Train Cruise - Season 3 / Year 2015

The stage of our train cruise this time is deep autumn in East Japan's Yamagata, Fukushima and Niigata Prefectures. Our traveler thoroughly enjoys both food created from abundant autumn crops and beautiful views of the colored leaves of autumn. In addition, our train trip touches local people's lives by exploring regional traditions. The cruise starts from Shinjo, Yamagata which is located less than 4 hours from Tokyo by train. Our traveler enjoys a boxed lunch filled with Yamagata's autumn tastes and a Shinkansen event train car called Treiyutsubasa, which is equipped with an ashiyu hot spring foot bath. The next leg of the trip takes place on the Oza-Toro-Tembo Train from Aizu Wakamatsu in Fukushima. Our traveler is thrilled by the beautiful colored leaves viewed from the observation car and surprised to meet a cat stationmaster. From Niigata Station, our traveler visits Sea of Japan on the Ryuto Shu*Kura where passengers can sample sake rice wine produced in Niigata, one of Japan's foremost sake brewing areas.

In this edition, we take you between the prefectures of Hiroshima and Yamaguchi in western Japan. In Hiroshima, we see some of the famous antique streetcars that have been gathered here from across Japan. We then follow a route linking 2 World Heritage Sites, the Atomic Bomb Dome, which survived the devastation of the nuclear bomb, and the Itsukushima Shrine, a magnificent temple in the sea. Reaching Yamaguchi Prefecture, we go into the mountains along small railway lines from Iwakuni, a town famous for its beautiful wooden Brocade Sash Bridge (Kintaikyo Bridge), with its graceful arches.

The Oi River (Oigawa) flows through the center of Shizuoka Prefecture starting from the Southern Alps. The Oigawa Railways run a distance of 65km along the river. They feature a nostalgic steam locomotive and a tram which climbs a steep hill. This route draws the attention of railway enthusiasts as a functioning railway theme park. Along the route, we encounter thriving traditional Japanese culture and view beautiful forest scenery from the windows of retro rail cars. Our traveler this time is Francesco Bellissimo, a food researcher from Italy. He journeys along the Oigawa Railways to discover unseen parts of Japan.

From the Kushiro Wetlands teeming with wildlife to the deep blue Sea of Okhotsk, we travel along the Senmo Line for the 160-km journey from Kushiro to Abashiri, discovering some of the most stunning panoramas of Hokkaido while autumn is in full swing.