Tohoku 2016 東北の旅 - SL Ginga SL銀河

Travelled 14.05.2016 (Sat)
in Japanese: https://www.jreast.co.jp/railway/joyful/galaxysl.html
in English: https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/joyful/galaxysl.html



Intro. To promote train travel, JR East has introduced several sightseeing trains in the Tohoku region. SL Ginga 銀河 is one of two steam locomotives (the other being SL Banetsu Monogatari ばんえつ物語) in its fleet of trains. Introduced in Apr 2014, the design of this train took inspiration from Miyazawa Kenji's famous novel, Night on the Galactic Railway (Ginga Tetsudo no yoru 銀河鉄道の夜) and the 4 carriages train chugs along Kamaishi line 釜石線 which stretches from Hanamaki 花巻駅 to Kamaishi 釜石駅. On my first trip to Hanamaki in Oct 2015, I wanted very much to ride on this dream train especially after exploring Miyazawa Kenji Fairytale Village / Dowa Mura 宮沢賢治童話村. However, the tickets on my desired day of travel were completely sold out and I had to give a miss. Gave it another shot on my second trip to Hanamaki in May 2016 and was ecstatic to finally get hold of a seat on board SL Ginga this time. On Day 3 of my solo trip in Tohoku region, after visited Miyazawa Kenji Museum 宮沢賢治記念館 in the earlier part of the day, I returned to Shin Hanamaki JR Station 新花巻駅 to commence my train cruise onboard the much anticipated SL Ginga heading for Tono 遠野駅.

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Highlights:

SL Ginga usually operates on weekends and public holidays and only makes one trip in either direction during its day of operation. For passengers holding on to nationwide JR Pass, JR East Pass (Tohoku area), JR East-South Hokkaido Rail Pass or JR Tohoku-South Hokkaido Rail Pass, you can make a seat reservation at no additional cost. 
Train schedule correct as of 10 Mar 2019:
- For Kamaishi 釜石駅行き: Hamamaki (1037 hrs) > Kamaishi (1508 hrs)
- For Hanamaki 花巻駅行き: Kamaishi (1058 hrs) > Hanamaki (1520 hrs)

Brief stop at Miyamori JR Station. 

Came up close with the steam locomotive. 

Shoveling coal. 

Majestic looking steam locomotive! 

Still fascinated. Even though this was not my maiden ride on a steam locomotive train (in fact my third time; first time on SL Hitoyoshi 人吉 in Kyushu and second time on SL Yamaguchi やまぐち in Chugoku region), I was still eager to witness the power of this 19th century invention all over again. When the train made a brief stop at Miyamori station 宮森駅, most of the passengers would alight the train and flock towards the train head. This is one of the best times to come up close to this shiny black train head and to show our appreciation to the operators for their commitment to ensure a smooth journey for all passengers on board. In my opinion, steam locomotive is definitely much more energy intensive to operate than the modern ones, as it relies on manual handling such as shoveling of coal into the furnace and operators have to withstand the strong radiant heat from the furnace. While marveling at the train head, I was startled by the ear-piercing whistling sounds released from the steam locomotive a couple of times. When the train pulled into Tono JR Station 遠野駅, jovial staff were already standing by at the platform, waving and welcoming passengers to Tono city. After alighting from the train, I grabbed the last chance to admire the train head before it was decoupled from the carriages. 

Exquisite. The train carriages were beautifully wrapped in blue and decorated with astrological signs. Upon stepping into the train, I was amazed by how elaborate and exquisite the interior was. The design took reference from trains in the early 20th century and aimed to re-create a comfortable and luxurious ambience. These include laying the aisle with a single red carpet, decorating the train with colourful stained glass windows and installation of partitions slotted between seats. The seats were arranged such that they faced each other; sat together with a couple and their kid. Such seating arrangement made eye contact with other passengers unavoidable and we greeted each other politely as we took our seats. Spontaneously, we engaged into an enjoyable conversation till they alighted at Miyamori station. I feel that such simple encounters usually make my trip eventful and memorable, and I always look forward to that. 

Galleries. There are several galleries found in various parts of the train, each taking on a different theme. There is a mini museum about moon and stars which is dedicated to astrology lovers, a display of photos associated with railway line and steam locomotive, showcase of products handcrafted by artisans in Tohoku region and even a library stocked up with novels written by Miyazawa Kenji for passengers to pick up to read while on board the train. Dropped by the gift shop to look for exclusive merchandise specially produced for this train. After much contemplation, I set my eyes on a collar pin depicting the symbol of SL Ginga. All in all, there was never a dull moment while on board SL Ginga as there were so many things to discover throughout the entire the train ride from Shin Hanamki to Tono.

Waited for my turn to experience the Planetarium, the first ever found in a train! 

Fly me to the moon! What impressed me the most was they even managed to bring in a planetarium projector into the train, the first time such theatre is ever located in a train. Did not realise that there was such facility until I noticed people going in and coming out from a room situated in Car 1 of the train. I approached the staff who was standing outside the theatre to request for a space and she handed over a ticket which stated the time I should return back here for the screening. I arrived punctually at the stipulated timing, entered the room with a few other passengers (all kids) and sat around the planetarium projector, all eagerly waiting for the program to begin. The room turned pitch dark and we were immediately teleported to the outer space as a galaxy of stars appeared right above our heads! I grasped in amazement when various constellations appeared magically right in front of my eyes. The ultimate highlight of the entire program went to the entrancing northern lights display that is fascinating to the eyes no matter how many times one has come across in his/her life. This is definitely one facility in the train that should not be missed. 

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Commemorative boarding passes: