I headed to the Nagaden Railway station, Zenkoji-shita to go to Obuse. More than just a means of transportation, the Nagaden is a sacred place for both mania riding a train (“Nori-tetsu”) and mania taking photos of trains (“Tori-Tetsu”).
Walk down to the east from Zenkoji Temple at the top of the alluvial fan, go underground to Zenkoji-Shita Station, get on one station back toward Nagano Station, and board the limited express. Limited express tickets cost 100 yen, but front seats of the limited express can be reserved online for 300 yen. I wonder why the reserved tickets are more expensive than the limited express tickets.
As soon as I got on the train, the mania riding trains occupied the front observation seats and took video. Yes, this train is an old model of the Romance Car that Odakyu Railway had been running between Shinjuku and Hakone, and Nagaden Railway traded it in and is running it as an observation train. It’s difficult to reserve a front observation seat in Tokyo, but my dream can come true on Nagaden Railway. But, I am not a mania riding trains.
In addition to the Romance Car, the JR 253 series Narita Express, which was used to access Narita International Airport, also runs under the name Snow Monkey. It’s not like the people on the train are monkeys. It was named this way because zoos along the railway line often show monkeys relaxing in hot springs during snowy winters, and capyparas are now also shown relaxing in hot springs at zoos.
Exit the underground, cross the Chikuma River, get to Suzaka on double track, and from here on single track. The mountain range of North Shinetsu is beautiful. There is a train depot at Suzaka Station, and there are old 03 series cars that ran on the Hibiya Line. Come to think of it, I thought the car I rode on my way back to Nagano Station from Obuse was a Tokyu 8500 series.
This area was the site of a major flood caused by a typhoon five years ago, and the Hokuriku Shinkansen depot along the Chikuma River was submerged under water, causing many Shinkansen cars to be scrapped. On the other hand, although the Nagaden Railway line is meandering, it does run on a slightly higher ground. Was it a matter of foresight that the route was designed to avoid areas expected to be submerged?
