THE SCENIC GUIDE OF JAPANESE RAILWAYS: OVERVIEW Limited Express train running along the scenic coast line of the Sea of Japan. (Hokuriku Line) Although Japan is not so large country, its scenery has a good deal of variety. If you get around Tokyo and Kyoto alone using only Tokaido Line between the two cities, you may assume that this country is filled with buildings and factories everywhere. But it is misleading. I recommend you to go off the densely populated Tokyo - Osaka - Fukuoka corridor, and wander about countryside. The population distribution in Japan is quite uneven. In the narrow corridor from Tokyo to Fukuoka along the Pacific coastline, more than half of the population clusters. It is interesting that the frequency map of local trains well corresponds to the population density of Japan so you can get the overview of population distribution of Japan by that map. The topography of Japan is quite complex. About as much as 70 per cent of the land are mountainous and dull plain will not last so long when riding on a train. You can enjoy the scenic valley or mountain soon. And it is surely interesting for rail enthusiasts to see the train run winding line among steep mountains. Indeed, Japanese trains run fairly fast even there are severe curves everywhere along the line. In some lines, "tilt trains" are running so as not to decrease their speed at curves. Moreover, nice coastal view is available because Japan consists of islands. Sometimes, mountains eandf coastlines come at the same time! Scenery changes so frequently that you will never be bored. Note that description here owes much to my personal, subjective opinion. I love to watch the landscape when taking a train (often it is more enjoyable than visiting the sightseeing spots!), but not a few travelers seem to have no interests in scenery at all. In fact, some of my friends say that they always sleep in the train without paying attention out of the windows. How you feel the landscape depends on each person, so please do not take my following writings too seriously. In the next page, I will introduce some of recommendable scenic lines in Japan. |