SOON. (Literally — I'm flying into Narita this week.)
@thatjohn.bsky.social
@thatjohn.bsky.socialSOON. (Literally — I'm flying into Narita this week.)
@thatjohn.bsky.social*in the voice of that “omigod SHOES” viral video from, erm, probably 20 years ago now*
trains
trains
trains
omigod
trains
let’s ride some
trains
@thatjohn.bsky.socialin fairness, friends, I am absolutely committed to also making this a you problem
sumimasen not sumimasen
@thatjohn.bsky.socialand then there are the amazing limited express trains that are losing their big comfortable green cars with panoramic front windows, 381 Series I miss you
@thatjohn.bsky.socialThis #JohnDoesJapan rant brought to you by the Hankyu railway's hotel group website not allowing commas in address fields.
Ganbaru-front deciphering my French address, I guess…
@thatjohn.bsky.socialOther Tokyo options, in case you too also do not wish to support literal war crimes denialism:
• #ToyokoInn, my personal favourite, though they book up
• Route Inn
• Hotel Livemax
• Sunroute/Fresa, from the Sotetsu railway
• Tokyu Stay/REI
• the Hankyu, Keikyu, Keihan railways
@thatjohn.bsky.socialBooking hotels for the next couple of weeks in Japan — much closer in than I normally would.
And… well, well, well, isn't it my principles about not staying at APA hotels coming home to bite me in the wallet.
Still not staying there, though! #JohnDoesJapan
@thatjohn.bsky.socialPlanning my next #JohnDoesJapan trip (SOON!) and came across this glorious timelapse from the Toyoko Inn in Maibara, one stop east of Kyoto.
That's the Fujitec elevator testing shaft there next to the Shinkansen line, in case you were wondering, at the Fujitec-Mae stop on the local railway.
@thatjohn.bsky.socialGenuine question: I've never vibed with #Osaka, and I want to! Your recs please, but not:
• Dotonbori
• the castle
• shopping
• takoyaki, Kansai okonomiyaki, kushikatsu
• skyscrapers
• generic "Japanese city"
• stuff available elsewhere in Kansai
Wide View Hida (RIP) vid as thanks! #JohnDoesJapan
@thatjohn.bsky.socialThe next city on that loop north of Kushiro is Abashiri, home to Sea of Okhotsk iceflows and, as a result, this weird blue can't-legally-call-it-beer drink.
There's a great yakiniku barbecue/beer place in town where you can try it — or grab one from the station convenience store.
@thatjohn.bsky.socialThe Senmo Line isn't exactly smooth, as Japanese trains go, but it *is* stunning.
It's part of a gorgeous several-day scenic loop you can do around much of Hokkaido that I highly recommend.
@thatjohn.bsky.socialLook, I told you I had a lot of this shot…
Kushiro is also a great jumping-off point for the *incredible* Senmo Line up north through the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park!
It's a beautiful wetland (that's Japanese for "swamp") where the tsurumaru (iconic red-crested cranes) breed.
@thatjohn.bsky.socialI stayed a couple of nights in Kushiro, which is so small that it doesn't even have a Toyoko Inn next to the station.
(It *does* have a Toyoko Inn, but it's down the main street, so I stayed at the Route Inn.)
It was like this for most of the time, but the seafood was *delicious*.
@thatjohn.bsky.socialSo long, Higashi-Nemuro. I wonder what happened to your "most easterly station" board.
@thatjohn.bsky.socialAnyway, here's what Higashi-Nemuro looked like when it was a station.
(Look, between you and me, I'm not entirely surprised they closed it since our one-car diesel train passed it at full speed.)
@thatjohn.bsky.socialElectronic departures board, no.
Beautiful ikebana traditional Japanese flower arranging in front of a diesel railcar, yes.
@thatjohn.bsky.socialAnyway, back in 2017 Nemuro wasn't *quite* the easternmost station. That went to Higashi-Nemuro — East Nemuro — which closed in 2025.
Back then, there were five trains a day from Nemuro itself. No need for an electronic departures board.
@thatjohn.bsky.socialI can't tell you the number of photos like this I've taken over the years, with views through these front windows from all across Japan.
At some point I should make a coffee table book out of them or something.
@thatjohn.bsky.socialThere's just something about the sound of a rural diesel train, the movement (especially on the narrow Japanese gauge of 1067mm), the slow travel views out the window…
And, of course — as the great Dolly Parton once sang — the clickity, clickity, clickity-clack.
@thatjohn.bsky.socialIt is, as you might say, atmospheric out here in the marshes on a wet May day.
But you'll still find me at the front of the train looking out the front at the single track, even if there's a rail safety person there in his natty hi-viz harness.