Japanese Railway Travel Routes Hidden in "Youth 18" Posters Part II

type

status

date

slug

summary

🤗 Kyushu: Poster lines are also plentiful

Nihonbutsu Main Line 1 time

Kudai Main Line 2 times

Nitta Hikiyama Line 1 time

Toyohi Main Line 1 time

Triangle Main Line 1 time

Hiza Line 2 times

Kito Line 1 time

Ibusuki Pillowaki Line 2 times

Nagasaki Main Line 2 times

Omura Line 1 time

Smoking Sakurajima Volcano across from Kagoshima City

Then there's Kyushu, which has also been featured 14 times in the "Youth 18" posters, just as much as Hokkaido.

Kyushu has a larger population than Hokkaido, a longer history of human habitation, and many more train lines, but compared to Hokkaido, where a single railroad line is often featured three or four times, the most Kyushu lines are featured on the poster is two times. While Hokkaido has 6 railroad lines on the poster, Kyushu has 11 railroad lines.

However, the Kyushu Sightseeing Train has long been famous among foreign tourists, and most of the lines have been featured on the "Youth 18" posters, but even those who have taken the Kyushu Sightseeing Train may not recognize the names of the lines alone.

Specifically, these lines include the Nihonbutsu Main Line once, the Kudai Main Line twice, the Nitta Hikoyama Line once, the Toyohi Main Line once, the Triangle Main Line once, the Hiza Line twice, the Kito Line once, the Ibusuki Line twice, the Nagasaki Main Line twice, and the Omura Line once.

So how do these routes cover almost all of Kyushu's most attractive sightseeing spots for international tourists? And which of these routes have nice little trains? We'll tell you all about it.

Kyushu Yokohama Limited Express Commemorative Pass on the Hifutohono Line

Nippon Light Metal Line, from small to large sections

Outside Kyushu Nishida Substation

First, the Nihonbutsu Main Line, which starts at Kokura in Kitakyushu and travels through Beppu, Oita, Miyazaki, and finally to Kagoshima. Beppu, near Oita, has the second largest amount of natural springs in Japan.

Yakushima, an outlying island to the south of Kagoshima, is the most famous World Natural Heritage Site in the entire Kyushu area.

As for the Kudai Main Line, which has appeared twice on posters, it runs the tourist train "Yufuin-no-mori", which intersects with the Nittoyo Main Line at Oita - it was originally a railroad line that ran from Oita to Kurume, and it passes through Yufuin in the middle of the line. Yufuin.

From Kurume, take the Kudai Main Line to Yufuin

Winter 2008, Kyudai Main Line, Yufuin Station - Minami Yufu Station

The Nitta Hikiyama Line is a niche railroad that branches off from Nitta Station on the Kyudai Main Line and connects north to Kokura in Kitakyushu. This line was featured on the "Youth 18" poster only because the scenery along the way is very nice, and although it's not a world-class tourist destination, it still represents the sense of relaxation that comes from traveling in the mountains of Kyushu.

Nitta Hikoyama Line, from Kokura to Nitta

Spring 2001, Nitta Hikiyama Line, Ohtsuru Station

The Toyohi line passes through Aso volcano in the middle of the line

Spring 2013, Fengfei Main Line, Nemu Station - Aso Station

The Hohi Main Line, which runs not only on the "Aso Boy" train with its funky interior but also on the "Mountain Jade Sea Jade" train, which is just as beautiful as its name, also starts from Oita and goes westward, but the Hifutsu Main Line goes to Kurume, the largest city in central Kyushu, while the Hohi Main Line goes to Kumamoto. The Hifutsu Main Line goes to Kurume, while the Toyohi Main Line goes to Kumamoto, the largest city in central Kyushu. The highlight of this line is that on the way to Kumamoto, it passes by Aso volcano, one of the most famous tourist attractions in Kyushu.

On the Triangle Line, the "A Train", a 16th-century vintage European color scheme, departs from Utsuchi Station in Utsuchi City, Kumamoto Prefecture, and travels all the way west through a small triangular peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides, eventually arriving at Utsuchi City's Triangle Station in Utsuchi City, Kumamoto Prefecture, where Amakusa, known for its dolphins, is located further to the west.

The Triangle Peninsula is one of the earliest areas where Western Christians preached in Japan, and with the beach route along the coast of the peninsula, if you want to go to Amakusa to see the dolphins, or to experience the history and culture of Christianity in this peninsula area, taking this route is also considered to be a more unique niche slow train travel route.

Trigonometry on the Delta Peninsula

Spring 1998, Triangle Line, Akase Station

The Jedo Line, from Jisong to the capital.

Then, there is the Hiza Line, which runs from Kumamoto Yatsushiro Station to Kagoshima Hayato Kirishima Station, passing through Hitoyoshi, Yoshimatsu, and other small stations, and from Yoshimatsu, the Kito Line, which runs from Yoshimatsu to a very small rural station called "Tojo-eki".

Compared to the above routes, the Hiza Line and the Kito Line are more familiar, or I've heard of them somewhere before. After all, the routes passing through Hitoyoshi and Yoshimatsu are the stops for some of the most popular and hard-to-buy tickets for Kyushu's sightseeing trains in the past.

Taking the Hiza line, along the way will follow the Kumamoto Kuma River all the way over the mountains, where the Kuma River belongs to the bottom of the river valley among the mountains, there is a certain geographic uniqueness; and when the train over Yagatake, looking out the window of the valley, but also another open plateau outlook landscape, no wonder it is so remote, but the popularity of the exceptionally high, there is a reason for it.

Kuma-chuan section of the Feiza Line

Summer 2016, Fat Sa Line, Makoyuki Station

Fei Sa line on the sightseeing train is hard to find, the operational factors account for a larger proportion, the scenery is certainly characteristic, but not world-class, but the operation is to make this relatively slow-paced landscape area, highlighting the value of slow train travel. As for how to emphasize, or local to walk as well, the words on the expression is ultimately shallow.

The only way to travel between Kuma River and Yaguchi is by bus, and the train, which was shut down for a long time due to heavy rain, has not yet been resumed. At present, only the Yoshimatsu-Hesa line connecting to Kagoshima is still operating normally.

Streetcars in Kagoshima City

Once the Hesa Line connects to Kagoshima, if you want to go further south to Ibusuki, you can also take the Ibusuki Pillowaki Line, which is featured on the "Youth 18" poster. The line departs from Kagoshima and travels through Ibusuki and Kaiwondake before arriving at a station called "Shimozaki".

The Ibusuki Pillowaki Line has several selling points: in addition to the "Ibusuki Tamatebako," a sightseeing train that is half-black and half-white, Ibusuki itself is a seaside town famous for its hot springs and sandbaths; and Kawagoe on the route is the seaside volcano in southern Kyushu that most closely resembles Mt. Fuji, with its complete and symmetrical shape, and a sea of sunflowers in bloom. When the sunflowers are in bloom, the "Satsuma Fuji" at the end of the mountain gives you a sense of being at the end of the island.

The Tsushizaki Fingerhut Line is also a seaside railroad.

Summer 2010, Ibusuki Pillowaki Line, Oyama Station - Nishi-Oyama Station

Omura Bay seaside section of the Omura Line

Winter 2014, Omura Line, Chimyeon Station

From Nagasaki to Sasebo, take the Nagasaki Main Line or the Omura Line.

Summer 2022, Nagasaki Main Line, Konagai Station - Nagasaki Station

The last two lines in Kyushu to be featured on the "Youth 18" poster, the Nagasaki Main Line and the Omura Line, both terminate in Nagasaki. However, the Nagasaki Main Line departs from Saga and the Omura Line departs from Sasebo. Spring Airlines has a direct flight point to Saga, and the sea of Sasebo is home to the famous Kujukushima Tourist Park, a theme park with a particularly large number of New Year's Eve fireworks displays, and the Hausdenberg.

As for Nagasaki, as a Japanese city where the dragon dance is held every year, the influence of Chinese culture can be seen, and from the geographical location, Nagasaki is naturally the gateway to Sino-Japanese exchanges. Whether you are traveling from Saga or Sasebo, it is always worthwhile to take one of the two "Youth 18" poster routes to Nagasaki to have a look.

🤗 West of Kanto: five regions

This west of Kanto is not limited to Kanto and Kansai, but also Chubu, Hokuriku, and the "Youth 18" poster area in Shikoku. I'm going to talk about these places together in one section.

Outside of Hokkaido and Kyushu, in terms of traveling and relaxing, both Shikoku and Honshu, the surrounding areas near the Seto Inland Sea are also very good travel areas, and Shikoku is very close to Honshu, which makes it a bit of a cut-off area, respectively.

In addition, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, Hokuriku, and Shikoku include regions that, taken individually, really can't be compared to Kyushu or Hokkaido, but together, it's a different story. In the Honshu and Shikoku regions west of Kanto, a total of 21 railroads have been featured on the "Youth 18" poster, and the total number of times it has been featured is 43, which is still quite a bit more than the number of times it has been featured in Kyushu and Hokkaido combined.

1️⃣ Kanto

Iiyama Line 1 time

Kurusato Line 1 time

Oiso Line 1 time

Tokyo Ueno Station Platform

Let's start with the southernmost part of the area covered by the above mentioned Tohoku Japan poster routes.

As I said before, there are only a few good tourist train routes around Aomori in the entire Tohoku region, and as for the area closer to Tokyo, and even the Kanto region, there are no secret routes, and there are only 3 on the poster, namely the Iiyama Line, the Kururi Line, and the Oshiage Line, and each of them has only appeared once on the "Youth 18" poster. Each of them only appeared once on the "Youth 18" poster.

Iiyama Line through Tokamachi

Winter 2005, Iiyama Line, Kamigasaki Station - Kamisanagawa Station

Of these three lines, the Iiyama Line is slightly better known because it passes through Tokamachi, which is also famous in Japan for holding the Earth Art Festival, and it starts from Echigo-Kawaguchi Station and ends up at Toyono Station. The Echigo-Kawaguchi line connects to Yuzawa in Niigata, and thus connects to the railroad line to Tokyo.

Although the line ends at Toyono, it is possible to take a train to Nagano by transferring to a different route in the middle of the line.

Assuming you start from Tokyo, go to Echigo Yuzawa, then go to Kawaguchi and take the Iiyama Line to Tokamachi, then go to Nagano, then change to the Nagano Dentetsu to Kobushi and Shibu Onsen, and then finally you can detour to Karuizawa and go back to Tokyo, the whole travel route is also a wonderful Tokyo-Nagano mini-circle that is beautiful no matter what the weather is like in spring, summer, fall, or winter.

Kururiuri line

Summer 2013, Kurusato Line, Hirayama Station

The Kururi Line from Kisarazu Station to Kamiso Kameyama Station is in Chiba. Without the cross-sea bridge that leads to Kisarazu, Chiba, near Haneda Airport, we felt that the probability of international tourists traveling on the Kurusato Line would be almost zero. And it's true, the line could be scrapped at any time because the number of riders is so low, and you can imagine how uncrowded a train that's about to be scrapped is.

However, because of the cross-sea bridge, in the middle of the bridge, there is a rest stop called "Kaihotaru", which has an observatory in the middle of the sea, restaurants and other leisure facilities, and across the street in Kisarazu, there is an outlet store. In this way, international tourists who do not drive can take a shuttle bus from the Haneda Airport area to the Umihotaru rest stop and then go to the Kisarazu Outlets.

In this case, it opens up a possibility for international tourists to experience the Kurusato Line, and you might well consider taking the Kurusato Line from Kisarazu Station all the way to Kurusato Castle, and ultimately to the hot spring grounds of Kamiso Kameyama; in addition, near Kisarazu Station, there's also shell digging at the Spring Beach, best known for the Edo-mae Shells, and a bit further afield there's also Kanto's largest sightseeing ranch --Mother Ranch.

From Matsumoto northward to the Oya Line of the Inukawa River.

Spring 2022, Oito Line, Azumi Substation

The Oyashio Line starts from Matsumoto Station in Matsumoto, passes through Hakuba, and finally arrives at a place called "Oyashio River".

This is one of the routes that Abu Traveler has traveled before, and I like it. Not only is Matsumoto City, where there are many young people, but there are several lakes where you can go fishing, and the Daio Wasabi Farm, and Hakuba is a good place to visit in all seasons.

These are the three routes in the Kanto region that appeared on the poster of "Youth 18". There are so many railroads in the Kanto area, but these are the only ones.

2️⃣ Chubu

Takayama Main Line 4 times

Iida Line 4 times

Chuo Main Line 1 time

The Hida Mountains in central Japan as seen from an airplane.

Further west in Kanto, you come to the Chubu region.

This area is also an attractive natural sanctuary because of the Hida Mountains, and there are only three railroad routes that have been featured on posters: the Takayama Main Line, the Iida Line, and the Chuo Main Line, but there are a lot of them, and the first two have been featured on the "Youth 18" posters four times each.

central planning line

Let's start with the Chuo Main Line, which has only been on the poster once, because it's the most famous, so famous that you can hear its name in Tokyo, and it's really also a line that runs from Tokyo through Otsuki, Kofu, and eventually to Nagoya.

If you look at the route map of the Chuo Main Line, you will see that it is exactly a modern train line built on the basis of the highway Nakasendo from the Edo period. The most interesting part of this section is the old post roads that can be hiked by travelers and are left to the present day, especially Tsumagojuku near Minami-Kiso Station and the Mago-juku section near Nakatsugawa Station.

Takayama Main Line from Nagoya north to Toyama

Spring 2015, Takayama Main Line, Kadokawa Station - Sakagami Station

The Takayama Main Line, which runs from Gifu Station north of Nagoya, heads north through Takayama and eventually leads to Toyama. This route is considered a central artery route, but it is also a major tourist artery from a sightseeing point of view because of the scenic beauty of the central mountainous region, which has several excellent hot spring resorts, and because Takayama is surrounded by Japan's World Heritage Site, where Shirakawa-go is located.

The third line, the Iida Line, which runs from Toyohashi Station in Toyohashi City and ends up at Tatsuno Station, just south of Matsumoto. What it reports on, on the other hand, are the several mountainous river valley sections on the way. It's a bit like the Only See Line in that from a sightseeing point of view, there aren't too many world-class cultural heritages or very stunning natural landscapes along the Iida Line, but perhaps it's the fact that the route is so niche, so unknown, and so much better suited to letting off steam, that it's so coveted by photographers.

Iida Line

Summer 2012, Iida Line, Nakai Station

3️⃣ Hokuriku

Himi Line 2 times

Joto Line 1 time

The main artery of the Chubu Route is the Takayama Main Line, but Toyama itself, the final destination of the line, is a very important tourist destination in the Hokuriku region. Not only is it surrounded by the famous Kurobe Taisetsu Valley and snow-covered mountains that can be seen from downtown, but there are also two short-distance train lines that have been featured on the "Youth 18" posters around Toyama.

These two lines are the Himi Line, which has been featured twice, and the Joto Line, which has been featured once.

Himi Line

Winter 2007, Himi Line, Trans-Chugoku region-station - Yuqing Station

Joto Line

Winter 2013, Joto Line, Joto Station

They all leave from Takaoka Station. Takaoka is an old town near Toyama, and from Takaoka to the north is the Himi Line, which goes all the way to Himi Station, where the Himi Fishing Harbor, famous for its Himi Amberjacks, is located, and on the way there you pass by the Yuharu Coast, which is famous for its view of the mountains from across the sea; and from Takaoka to the south, to a small station called Joto Station, which is the Joto Line, and where special sightseeing trains run. There is a special sightseeing train that runs on it.

Both of these are routes around Toyama, and in essence, since Toyama has direct flights to Chugoku region, if you are traveling to the Toyama and Kanazawa areas, you can experience these two branch lines, especially if you are interested in fishing on the Japan Sea side.

Also, in addition to these two railroad lines, there are streetcars in downtown Toyama that add to the beauty of life in this small northern town. At the end of last year, I rode the tram in Toyama and got a free ticket at the front desk of the hotel as a foreign tourist.

Kansai

Kiseihon Line 2 times

Sannomiya Line 2 times

Sanin Main Line 4 times

Kiji Line 1 time

Yamaguchi Line 1 time

Haruta Line 1 time

Tsuyama Line 1 time

Seto Ohashi Line 1 time

Kure Line 2 times

Kyoto Station platform at night

After Hokuriku, further west is the Kansai region where Kyoto and Osaka are most familiar.

There are two most famous train lines going west from Kyoto and Osaka. One is the Sanyo Main Line, which hugs the Seto Inland Sea, and the other is the Sanin Main Line, which hugs the side of the Sea of Japan.

But before we officially start talking about the area west of Kyoto, let's turn our attention to the Kii Peninsula south of Osaka. The Kisei Main Line, which departs from Mie Kameyama Station and travels south along the seashore of the Kii Peninsula, encircling the entire peninsula until it reaches Wakayama Station, as well as the Sannomiya Line, which departs from Mie Taki Station, passes through Ise Jingu Shrine, and finally arrives at Toba Station, were also on the posters twice each.

Kisei Main Line, Matsusaka to Shingu section

Kisei Main Line, Shingu to Wakayama section

Summer 2001, Kisei Main Line, Otsoneura Station

Sangon line from Taki to Toba

Summer 2006, Sangtemple Line, Ikenoura Seaside Station-Toba Station

Okay, now we can officially start talking about Kyoto and Osaka to the west, back to the Sanyo and Sanin routes.

First of all, the Sanyo Route on the Japan Sea side, as a route that passes through a densely populated area in Japan, has not been recommended by "Youth 18" at all.

However, the Sanyo route has been on the poster four times. In addition, there are many other train lines connecting north and south in the whole of Honshu, from Tokyo to the west, between the Sanyo and Sanin lines, and three of them have been featured on the poster: the Kiji, Yamaguchi, and Harutora lines, which have each been featured on the "Youth 18" poster once.

The Sanin Main Line, highly topical, is a long route on the Japan Sea side that comes with its own mythology, and there's no shortage of railroad fans among the Japanese who ride the Sanin Main Line just for the sake of riding it. Starting from Kyoto Station, the line travels through Arashiyama and then west to Hachimanose Station in Shimonoseki City, a total length of 673.8 kilometers, and it takes 14 and a half hours to complete the journey in one go.

From Kyoto, take the Sanin Main Line to Mt. Fukuchiyama.

Summer 2002, Sanin Main Line, Oju Station - Miho Misumi Station

There are many interesting places to visit on the Sanin Main Line. After passing through Arashiyama from Kyoto in fall and winter, you can get off at Fukuchiyama Station or Toyooka Station and transfer to a local branch train or bus to go to the fishing port of Makoto to eat crabs.

The fishing port of Makoto is where the most famous Makoto crabs of "Sea Kyoto" are produced. Of course, if you don't want to go through all the trouble, you can take the Sanin Main Line all the way to Josaki Onsen, where inns usually offer winter meals of Matsuba crabs, but the crabs there are not Makoto crabs.

Scenery of Shimane section of Sanin Main Line by slow train

Once the Sanin Main Line passes through Josaki Onsen, the line extends westward along the seashore, with several small, posterized seashore stations along the way; and then there are two tourist meccas that are big enough to attract international tourists - the domestically famous town of Conan, near Tottori Yura Station, and the Shimane Adachi Museum of Art, further west near Yasurai Station, one of the pinnacles of garden art. Another one is further west, the Shimane Adachi Museum of Art near Yasurai Station, one of the pinnacles of garden art.

Further west from Shimane, the train arrives at the city of Matsue, which, like Shanghai Matsue in China, is also an ancient city in Japan, and further west of Matsue, there is Izumo Grand Shrine, the source of the mythological colors of Sanin; beyond Izumo, the train travels further and further westward into more remote Yamaguchi Prefecture, past Hagi, where pottery is produced, and finally arrives at Shimonoseki Hanyo, which is located across the Kanmon strait from Kyushu. Shimonoseki Hachimansei Station, across the Kanmon strait from Kyushu.

Sanin Main Line between Josaki Onsen and Matsue

Winter 2001, Sanin Main Line, Armor Station

Kiji Line

Spring 2006, Kiji Line, Izumo Sakane Station

The Kiji Line, which starts from Matsue City Shinji Station and ends up at Bisho Ochiai Station in Hiroshima Prefecture. It's a niche route with a Tamatsukuri hot spring in the neighborhood, so if you happen to be sightseeing in Izumo, consider experiencing it.

As for the Yamaguchi Line, it extends from Shin-Yamaguchi Station in Yamaguchi Prefecture to Ikeda Station in Shimane Prefecture, and most of the way is within Yamaguchi Prefecture.

There's not much in the way of world-class sightseeing in Yamaguchi Prefecture as a whole, but the line passes through a place called Tsuwano, a small town that's a bit of a talking point in terms of wooing new immigrants, similar to Shikoku Kamiyamachi, which Abu's Travelogue has written about, and which operates a local scenic steam train route, which is something you might want to consider checking out, if you have a thing for townspeople returning to their hometowns.

Of course, as a real old Edo town, strolling along the well-maintained old streets is much more interesting than the ordinary rural Kamiyama town, both in terms of atmosphere and facilities.

Yamaguchi line

Summer 2009, Yamaguchi Line, Shinome Station

Haruta Line

Summer 2014, Harutora Line, Aokura Station - Takeda Station

The Harutora Line, which starts at Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture on the Pacific Ocean side, ends at Wadayama Station in Asarai City, also in Hyogo Prefecture.

Its existence makes it possible to establish a connecting loop from Kyoto to the Sea of Japan side to eat crabs and see the Sea of Japan, then visit Himeji, the most beautiful castle on the Pacific side, through Kobe with its million-dollar night view and Arima, a famous hot spring town, and finally back to Kyoto. Moreover, when using the Haributsu Line to connect north and south, we get an additional world-class viewpoint, the sky castle trace Takeda Castle.

The Tsuyama Line is a train line that serves a similar function to the Harutora Line, connecting the north and south of the island. It departs from Tsuyama Station in Tsuyama City and connects south to Okayama Station in Okayama Prefecture, surrounded by the prestigious art town of Kurashiki. In addition, the Tsuyama Line can also be treated as a midway section from Honshu to Shikoku.

After arriving at Okayama Station on the Tsuyama Line, you can continue south on the Seto Ohashi Line, which also appears on the "Youth 18" poster, and cross the Seto Inland Sea to Shikoku Takamatsu Station.

Tsuyama Line south to Okayama

Okayama Station then south to Takamatsu Seto Ohashi Line

Spring 2008, Seto Ohashi Line, Kodoshima Station - Utatsu Station

Of course, the way to get to Shikoku from Honshu is not only the cross-sea bridge, but of course the traditional cross-sea ship. Then it's the turn of the Kure Line, a seaside railroad that travels along the north coast of the Seto Inland Sea, connecting Hiroshima Prefecture's Kaitaichi Station with Mihara Station in the same prefecture, to make its debut on the scene, as it has been on Poster 2 for the last two times.

First of all, there are various ferries connecting the outlying islands between Shikoku and Honshu, including the ports of Mihara, Tadami, Takehara, Awaizu, Kure, and even Hiroshima near Kure.

The Kure Line runs along the north coast of the Seto Inland Sea.

Spring 2012, Kure Line, Fungcho Station - Anpo Station

Among them, Onomichi, east of Mihara Station, is the Honshu Island starting point of the Setouchi Bike Ride, where you can rent a bicycle and leisurely ride the 70-kilometer-long sea lane all the way across six islands, the so-called Shimanami Kaido Bike Ride Route, and ultimately arrive at Ehime Imabari City on the island of Shikoku.

Along the way, there are sea views, wonderful architecture from the islands along the way, art museums, folk traditions, and restaurants and cafes with pleasant window views, not to mention the beautiful town of Onomichi itself, which is already full of a slow-life atmosphere, and the interest of the Matsuyama side of Ehime. I was envious of the riding path, which Abu Traveler's Notebook had watched my friend riding on the cloud.

Shimanami Kaido Bike Path on the Seto Inland Sea

5️⃣ Shikoku

Tokushima Line 1 time

Ioto Line 1 time

Tuzan line 6 times

Iosan line 5 times

The "Bread Superman" train on the Tuzan Line

Finally, the last part, the "Youth 18" poster route within Shikoku.

Whether you enter Shikoku by rail, ferry, or bike, a look at the map immediately reveals a sparseness similar to that of the Kii Peninsula, with few railroads branching off the train lines that circle the island.

But those few railroads are the ones that appear on the poster a total of 14 times. They are the Tozan line 6 times, the Iyozan line 5 times, the Tokushima line 1 time, and the Ioto line 1 time.

These lines, basically, are also main lines connecting major cities in Shikoku. From Takamatsu to Matsuyama, the Iyozan Line; from Takamatsu to Kochi in the south, the Tozan Line; from Kochi Wakai Station to Ehime Kita Uwajima Station, the Iyozan Line; plus, within Tokushima Prefecture, the Tokushima Line, which runs from Tsukuda Station to Sako Station; and Takatoku Line, which goes from Takamatsu to Tokushima, and which does not appear in the Shanghai Post.

The Tokushima Line is all within Tokushima Prefecture.

Spring 2014, Tokushima Line, Kojima Station

Iodo Line from Kochi to Ehime

Summer 2011, Iyochi Line, Tosa Taisho Station - Tosa Showa Station

Let's start with two routes that were only reported once in Shanghai.

The Tokushima Line, which we took more than half of, is the route we took after taking the Tozan Line to Aba Ikeda and changing trains. What we're trying to say is that the focus of the Tokushima Line is not so much on the city of Tokushima as it is on getting to Tokushima and crossing the ocean to Awaji Island Fukurara, which is diagonally across the street, to see the Naruto Maelstrom.

And after that, the Iyochi line that appeared on the poster 1 time. This line is basically in Kochi, which is like the last pure land of existence for Japanese people. It is said that Kochi's freshwater fish is particularly delicious because the water is exceptionally clean and is famous for the Shimanjukawa River, which is also the hometown of Abe Yasuro, the original author of the Japanese drama Late Night Diner, which is also very popular in China.

Tuzan Line from Takamatsu to Kochi

Winter 2015, Tuzan Line, Pingjiri Station

The grand finale was the Tuzan line - the line on which Shikoku appeared on the poster the highest number of times, as many as six. But since relatively few tourists go to Kochi, naturally fewer international tourists have traveled this route.

On the contrary, Abu Traveler's Notebook has traveled on a section of the line, i.e., from Kotohira to Obitsugushi Station by bus, and then to Awa Ikeda by train, but only for a short distance, and then I changed trains to Tokushima. But in terms of travel experience, the road scenery is beautiful, passengers are mostly tourists, the atmosphere is leisurely, and understandably the reason for Shanghai newspaper, this route is really quite cost-effective, especially after Spring Airlines set up a flight point in Takamatsu. By the way, the travel charm of Kochi is perhaps underestimated.

Iozan Line from Takamatsu to Matsuyama

Summer 2005, Iyozan Line, Crosstown Station - Kita Beach Station

Finally, the Izan Line, which has been on the poster five times, with the Shimoda Station appearing three times.

All we can say about this is that photographers, and train traveling audiences alike, really love small, uninhabited stations with a view of the sea. There is also a small outlying island near Shimodan station, Qingdao, which is known for having more island cats than people, and perhaps that's the reason why people head to Shimodan.

Speaking of seaside stations, there is another seaside station on the Iyozan Line that is almost as famous as Shimodan Station, Umezuji Station, which is the setting for the station where the hero and heroine of Tokyo Love Story finally parted ways, and Matsuyama Dogo Hot Spring on the Iyozan Line, which is itself one of the locations for the Yufuya Hot Spring of Chihaya Senso, which are reasons why the Iyozan Line, despite being a remote route, is also known to be of world renown.