THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
February 3, 2023 at 18:14 JST
ABASHIRI, Hokkaido--Hokkaido Railway Co. (JR Hokkaido) is operating a special train again this year on part of its Senmo Line to allow passengers to view the drift ice in the Sea of Okhotsk.
The special train, called Ryuhyo Monogatari Go (The story of drifting ice train), will be making a round trip between Abashiri Station in Abashiri and Shiretoko Shari Station in Shari twice a day until Feb. 26.
Drift ice in the Sea of Okhotsk became visible from the land for the first time this winter on Feb. 2, the Abashiri Local Meteorological Office announced.
This so-called first drift ice day came 11 days later than normal and nine days later than last year.
Officials saw a white line formed by drift ice on the horizon around 20 kilometers north of the meteorological office at 10:50 a.m. on Feb. 2 from its roof.
Officials do not yet know when the drift ice will arrive along the coast of Abashiri for the first time this winter, but they say it normally does so by Feb. 10.
On the special train on the Senmo Line, passengers can enjoy a spectacular view of the Sea of Okhotsk as the tracks along this segment of the line are closer to the sea.
The train stops at Kitahama Station for 10 minutes when it departs from Abashiri Station. There, passengers can enjoy a grand view of the sea.
Passengers got off at the station just after midday one recent sunny day and started taking pictures.
In the sub-zero temperatures, they photographed themselves with the train, the sea and the retro-looking station building in the background.
The passengers then spent time at the small train station until they heard the announcement that the train was leaving.
The announcement is also made in English, Chinese and Korean for foreign tourists.
When the train goes the opposite way, departing from Shiretoko Shari Station, it stops at Hamakoshimizu Station for 20 minutes, where passengers can buy souvenirs at a nearby roadside station.
The special train comprises two cars. The first is yellow and called the “gifts-from-the-drift-ice car.”
The second is green and called the “gifts-from-the-forest car.”
Both cars feature illustrations of animals living in Hokkaido such as cows, brown bears and red foxes, along with plants including wheat and mushrooms. There are also pictures of mountains and forests.
The fare for the special train is 970 yen ($7.50), the same as the regular fare to travel the segment of the line.
The children’s fare is half the adult’s price.
Passengers can book a reserved seat facing the sea at ticket offices called “Midori no madoguchi” at Japan Railway Co. (JR) train stations or on the train ticket website “Eki Net.”
Passengers must pay an additional 530 yen to book a reserved seat. Each car has 20 reserved seats.
(This article was written by Jun Hasegawa and Masafumi Kamimura.)
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Passengers take pictures of the Ryuhyo Monogatari Go drift ice viewing train at Kitahama Station on Jan. 31. (Jun Hasegawa)
