As someone who lives in Kyushu, this is one of the rare times I can contribute something!!
The JR Kyushu company is an interesting one. I feel they tend to operate very different than the other JR companies in Japan. One of those differences is the staggering amount of novelty/theme trains they have. Kyushu historically was a place for the wealthy and powerful (residing often in Tokyo or Osaka) to vacation, so I suppose it makes some sort of sense. But it is very charming to see them all today.
Even their regular trains are quite odd. I take the Sonic train often from Fukuoka to Beppu—and depending on which model you get, its either a retro 70s interior, adorned with wood grain paneling, dark green hues, and a vibe so thick you can practically smell the cigarette smoke coming off the thing...or the later model which feels forever trapped in some late 90s Y2K 'space age new millennium aesthetic' that is just plain awesome.
The more laid-back Kyushu vibe also enhances the whole thing. If you take a late night express train, you'll often find groups of salarymen hanging in the areas between cars, drinking beers and chatting as if they were at the bar after work. It's a real nice thing.
A few other fun facts:
- JR Kyushu wasn't profitable (considering the original JNR split in the 80s) until they got into the real estate game (accounting for like 60% of their operations today). They actually own the Seattle Best Coffee franchise here in Japan, which I think went defunct in America some time ago.
- The top of JR Kyushu's flagship station (Hakata) has a Shinto shrine (dedicated to the rail) and a wonderful garden atop it.
- They also operated a ferry service to Korea (as it is rather close to Fukuoka) up until 2024—when (covered up) leakage problems on the ferry caused a national controversy.
- They are responsible for the bizarre Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen (bullet train) line, which is a poorly thought out, half finished project that currently takes you from Nagasaki to...a small hot spring town that's barely out of Nagasaki.
I feel like the Japanese found the goose that lays the golden eggs (private trains with real-estate/hotels/supermarkets/shopping-centers). The parts form a virtuous cycle where better trains = more people come to use those other things, and those other things make more people take their trains. As such, the government doesn't have to fund the train systems and so they're not chronically underfunded like they are in so many countries.
And yet, no one will copy them. There's always some excuse. LA is going down the excuse route and adding train lines with no chance of ever supporting themsevles. They are all designed as a handout to the people who are too poor to buy a car, rather than viable alternative to cars, and the fact that they aren't connected to all of those extra things means they'll also never be as compelling to use.
it also helped that the government stuck the equivalent $1T+ debt for building the highspeed system onto an off balance sheet entity before privatising the JR companies. so investors picked up the (barely) cashflow profitable lines without construction debt.
JR was converted into 7 companies. Most of other 93 existing train companies were not paid for by government. Take Tokyo - The Keio lines, the Odakyu lines, the Tokyu lines, the Tobu lines, the Keikyu lines, the Seibu lines, etc... are all private and have been private since they started.
As for JR, most of the debt was paid back, at least by JR East and JR West.
> I feel like the Japanese found the goose that lays the golden eggs (private trains with real-estate/hotels/supermarkets/shopping-centers). The parts form a virtuous cycle where better trains = more people come to use those other things, and those other things make more people take their trains. As such, the government doesn't have to fund the train systems and so they're not chronically underfunded like they are in so many countries.
The trains in dense cities are well funded. Those in less dense areas have all the same problems as elsewhere in the world - JR Shikoku in particular is withering away. Having your quasi-public railway company engage in aggressive real estate speculation is great when it works (JR Kyushu) but the flipside is what happens when it doesn't (JR Hokkaido) - do you then hang them out to dry?
> And yet, no one will copy them. There's always some excuse. LA is going down the excuse route and adding train lines with no chance of ever supporting themsevles. They are all designed as a handout to the people who are too poor to buy a car, rather than viable alternative to cars, and the fact that they aren't connected to all of those extra things means they'll also never be as compelling to use.
All transport is handouts, only governments can really organise it and no single entity could ever capture all the benefits. The stuff Japan is doing right is mostly not subsidising cars (no publicly funded freeways, no handouts of public street space to people who are too poor to store their car themselves, no tax breaks for employer-provided car parking or company cars), and having sensible by-right zoning laws that make it legal and practical to build dense cities. But even then the various governments of Japan give a bunch of direct and indirect support to railway companies, and outside of the Tokaido corridor they wouldn't be viable without that.
Transit lines in many countries do support themselves by increasing productivity and tax revenue near the stations. It is not as direct as in Japan, where the train company itself captures the value created by its stations, but it’s effectively the same thing. Most places in the world with effective public transit systems are more like LA than Japan in how they are funded and operated.
So you can claim, and I agree, that it's supposedly an investment. Unfortunately, putting it in the hands of politicians to fund often means funds are taken away for other things. Where as, the private Japanese train companies fund themselves and it works.
On a recent trip to Japan, my partner and I visited the Kyoto Railway Museum (https://www.kyotorailwaymuseum.jp/en/
), which features many of the trains and predecessors listed in the OP.
Seeing it at the end of the trip after riding so many different trains made it especially impactful. Two highlights were the massive 100ft-wide railway diorama and the working vintage steam trains, which they drive (run?) out onto a turntable before rotating and returning to their stalls.
It might have nothing to do with JR Kyushu but JR West isnt't everything or even the majority of train service in Kyoto. Kyoto has at least 8 train companies, Keihan, Kintetsu, Hankyu, JR West, Keifuku, Eizan, Sagano, and the Kyoto Subway. Japan has over 100. The museum does not appear at a glance to affilated with any particular one - though I only glanced
You can see many of them go to the middle and eastern side of kyushu. I just lived in Aso for a few years and can't recommend it enough. The takachiho/gokase/beppu areas are jaw-dropping.
As someone who lives in Kyushu, this is one of the rare times I can contribute something!!
The JR Kyushu company is an interesting one. I feel they tend to operate very different than the other JR companies in Japan. One of those differences is the staggering amount of novelty/theme trains they have. Kyushu historically was a place for the wealthy and powerful (residing often in Tokyo or Osaka) to vacation, so I suppose it makes some sort of sense. But it is very charming to see them all today.
Even their regular trains are quite odd. I take the Sonic train often from Fukuoka to Beppu—and depending on which model you get, its either a retro 70s interior, adorned with wood grain paneling, dark green hues, and a vibe so thick you can practically smell the cigarette smoke coming off the thing...or the later model which feels forever trapped in some late 90s Y2K 'space age new millennium aesthetic' that is just plain awesome.
The more laid-back Kyushu vibe also enhances the whole thing. If you take a late night express train, you'll often find groups of salarymen hanging in the areas between cars, drinking beers and chatting as if they were at the bar after work. It's a real nice thing.
A few other fun facts: - JR Kyushu wasn't profitable (considering the original JNR split in the 80s) until they got into the real estate game (accounting for like 60% of their operations today). They actually own the Seattle Best Coffee franchise here in Japan, which I think went defunct in America some time ago.
- The top of JR Kyushu's flagship station (Hakata) has a Shinto shrine (dedicated to the rail) and a wonderful garden atop it.
- They also operated a ferry service to Korea (as it is rather close to Fukuoka) up until 2024—when (covered up) leakage problems on the ferry caused a national controversy.
- They are responsible for the bizarre Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen (bullet train) line, which is a poorly thought out, half finished project that currently takes you from Nagasaki to...a small hot spring town that's barely out of Nagasaki.
I feel like the Japanese found the goose that lays the golden eggs (private trains with real-estate/hotels/supermarkets/shopping-centers). The parts form a virtuous cycle where better trains = more people come to use those other things, and those other things make more people take their trains. As such, the government doesn't have to fund the train systems and so they're not chronically underfunded like they are in so many countries.
And yet, no one will copy them. There's always some excuse. LA is going down the excuse route and adding train lines with no chance of ever supporting themsevles. They are all designed as a handout to the people who are too poor to buy a car, rather than viable alternative to cars, and the fact that they aren't connected to all of those extra things means they'll also never be as compelling to use.
it also helped that the government stuck the equivalent $1T+ debt for building the highspeed system onto an off balance sheet entity before privatising the JR companies. so investors picked up the (barely) cashflow profitable lines without construction debt.
I wish this mis-information would die
JR was converted into 7 companies. Most of other 93 existing train companies were not paid for by government. Take Tokyo - The Keio lines, the Odakyu lines, the Tokyu lines, the Tobu lines, the Keikyu lines, the Seibu lines, etc... are all private and have been private since they started.
As for JR, most of the debt was paid back, at least by JR East and JR West.
> I feel like the Japanese found the goose that lays the golden eggs (private trains with real-estate/hotels/supermarkets/shopping-centers). The parts form a virtuous cycle where better trains = more people come to use those other things, and those other things make more people take their trains. As such, the government doesn't have to fund the train systems and so they're not chronically underfunded like they are in so many countries.
The trains in dense cities are well funded. Those in less dense areas have all the same problems as elsewhere in the world - JR Shikoku in particular is withering away. Having your quasi-public railway company engage in aggressive real estate speculation is great when it works (JR Kyushu) but the flipside is what happens when it doesn't (JR Hokkaido) - do you then hang them out to dry?
> And yet, no one will copy them. There's always some excuse. LA is going down the excuse route and adding train lines with no chance of ever supporting themsevles. They are all designed as a handout to the people who are too poor to buy a car, rather than viable alternative to cars, and the fact that they aren't connected to all of those extra things means they'll also never be as compelling to use.
All transport is handouts, only governments can really organise it and no single entity could ever capture all the benefits. The stuff Japan is doing right is mostly not subsidising cars (no publicly funded freeways, no handouts of public street space to people who are too poor to store their car themselves, no tax breaks for employer-provided car parking or company cars), and having sensible by-right zoning laws that make it legal and practical to build dense cities. But even then the various governments of Japan give a bunch of direct and indirect support to railway companies, and outside of the Tokaido corridor they wouldn't be viable without that.
Transit lines in many countries do support themselves by increasing productivity and tax revenue near the stations. It is not as direct as in Japan, where the train company itself captures the value created by its stations, but it’s effectively the same thing. Most places in the world with effective public transit systems are more like LA than Japan in how they are funded and operated.
The problem is they are almost always at the whim of politians. Take London.
https://www.google.com/search?q=is+the+london+tube+under+fun...
https://www.google.com/search?q=is+rome+subway+underfunded
https://www.google.com/search?q=is+barcelona+subway+underfun...
So you can claim, and I agree, that it's supposedly an investment. Unfortunately, putting it in the hands of politicians to fund often means funds are taken away for other things. Where as, the private Japanese train companies fund themselves and it works.
On a recent trip to Japan, my partner and I visited the Kyoto Railway Museum (https://www.kyotorailwaymuseum.jp/en/ ), which features many of the trains and predecessors listed in the OP.
Seeing it at the end of the trip after riding so many different trains made it especially impactful. Two highlights were the massive 100ft-wide railway diorama and the working vintage steam trains, which they drive (run?) out onto a turntable before rotating and returning to their stalls.
Well worth a visit if you’re ever in Kyoto.
That's JR West, so unlikely to have much from JR Kyushu I would think?
It might have nothing to do with JR Kyushu but JR West isnt't everything or even the majority of train service in Kyoto. Kyoto has at least 8 train companies, Keihan, Kintetsu, Hankyu, JR West, Keifuku, Eizan, Sagano, and the Kyoto Subway. Japan has over 100. The museum does not appear at a glance to affilated with any particular one - though I only glanced
Kyushu has 16 train companies
The museum is owned/funded by JR West (at least if you believe Wikipedia). It has their logo on the about page https://www.kyotorailwaymuseum.jp/en/about/ .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiji_Mitooka
Certainly one of my favourite designers! Been on four of the trains he designed. Always a fantastic experience. Highly recommend.
You can see many of them go to the middle and eastern side of kyushu. I just lived in Aso for a few years and can't recommend it enough. The takachiho/gokase/beppu areas are jaw-dropping.
The interiors of these trains are amazing, particularly the 36+3. Not what I expected at all.
The swivel seats on the Ibusuki No Tamatebako are cool, and probably give you a better look at the sheer drop you're travelling on.
There are some enchanting non-JR regional trains you can get in Kyushu, too.
Got the Shimabara line[1] last summer and it was this tiny cute little single car sailing through farms and along the coast.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimabara_Railway_Line