A Short Visit to the Sangi Hokusei Narrow Gauge Railway Line in Kuwana, Japan

Intro

The Sangi Hokusei Line is the longest of four narrow-gauge railway lines remaining in Japan.  Because it seemed a little unusual, because it wasn’t too far from where I was, because I had some time on my hands, because nobody was around to tell me what a crazy foolish idea it was, and just because I wanted to…  I took the time to make a small tourist expedition to Kuwana (Mie Prefecture) Japan to check it out.

“Narrow-Gauge” means that the train tracks are closer together than usual (narrow).  And this means that all the rolling stock for the trains is a little bit smaller than usual.  These types of railway lines are not very common.

Gauge of the Sangi Hokusei Line:  762mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge
Gauge of the Kintetsu Nagoya Line: 1435mm (4 ft 8-½ in) standard gauge

The Sangi Hokusei Line runs for 20.4 km and serves the communities in Mie Prefecture between Kuwana and Ageki.

 

Getting There

Kuwana Station is easily reachable from Yokkaichi and Nagoya on both the JR and Kintetsu Railway Lines

Upon your arrival at Kuwana Station, exit the station on the “busy” side, closest to the JR tracks.  Follow the signs for buses and taxis.  There are some signs for the Sangi Hokusei Line, but these are not plentiful or easy to spot. The photo below is looking in the opposite direction from that described above, but provides a sense of the station.

Once out of the turnstiles, turn right and continue in that general direction for about 200 meters total.  As of Oct-2017, there is a construction project in your way.  What used to be a raised walkway to the bus stops now only goes halfway there, and the remainder has been demolished for the construction.  You must descend to ground level and detour around the construction, navigating past the taxis and buses to reach Sangi Hokusei’s Nishi-Kuwana Station.

The Nishi-Kuwana Station is a small building nestled in the corner of the bus area.  While small, this station has everything it needs: an attendant, a waiting room, a ticket machine, highly visible timetables, a clock, shelter, vending machines, train platform and more!

From Others – Nishi-Kuwana Station Contributions from M KIMU

 

From Others — Nishi-Kuwana Station Contributions from atachi boo

From Others — Nishi-Kuwana Station Contributions from まめ太郎

The railway trip

A normal person would purchase a ticket here (from the attendant or the machines), and board a train to begin their travel adventure on the Sangi Hokusei line. But Dan often manages to do something different from normal, and on this occasion he had some compelling reasons to WALK 1.1 km to the next station, and ride the train back to Nishi-Kuwana from there.

 

The walk to Umamichi Station

It should take only a quick look at a map to understand the route one should follow in order to reach the Umamichi Station.  The JR and Kintetsu lines are quite busy, be sure to cross with the signals on an approved pathway!  The first crossing south of Kuwana is a footpath-only crossing (with signals) and that could be interesting. The next opportunity is an overpass (boring), and the 3^rd chance is a grade-level crossing intended for cars (huzzah! That’s the one!).  One bonus of doing the walk was being able to stand at the lowered crossing gate and watch the Hokusei train rumble by (near Zenriyuji temple).  Another was gaining the experience of being trapped in the middle of the crossing, stranded between the JR and Kintetsu lines while trains alternated on both lines, keeping the gates lowered.

But the walk is not far and did not take that long.

What to do at Umamichi Station

Umamichi Station is even smaller and more spartan than the Nishi-Kuwana Station.  It does have a ticket machine, but there is no attendant.  There is a waiting room, clock, schedule, TWO platforms, etc.  An emergency police call button/intercom is located on the inbound platform, across the tracks from the station.  There may be one in the station also, I did not look for it.  You should check the schedule so you know the departure time of the train you wish to catch.

Umamachi Station, From Others:  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26062618

Umamachi Station From Others,  Contributions from まめ太郎

A visit to the temple

There are a couple of Buddhist temples (and a Shinto Shrine) in the park very close to the Umamachi Station, and these are worthy of visits if you have the time.  The most famous Buddhist Temple there is called Kangakuji.  To get to it, cross the tracks from the main station on the “away from Kuwana” side, and head up the hill on one of the forested paths.  The temple is straight up the staircase, or via a more roundabout narrow staircase and pathway through the park.

While it was very nice to visit in the rain, this park is reported to be spectacular in cherry blossom season, so plan to see it then if you can.

Hashiriizan Park, Cherry Blossom Season. Photo by Others — Contributions from 近藤康司

At the temple, they have Buddha’s Footprints in Stone(!), and some other things.

One feature of this temple is the many well-fed cats who apparently live there.  They provide a few things, including:

• cute cat photo opportunities
• the place for a seemingly real-life inspiration for the Simpson’s “Cat Lady” Character to hang out and fit in
• a way to make many areas of the temple grounds smell like a litter box.

No Ladle?!? ☹

 

 

The Buddha’s footprints are very nice (partial poor machine translation of nearby signage: “it is said to be unusual and the original is unknown”).  I am saddened to learn that these are probably more “representative” than “actual” footprints.  But still… Buddha’s Footprints! In Stone!

Buddha’s Footprints in Stone

Nearby, is the Monument Group Monument, which is very photogenic and surely is more meaningful than photogenic if one knows what the meaning of it is.

The Monument Group Monument

Also nearby, is the “Junkoku-hi” (a memorial to the men who died for the country during the war). The tragedy represented by memorials like this does not change for me no matter who was the victor, who was the vanquished, or what kind of political relationships my own country may have had then or has now with the country of the deceased. Just sadness all around.  There are a lot of names on those markers.

Return to Kuwana

The walk back to Umamichi Station from the park is short and downhill

Since you paid attention to the schedule when you arrived, you will already know when your next train will be ready.  But if you are wet and cold and it’s raining cats and dogs you could go early and wait on the platform for a while, under shelter from the rain.

 

The fare back to Kuwana Station is 170 Yen.  You can also pick up the other ticket that tells what station you got it at, in case anybody doubts where you got onto the train.

This little guy waited with me to ride the train, and he was very excited about it.  His mother told me that he “loves Thomas” and trains in general, and he also connects with the scaled-down size of this narrow-gauge line.  He is a bundle of happy energy and provided me with loads of entertainment during our wait for the train to Kuwana.

 

Riding the train

The train cars look ordinary at first glance, but on further examination they do seem a lot smaller than normal.  If people would be sitting on both sides of the car, their feet could overlap in the middle and there would not be much of a path between them to walk down.  The ceiling is a little bit low.  But the ride is as comfortable as all the other trains I have ridden on in Japan.

The return to Nishi-Kuwana Station on the train was much faster and drier than the walk outward.  This train line has a low maximum speed, and I think we may have hit it on the straightaway coming down from the overpass and headed into the station, it seemed speedy enough for me!

 

Ending

Back at Nishi-Kuwana, it just seems like another train station.  Actually, after the time I spent waiting at Umamachi, it seems like a really big train station!

Once you go through the turnstile, it’s a quick return to the world.  The Bus station is immediately in front of you, and Kuwana Station with its Kintetsu and JR connections is just right (well, left) over there. Welcome back.

At Nishi-Kuwana Station

At Nishi-Kuwana Station, outside the Turnstiles

At Nishi-Kuwana Station

Totally Off-Topic Postscript:

Kuwana station, bus area, is where you catch the bus for Nagashima Spa Land where you can enjoy the amusement park (good weather) and the Mitsui Outlet Jazz Dream Shopping Mall (any weather). If you have time on your hands these are both worthwhile destinations, and you should visit them.  I did.