Japanese Vacation No.9 (week 4)

[westfalen]

Another late night, ended up at Namba on the Nankai so I thought I'd go on a hobby shop crawl.

I started out by going on Thunderbird #3 to Kyoto so I could get a good seat on Super Kuroshio #5 to Wakayama and get a ride on a 381 as their days are numbered.

The Meiji chocolate factory is shaped like a giant chocolate.

I took a photo of my hotel at Noda from the train window, my room is circled in red.

At Wakayama I took a ride on the Wakayama Electric Railway.

[westfalen]

The Tama train wasn't in operation today and was parked in a hard to photograph spot at the depot.

The station building at Kishi is shaped like a cat but the cat itself wasn't doing much. I took a phot of the taxi garage across the street.

[westfalen]

The service on the JR line from Wakayama to Wakayamashi is not very frequent so I had lunch and photographed a few trains at Wakayama before continuing on to the Nankai Railway.

[westfalen]

I crossed the Nankai branches to Kada and Tanagawa off my map before heading back to Namba but didn't get to the end of the line at Wakayamako because I would have had almost a two hour wait for a train, maybe they only run to connect with ferry sailings.

[westfalen]

I changed to a local and got off at a local only station so I could get video of a Rapit speeding past and ended up getting two as they passed each other at the next station.

The girls in Nankai uniforms (there were two more in the next car) stood at the doorways and leaving each station they would move to the side opposite the platform at the next station so they wouldn't get in the way of passengers getting on or off.

On the way to find the hobby shops at Namba I walked throught an arcade full of shops selling everything you would need to run a restaurant, there were three shops selling nothing but blackboards and signs for menus.

The shop with the racks of green packages was in Den Den town and sold nothing but nuts, bolts and screws.

I visited Popondetta where there was a rental layout, Volks where a guy was building a modular layout at the back of the store, Joshin, and was about to give it up for the night when I found Pochi on the opposite side of the street from where I was looking. I had to cut my visit there short however as they started playing Auld Lang Syne, but not before I picked through their second hand table and grabbed a few container cars and found a Kato DD13 in a private railway's colours. I have an idea for a set of modules with an oil refinery and it will make a good shunter.

[Bernard]

I have to wonder what the inside of the Chocolate factory looks like, that is a neat building and an easy one to recreate on a layout....all you need are 5 Nestle Crunch bars. (but I know on my layout it wouldn't last long) 

Interesting seat on the train with tables....it seems casual but I guess the train doesn't get that crowded.

[Nick_Burman]

...and grabbed a few container cars and found a Kato DD13 in a private railway's colours. I have an idea for a set of modules with an oil refinery and it will make a good shunter.

In whose colours? Keio Rinkai?

Cheers NB

[The_Ghan]

Hey West,

Week 4 … has the Rail Pass run out yet or did you buy two?

Love those timber floors and tables in the Wakayama train.  Even the seats are timber, but they don’t look very comfortable.  Still, there is style here … and I just noticed that one of those tables is “beer-counter” height.  See?  The Japanese think of everything!!!

Now I’ve just noticed the cocktail cabinet built into the second car.  While I’m mixing drinks, do you want to see if you can find some olives?  Seriously though, what’s in those drawers and cupboards?  I love this train!

It appears that “Super Station Master Tama” went to the same school as the Hurstville Station Master …..

“Pride” is the word that comes to mind when I see those Nankai girls.  Your description of how they behaved on the train is tops.  The whole social mentality to this kind of behaviour is good.  Polite, no big deal, no fuss … nice.

Mrs_Ghan, being a chef and baker, went crazy when she saw those shops … they’re on the list for our trip.  She can rummage through those while I’m in hobby shops.

Cheers

The_Ghan

[westfalen]

Hey West,

Week 4 … has the Rail Pass run out yet or did you buy two?


Cheers

The_Ghan

Rail Pass ran out today, got a 21 day pass and started it on 03/11, my second full day in Japan because I didn't need it till then. I just realised I didn't use it at all today but I think I got my money's worth out of it.

[westfalen]

Some stuff for the Kintetsu fans tonight.

I started out today by getting the Senninchimae subway line that runs under the hotel to Tamatsukuri where I got a Kintetsu Nara line train to Yamato-Saidaiji to do a bit of train watching.

[westfalen]

The blue and white train attracted the attention of some local railfans who didn't seem to bother about all the other trains coming and going.

CaptOblivious and I had planned to meet in Kyoto for lunch and go for a ride on the Eizan but he had something come up, fortunately a railfan is never lost for something to do in Japan so I decided to go for some cable car rides as I hadn't been on one yet this trip. The Ikoma line was closest so I did it first. It's actually made up of two parts with the bottom section having two lines side by side with one only used during busy periods. The two cars in regular use on the bottom section are decorated as a dog and cat.

[westfalen]

The two cars on the top section are also gaudily decorated, the reason becoming apparent when you find the top of the mountain covered with a kids amusement park.

[westfalen]

They did have a train though. I'm not sure what the structure with the blue ramp on the roof was but it appeared to have been abandoned for a while.

[westfalen]

When I got back down the mountain I headed back to Yamato-Saidaiji then south to Kashiharajingu-Mae and had my first ride on Kintetsu's 3'6" gauge lines to Furuichi and Kawachinagano where I changed onto the Nankai.

[westfalen]

Once on the Nankai I headed for Gokurakubashi. On the way my train met a oppposing train with fancy wooden interiors, the destination boards read 'Extra', I assume it was a Joyful Train of some sort.

[westfalen]

By the time I got there it was getting dark and raining but I decided to do the cable car to Koyosan anyway. The grade has to be seen to be believed, I may have to do another trip up there on a future trip when the weather is better.

[westfalen]

When I got back to Namba I found a variety of trains lined up at the platforms and a smart place to eat.

Tommorow, weather permitting, I will try and get in a couple of my goals in Osaka, filming some freight trains crossing the Akagawa truss bridge and finding the last remaing EH10.

[keitaro]

Ikoma Skyland http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

the park itself is old and was made free due to a number of factors 1 mainly being USJ taking alot of their customers.

The buildng you see was part of a coaster.

Was ripped down some years back 2007? due to being old and the park being made non profit.

Lucky you went when you did as i beleive it is closed very soon for the rest of winter till march!!

[Bernard]

The train with the steep grade is amazing.....I enjoy looking at your photos, I'm getting to see images that I never knew existed....Thank you!

[westfalen]

Ikoma Skyland http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

the park itself is old and was made free due to a number of factors 1 mainly being USJ taking alot of their customers.

The buildng you see was part of a coaster.

Was ripped down some years back 2007? due to being old and the park being made non profit.

Lucky you went when you did as i beleive it is closed very soon for the rest of winter till march!!

It was pretty chilly up there today, the rides were only operating when somebody actually lined up to ride on them. The whole place looked a bit decrepit.

[westfalen]

...and grabbed a few container cars and found a Kato DD13 in a private railway's colours. I have an idea for a set of modules with an oil refinery and it will make a good shunter.

In whose colours? Keio Rinkai?

Cheers NB

This one.
http://www.rail-way.com/railroad_models_kato/n_gauge_models_kato-7001-1.html
Kamioka Railway?

[keitaro]

Ikoma Skyland http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

the park itself is old and was made free due to a number of factors 1 mainly being USJ taking alot of their customers.

The buildng you see was part of a coaster.

Was ripped down some years back 2007? due to being old and the park being made non profit.

Lucky you went when you did as i beleive it is closed very soon for the rest of winter till march!!

It was pretty chilly up there today, the rides were only operating when somebody actually lined up to ride on them. The whole place looked a bit decrepit.

yeah cause of its age its hard for them to can it.

I guess they use it to right of a loss for tax purposes.

Do they charge for a ride? I know the entry is free now but was wondering how they manage to get $$$ for maintainance and to keep the dog alive

[Eisenbahn]

Hi Westfalen,
Excellent photos & stories!
Pleased to see that my suggestion of the Toyoko-Inn at JR Noda station worked out well for you this trip .
For the benefit of other forum members, it is on the Osaka Loop Line and also has an underground (non JR) station at the hotel door. It has easy access from Osaka Kansai International Airport and is a good launching point for day trips in the Kansai region, eg Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, Osaka, Himeji etc.
By the way, there is a similar situation at Shinagawa station in Tokyo. I have used the Shinagawa Prince Hotel there and there is a Toyoko Inn next door. They are both opposite the station. As forum members know, Shinagawa station is on the Yamanote loop and also has easy access to Narita Airport and Haneda Airport. All sorts of exotic rail traffic passes through Shinagawa.

For me, getting on a train inside an airport terminal and getting out at the hotel door is a big plus.....as is, being on the main city loop line.

best wishes... Eisenbahn

[keitaro]

Working link http://jp.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyland_ikoma

... can angone confirm this works??

Does on my pc but not on mobile.

[westfalen]

Working link http://jp.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyland_ikoma

... can angone confirm this works??

Does on my pc but not on mobile.

The link works for me. I also found the park's website. http://www1.kcn.ne.jp/~skyikoma/

They charge from 300 to 500 yen depending on the ride, 300 for things like the train and 500 for the bigger rides like the roller coaster.

[westfalen]

Hi Westfalen,
Excellent photos & stories!
Pleased to see that my suggestion of the Toyoko-Inn at JR Noda station worked out well for you this trip .
For the benefit of other forum members, it is on the Osaka Loop Line and also has an underground (non JR) station at the hotel door. It has easy access from Osaka Kansai International Airport and is a good launching point for day trips in the Kansai region, eg Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, Osaka, Himeji etc.
By the way, there is a similar situation at Shinagawa station in Tokyo. I have used the Shinagawa Prince Hotel there and there is a Toyoko Inn next door. They are both opposite the station. As forum members know, Shinagawa station is on the Yamanote loop and also has easy access to Narita Airport and Haneda Airport. All sorts of exotic rail traffic passes through Shinagawa.

For me, getting on a train inside an airport terminal and getting out at the hotel door is a big plus.....as is, being on the main city loop line.

best wishes... Eisenbahn

I couldn't remember who suggested it. Thanks. I can confirm it's a great place to stay.

[The_Ghan]

Hi West,

Has the colour scheme on the Kintetsu changed?  I thought the double-deckers were all orange with a blue and white stripe.  Still, I prefer the white to the bottom half of the cars – there was too much orange before, I reckon.

The Ikoma line looks interesting but so does Koyosan.    If you were to pick just one cable-car only, which would you consider to be the best from a tourist point of view?  Oh … don’t worry … I just found Koyosan on Google Earth … Looks like a must-see!!!

Really enjoying your posts, West.  Please don’t tell us this is your final week.  This is the best thread on JNS ATM.

Cheers

The_Ghan

[westfalen]

My last night in Japan, got to remember to go to the airport tomorrow night instead of back to the hotel.

I spent a bit more time at Hankyu Umeda this morning, it's a fascinating place, before I caught a local to Awaji to find the last existing EH10 electric loco.

When I arrived a car parked in front of the loco was getting a parking ticket. Poor old EH10 61 looks very neglected, while it's under cover and protected from vandals by the thick layer of dust it dosen't look like anyone's laid a hand on it since it was put there. She deserves a place in a proper museum, it would be interesting to know the story as to why the loco ended up tucked away and forgotten in a suburban park.

[westfalen]

After paying my respects to EH10 61 I carried on to the Akagawa Truss bridge where the freight timetable showed two southbound trains that were likely to turn up around lunch time. Portable toilet No.66 was set up near the south end of the bridge which came in handy.

[westfalen]

No.8123 failed to show up, I haven't mastered all the characters in the timetable, maybe it only runs as required or every second Tuesday in months without an 'R' in them. However, EF210 161 showed up dead on time as usual with No.87. Notice the heavy weathering above the locos windshield from dirt sprayed from the pantograph.

After I walked further south for a couple of kilometres to the nearest subway station, Miyakojima, I decided I'd had enough walking and standing for a while and made my back to Hankyu Umeda to get a good seat on a Kawaramachi Ltd Exp with the plan being a train ride to Kyoto and coming back via the Keihan.

As I was walking between stations in Kyoto I took a few shots from the same place I took some in 1990.

[westfalen]

I decided to get a train to the Keihan terminus at Demachiyanagi to get a good seat again but when I got there I thought, "what the hell, as long as I'm this far", and soon found myself at the Eizan Railway's compact, three track terminal station waiting for a train to Kurama.

[westfalen]

One section of the line runs through some trees with autumn leaves and an announcement is made in Japanese and English that the train is passing through the maple leaf tunnel and the train slows down to give passengers a look, on the return in the dark the floodlights along the side of the track illuminated the trees and the driver turned off the interior lights.

[westfalen]

I was going to get the 900 series train back but there were so many people travelling back down the mountain that the station staff were limiting the number of passengers getting on each train, when I got back round to the station entrance passengers were already lined up out to the street for the next train.

On the way back to Kyoto I got a couple of shots of the interior of one of Keihan's double deck cars.

I had a look at the model railway shop near Shin-Osaka station tonight. He's on the 5th floor of a building in a room a bit smaller than a Toyoko Inn hotel roomn (those who have stayed in one will get the idea) with stuff stacked all over the place. Obviously not as much stock as some of the bigger stores and I didn't see anything that took my fancy but it's always worth taking a look.

[bikkuri bahn]

it would be interesting to know the story as to why the loco ended up tucked away and forgotten in a suburban park.

The locomotive was based at the Suita No.2 Locomotive Depot, and thus was donated to the neighborhood located nearby.

[westfalen]

it would be interesting to know the story as to why the loco ended up tucked away and forgotten in a suburban park.

The locomotive was based at the Suita No.2 Locomotive Depot, and thus was donated to the neighborhood located nearby.

Hopefully, like so many locos donated like that with all the best intentions at the time, it doesn't get neglected and forgotten for so long by the local residents it was given to that it deteriorates so much that it has to be cut up. One wonders how significant it is to many of the current residents of the area.

[westfalen]

Just been checking the news back home before I pack the computer away. Oh well.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/translink-reports-no-trains-running-between-petrie-and-northgate-for-morning-peak-due-to-overhead-power-fault/story-e6freoof-1226205592291

[Nick_Burman]

...and grabbed a few container cars and found a Kato DD13 in a private railway's colours. I have an idea for a set of modules with an oil refinery and it will make a good shunter.

In whose colours? Keio Rinkai?

Cheers NB

This one.
http://www.rail-way.com/railroad_models_kato/n_gauge_models_kato-7001-1.html
Kamioka Railway?

Yes, Kamioka Railway. A lucky find.

Cheers NB

[bikkuri bahn]

Hopefully, like so many locos donated like that with all the best intentions at the time, it doesn't get neglected and forgotten for so long by the local residents it was given to that it deteriorates so much that it has to be cut up. One wonders how significant it is to many of the current residents of the area.

I suppose if the residents don't care too much, JR West could just remove the locomotive, restore it cosmetically, and use it as a centerpiece at their new railway museum.  It certainly would be worthy of that, given its historical significance.  I would travel 1000km just to see it, for sure.

[The_Ghan]

Wow West,

That EH10 reminds me of a very big gorilla in a very small cage.  She sure looks sad and dejected.  Again, the Hankyu photos are so impressive.  Hankyu is on my list, that’s for sure.

Glad you bagged that portable toilet.  Maybe Greenmax will do a kit release soon.   

The autumn colour is looking good … I’m glad you pointed that out.  How’s the temperature? I see a lot of overcoats …

I’ve really enjoyed your posts West.  Top job mate.

Cheers

The_Ghan

[westfalen]

The autumn colour is looking good … I’m glad you pointed that out.  How’s the temperature? I see a lot of overcoats …

The last three or four days it was starting to get pretty cool, if I was just starting my trip now I'd definitely take a coat, as it was I didn't bother taking one because I was checking the weather before I went and it turned out mostly between 20 and 25 during the day and quite pleasant so a coat would have been just something to carry around. I noticed on TV they were reporting snow in Hokkaido so I think the cold weather was setting in. Even when the days were still fairly warm, even to an Aussie, the locals were wearing coats and had the heating turned up in buildings, I guess to the timetable loving Japanese winter starts on time no matter what.

[westfalen]

Well that's all folks.

I started out yesterday with some filming on the Osaka Loop Line including a couple of painted 103's. I saw, but didn't get a chance to photograph the Sesame Street train.

[westfalen]

I visited the Museum of Modern Transport before lunch. They have a lot of very nice models including what looks like a complete collection of N scale Shinkansen.

[westfalen]

Some of the outdoor exhibits could do with a little attention. 2-6-0 'Yoshitsune' though, which I saw in steam at the 1990 Garden Expo, looks like it still gets run onto the short track outside it's glass case occasionally.

[westfalen]

I almost missed the three diesels in the back across the street near the parking lot.

I skipped the 10 minute wait at the Krispy Kreme doughnuts at Osaka station but at a pet shop down the street I could have had my very own meerkat for Y600,000, not sure what Australian customs would have thought though.

I checked out the Mach Mokei hobby shop. When I saw the cases of Tenshodo HO locos my Visa card sighed with relief that I don't have anywhere to run them. I considered giving it a workout when I saw some N scale World Craft assembled steam and electric locos, words and photographs can't describe how good these look, the only thing that stopped me was wondering how hard it would be to convert them to DCC and how much damage I could do to one trying.

[westfalen]

I took a few photos and video out the front of the Airport Rapid train on the JR.

I took one last interior shot before the camera battery died, a QR 160 class IMU. The first announcement the guard made ended with the usual "Queensland Rail apologises for any inconvenience" as he informed our long suffering customers that some of them faced a bus ride and half hour delay due to never ending weekend track maintenance. It's a pity some of our bosses don't spend three and a half weeks riding trains in Japan to see how things could be done. In my whole trip only one train was late and that was only three minutes.

[The_Ghan]

In this world there are few creatures that lead a more social life than a meerkat.   I can see it looks really happy ... not!

Cheers

The_Ghan

[The_Ghan]

For heavens sake West, get that last image off the thread.  So typically Australian with its dull lighting, bland colours and excessive number of gaudy yellow grab-rails.  Nobody else in the whole world can screw up a train interior like us!  I bet it smells like a gym too !!!

Cheers

The_Ghan

[westfalen]

For heavens sake West, get that last image off the thread.  So typically Australian with its dull lighting, bland colours and excessive number of gaudy yellow grab-rails.  Nobody else in the whole world can screw up a train interior like us!  I bet it smells like a gym too !!!

Cheers

The_Ghan

Watch what you say, these are the pride of the fleet on our premier service.

No comment about the foot under the seat on the left? It belongs to some bloke sprawled out on the seat sleeping off whatever he did the night before.

[westfalen]

In this world there are few creatures that lead a more social life than a meerkat.   I can see it looks really happy ... not!

Cheers

The_Ghan

The 28,500 yen cockatiel sitting alone in its cage got excited when I started whistling to it too.

[cteno4]

For heavens sake West, get that last image off the thread.  So typically Australian with its dull lighting, bland colours and excessive number of gaudy yellow grab-rails.  Nobody else in the whole world can screw up a train interior like us!  I bet it smells like a gym too !!!

Cheers

The_Ghan

Ghan,

i think the design companies have downsized staffing and merged with the shuttle bus interior designers as most of the newer commuter cars and shuttle busses are all looking and feeling the same now days the world around it seems! amazing how a few simple design rules get broken and the whole thing starts to tear at your eyeballs. yes grab rails are necessary and larger diameter rails are easier to grasp, but then dont make them a bright color so they look even larger sticking out all over your field of view!

i think the art of spending time on looking for just the right curve on all these detail elements that stick out at you is also gone. now that someone can just grab a couple of bezier handles they think they come up with the perfect custom curve in two seconds! old schoolers would draw dozens, pin them up on the wall for a week, choose a few then draw a dozen minor variants of each of those and then probably do one more round. even then the good ones would have a half dozen prototypes made and feel them before picking the right one. this is one area where the computer has shoved back design a long way and its a pity as if done right they can still work hand in hand. for the curve end leg (where the caster mounts) of the classic eames office chair he had hundreds of sketches of it then had a dozen or two fabricated that were very very close to each other to then choose the right one. no wonder the chair is still in production today and still looked at as something beautiful. yes it cost a bit more, but when you amortize that over 50 years compared to something dashed off that would have now been redone 10 or 20 times its a real deal and you get something thats as close to perfect as you can get. but alas contemporary business/society does not want to think that way, its just get me thru the next quarter.

jeff