main line in Hokkaido (Chitose Line).  EMU's, DMU ltd. expresses, sleeper trains, and of course all the freight trains that run between Sapporo and Honshu.  Hope you had some time to catch some of that action.

[gmat]

Westfalen,
What time will you be departing from Shinjuku on the Odakyu line to go to Hakone next Thursday? I'm assuming that will be your plan? If it's OK, I'll make an effort to see you for a few minutes when your group boards the train. Not if it will inconvenience you. Unless it's dark outside, perhaps I'll go ahead and shoot your train as it passes.

Grant

[cteno4]

We spent the afternoon in Sapporo after travelling from Kushiro this morning. After a trip up the TV tower three of us went for a tram ride. Our hotel is at Shin-Sapporo right above the station. Can't post anymore pics, says my upload folder is full.

Time to start a Part II thread now as this one seems full and the page takes a while to load all the thumbnails!

keep us fed!!!! we are now addicts and you the pusher!

thanks again for doing this, its been a real treat to follow your trip like this! better than a web cam!

cheers

jeff

[westfalen]

We spent the afternoon in Sapporo after travelling from Kushiro this morning. After a trip up the TV tower three of us went for a tram ride. Our hotel is at Shin-Sapporo right above the station. Can't post anymore pics, says my upload folder is full.

Time to start a Part II thread now as this one seems full and the page takes a while to load all the thumbnails!

keep us fed!!!! we are now addicts and you the pusher!

thanks again for doing this, its been a real treat to follow your trip like this! better than a web cam!

cheers

jeff

I'll start a part two, it has grown a bit out of control.
I'll have to start a part three when I get home and start editing some of my viseo.

[westfalen]

Westfalen,
What time will you be departing from Shinjuku on the Odakyu line to go to Hakone next Thursday? I'm assuming that will be your plan? If it's OK, I'll make an effort to see you for a few minutes when your group boards the train. Not if it will inconvenience you. Unless it's dark outside, perhaps I'll go ahead and shoot your train as it passes.

Grant

Our plans are to depart Shinjuku on Ltd Exp Hakone #9 at 0853. We are staying at Osaki and will be treaveling up to Shinjuku on the Yamanote Line about 0815.

[gmat]

It's really for kids, but would you like one of the DVDs that came with the recent MacDonalds Happy Set along with one of the PlaRail trains? I have extras of the DVDs and some trains. I got them to see what they are like and really to give them away. I also recorded some of the NHK late night Music and Video broadcasts. One is the SL Memories and the other is Local Trains. They come on at 3:00 AM and I have no warning when they will appear. If you are lucky, they will broadcast one hour's worth in the morning, and they will have two 30 minute segments in each hour. You can buy the SL DVDs for about 5000 yen apiece and are 30 minutes long. I've seen them at the gift shop at the NHK studios in Shibuya. I assume that the Local Trains may have also been on sale at one time, but didn't see them. They broadcast them about once a month so it's a matter of time until I get all of them. The MD DVD is region 2.
Best wishes,
Grant

[bikkuri bahn]

Selected Kellogg's Frosted Flakes on sale now have a DVD about the Cassiopeia sleeper train (19min).  A nice pickup for about 398 yen.

[westfalen]

It's really for kids, but would you like one of the DVDs that came with the recent MacDonalds Happy Set along with one of the PlaRail trains? I have extras of the DVDs and some trains. I got them to see what they are like and really to give them away. I also recorded some of the NHK late night Music and Video broadcasts. One is the SL Memories and the other is Local Trains. They come on at 3:00 AM and I have no warning when they will appear. If you are lucky, they will broadcast one hour's worth in the morning, and they will have two 30 minute segments in each hour. You can buy the SL DVDs for about 5000 yen apiece and are 30 minutes long. I've seen them at the gift shop at the NHK studios in Shibuya. I assume that the Local Trains may have also been on sale at one time, but didn't see them. They broadcast them about once a month so it's a matter of time until I get all of them. The MD DVD is region 2.
Best wishes,
Grant

"Really for kids", right. I bet there were a lot of adults buying those happy meals.

[Shashinka]

Per request, this thread is closed, and part two has been created. http://www.jnsforum.com/index.php/topic,3468.0/topicseen.html