2010/02/18|
Hey there, Kapinozuka here. This was spring last year, when I visited Miyagi pref. I took a ride on a tour boat on the way back, to see the sights of Matsushima. The number of islands in Matsushima overwhelmed me. Apparently there are around 260 islands gathered there, small and large, but I would seriously believe it if I was told that [there are 808 islands in Matsushima]. So here is a pic I took from then. Might be nice for a diorama idea.  Matsushima, Ahh Matsushima, Matsushima. Yup. Rumor has it that the famous Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho was breath-taken by the beauty of the scenery, that he was lost for words to describe the magnificence of Matsushima. .........tho apparently that wasn't actually the case, as it was a phrase by the fraud Tahara Tsusumi...or something or rather. Although we can't fully deny the possibility that Basho chouldn't come up with a nice poem at the time.  The End. HEY! It's not over yet!! I saw this train when I was on the JR Senseki Line. Front!! (Ishinomaki Station side)  Back!! (Sendai Station side)  There were illustrations drawn all over the train, and it seemed that they were all characters by Shotaro Ishinomori!! This train is actually called [Mangattan Liner II], and has a wrapping with Shotaro Ishinomori's characters on the entire train. The first Ishinomaki Station side front car (1st car) has [Sea Jetter Kaito] on the front, and the tail car on the Sendai Station side (4th car) has [Masked Rider] on the front. Here is a list of the characters on the train!
Now that's what I call a rich content. And this Mangattan Liner II is, I'm surprised to say, going to be released as a train model in N-scale! Series 205-3100 Senseki Line Mangattan Liner II  Due to some complicated issues, the trains interior and such are not exactly the same, but I just can't wait to see how nicely the characters will look on the model. And when you reach the final desgination, the Ishinomaki Stastion...  There it is! On the side of the station nameplate is Sea Jetter Kaito! And above it is the sight seeing map of Ishinomaki, and there are character illustrations all over it! Aaaaand...  On the wall of the platform is 009 Shimamura Joe. It clearly stands out far more than the Miyagi pref. Tourism mascot character, [Musubi-Maru] (just below the small station name plate on the pole). I forgot to take pics of the statues/objects at the ticket gate of the station, im very sad to inform, but they were of Kamen Rider and Cyborg 009 etc. and were about 4/5 scale figures, which really had me impressed. This, I have to say, is really a project that can only be achieved on the Senseki Line, with Ishinomaki as its final destination, a place with ties to Shotaro Ishinomori. In Ishinomaki City, there is a museum/memorial hall called Ishinomori Mangattan Museum. If you are a fan of Ishinomori's work, I really recommend you to take the Mangattan Liner on the Senseki Line to Ishinomaki! *Mangattan Liner and Mangattan Liner II runs on set schedule on Saturdays, but runs at random on weekdays (therefore possibility of it not running on weekdays) Lastly, here is a description of the Senseki line. The blue stripe formation (normal car)  A refreshing color, isn't it? The Senseki line series 205 are transfered from Yamanote Line in Tokyo etc., but has been partially customized for the Senseki like, such as the addition of toilets, semi-automatic doors and the customization of the front car etc. Also, sorry to inform that the initial production ver. has been long sold out in N-scale. - Series 205-3100 Senseki Line Color (4-Car Set) *04/03/2010 update: The current version in N-scale is here! - Series 205-3100 Senseki Line Single Arm Pantograph (4-Car Set) Formation with different stripe colors for each car (2-way seat car)  The Ishinomaki Station side front car is a convenient train, with the ability to change from long seat to cross-seat placement. To show that its different from the normal formation, it's got different colored stripes on each car, related to sight seeing spots. And again, this one is also sold out in N-scale. The Senseki line was initially a private rail called [Miyagi Electric Railways], but became government owned during the war, turning into the JNR Senseki Line, and is run by the public these days. It had been electrified at 1500v since the beginning, so you can't use the normal trains running in the Tohoku region as Senseki Line. This is the reason behind the use of trains from Yamanote Line and such from Tokyo. Also, the fact that Sendai station on the Senseki line is independent, as well as being only connected to about 2 places on the JR Line, such as the Ishinomaki station, could be seen as the remnants of it formally being a private railway. It could be just me, but when I was on a Senseki line, it felt different to the JR and JNR lines, a private railway feel to it, I guess it had. Along the Senseki Line, there are Matsushima and Ishinomori Mangattan Museum etc, as well as the Outlet Park Port Sendai, and many other fun places to visit. I recommend you checking them out if you get the chance! By Kapinozuka |
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