Kawane Mountain Train Adventure

After the farm stay experience in Kawane, I was taken to Senzu station for my one day nature exploration.  Said this rail was originally built to construct a huge Ikawa dam 90 years ago and currently operated mostly for tourist, rather than commute.

I got on the train with a guide.  The train, ABT train, itself was really small.  No wonder because it was originally used for construction material carriage.  Once it moved, I felt away from comfortable as it has no AC, windows full opened, and with surprising squeaking sound of wheels.  Still, the view from the window was wonderful, unrealistic to me as if I had been in a fairy tales.

At a station, it stopped for a while.  My guide said it was because the train needed to be connected with a gear train to move up the steepest mountain slope.  After a while, we reached Nagashima Dam station.  Huge dam.  Apparently, hydropower station.  Open since 2002.  Down the hill, I could see a suspension bridge over the waterway.  Hiking, camping, and water sports were popular around the dam, the guide said.

Gear Car Connection

My destination was a few stations away.  After Nagashima Dam, I saw some lakes from the window, and after the tunnel, here you go.  A red bridge.  And an island ?  It looked like, but actually, it turned out to be a part of the mountain.  Across the bridge, the train stopped.  Oku-ooi Kojo Station.  Lots of tourists come for this place. 

The guide took me to the deck to take pictures. 

And we walked across the bridge, stepped on steep stairs to hike up the hill, and finally reached the spot I had wanted to visit.

After I took some pictures, we walked to the next station, Sesso-kyo Onsen Station, which took us about 20 min.  Instead, you can take a local bus to Senzu Station, or some walk back to Oku-ooi Kojo Station to take the return train.  According to the guide, this course is a very basic one, 3 hours in total, but if time allowed, you can extend the tour +1 hour for an extra hike around Sesso-kyo Onsen Station, or + 1 hour for Nagashima Dam hike.  If you are coming to Kawane for tea experience or farm stay experience, why don’t you think about it as your option ?