Trains

Posted on 2005/07/30 04:49:26 (July 2005).

[Friday 29th July]
Had a lovely day out, most of which was spent on trains. We got up early, to get on a long slow train from Hiroshima to Yamaguchi. At Shin-Yamaguchi we changed trains for the main event - a ride on the steam locomotive that would take us North to Tsuwano. The train was fantastic - a real, genuine steam train. Even the carriages were interesting - each took its style from a different era of Japanese train travel. The ride on the way out was just about 2 hours, and we arrived at Tsuwano around 12:30.
Tsuwano was an interesting town in itself, just like many places in Japan it was referred to as "little Kyoto". We had a couple of hours there, and took the opportunity for a general wander around, including the inari jinja up on the hill, and tanomachi dori in the town centre. Having toyed with the idea of going back by a different route, we determined in the end it would be quickest, easiest and cheapest to just retrace our steps and go back the way we came. So we got back on the stream train just after 3. Had a brief stop off around Shin-Yamaguchi on the way back for an early dinner, and then got a train (sadly just a normal electric one) from there back to Hiroshima. A very nice day out!
Took quite a lot of pictures today, and also a few video clips. May be of interest to anyone who has a secret liking for steam trains!

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