Instead of taking the complimentary shuttle bus from our hotel to the airport in Kushiro, we decided to take the steam train for one final adventure in Hokkaido.
The engine pulls into Shibecha station.
Taking the Fuyu no Shitsugen-go (Winter Bog) is a special event. It’s a tourist event for train geeks. The train spotter in me was happy to be riding it.
Each car has a “daruma stove” that the conductor kept well stoked with coal.
The cars are decorated with stuffed foxes, deer and owls plus lots of fake branches with polyfil snow draped on them. It’s just silly because the real sights were outside: fields full of grazing deer; steam from the engine drifting through the trees; and a fox on the hillside.
Posted by kuri at February 16, 2005 05:59 PMMaybe the fake foxes were for the really nearsighted? Is the daruma stove named that for it’s shape? It looks like such a tidy little train! Very clean.
Posted by: Jenn on February 18, 2005 12:18 AMDaruma is the armless, legless, red clad priest that is made into wishing charms. He’s round like the stove.
Posted by: Kristen on February 18, 2005 05:32 PMSeeing that steam engine reminded me of the movie Popoya. Rather good (albeit a little sad) movie. :-)
Posted by: Eva on February 21, 2005 06:57 AM