Monday 23 April 2018

Fresh Green and Special Poster Train in Chichibu City

7505F of the EMU 7500 series travels on the Chichibu Railway line

The sakura (cherry) blooming season passed very quickly in the Tokyo metropolitan area. It is a fresh green season now. I recently visited Chichibu in Saitama Prefecture to enjoy spring with my family.

Mitsumine is a mountainous area in Chichibu City. It takes about two hours and a half from Tokyo by train. The most popular spot in the area is Mitsumine shrine, which is a famous Shinto shrine located on the summit of Mt. Mitsumine (1,102 meters above sea level). On the way to the shrine, I could see beautiful fresh green from the bus window. It covered slopes of mountains along Arakawa River. They were light green colored and mixed with dark green colored coniferous trees. The contrast between the green forests and the blue sky was exquisite.

The gateway station to Mitsumine shrine is Mitsumine-guchi, which is the westernmost terminal of Chichibu Railway line. This local company operates trains from Hanyu on the Tobu-Isesaki Line to Mitsumine-guchi (71.7 kilometers). One of the famous trains on the line is 7505F of the EMU 7500 series (ex-Tokyu 8090 series). It is a poster train for promoting tourism to famous Shinto shrines on the line including Mitsumine shrine. The standard color design of the 7500 series is just green stripes with a yellow accent. In contrast, we can see many "gods" on the bodies of this poster train. Needless to say, 7505F stands out conspicuously among the group of the 7500 series.

Spring is in full swing in the Chichibu area.

Fresh green is seen near Mitsumine-guchi Station on the Chichibu Railway line