トレイン・クルーズ / Train Cruise

先日国際放送の新番組に台本監修として列車旅の番組に参画させていただきました。番組レポーター兼ね旅人は熊本市から鹿児島市まで機関車をはじめ電車を3台乗車しました。旅先はついで、列車旅その物を楽しむのは主旨でした。スローフードがありますが、これは私自身が最近求めているスロー・トラベルです。台本の翻訳中、仮編集された映像を何回も見ているだけで、正直に言って辛かったです。旅人は地元の料理味わえる駅弁や地ビール、米焼酎が堪能できたり、他の乗客や駅駅員、地元の方とコミュニケーションを取ったり、本当の旅の楽しみ、土地柄の魅力を肌で感じました。

Recently I had the opportunity to work on the pilot episode of a new NHK World train travel program as script adviser. The program’s traveller, Nick Szasz, rode a steam train and two other trains from Kumamoto to Kagoshima in Kyushu. The aim of the program was enjoying the journey, not just the destinations. You have slow food, and you have slow travel. The latter is something I have been enjoying myself, lately. When translating the script I watched the rough cut DVD numerous times. That sure is a tough job when you consider Szasz is enjoying all the local cuisine, micro-beers, sake and shochu (Japanese vodka). I longed to go on a long train trip myself after watching him talk with other travellers, railway employees and the locals.

The Japanese version first appeared in the June 2013 issue of the goodspeed monthly newsletter.
日本語バージョンはグッドスピードレター2013年6月号に掲載されました。

Footnote: [January 2014] I again had the opportunity to work as script adviser to the fourth episode of Train Cruise "A Fall Trip from Kyoto to the Japan Sea" to air on NHK World, February 1, 2014.

新年の旅 – A New Journey

時間が勿体ないから、仕事の時もプライベートの時も最速の経路で行くことが多いでしょう。でも今回、私はドタバタしている日常と一旦距離をおくために、新年早々フェリーで旅をすることに決めました。ゆっくりと景色を楽しみながら、旅そのものが堪能できます。行き先はどこでも良かったのでフェリーに任せました。観光スポットを調べず着港してからその街の魅力を探検しました。新年へ向けて旅立つ時は行き先が分からないし、急いでも結果は変わりません。今年もできることから成果をゆっくりと 重ねて行けば自ずと見えてくるでしょう。こんな私ですが、本年もよろしくお願いします。

So as not to waste time, we tend to take the quickest route wherever we go, be it work or fun. To escape the rush of everyday life, I decided to take a ferry trip early in the New Year to leisurely take in the scenery and enjoy the ride itself to the fullest. The destination was secondary, so the ferry timetable dictated where. Many surprises were in store as I perambulated the town. When starting a new year, we haven't a clue as to where it will take us. We may want to rush to get to where we are supposed to be going, but the results are just the same. Taking one step at a time, adding each achievement as it comes, is the course I aim to take every year. Let's move forward and make it a good one.

The Japanese version first appeared in the January 2013 issue of the goodspeed monthly newsletter.
日本語バージョンはグッドスピードレター2013年1月号に掲載されました。

Leading Kansai Development for 102 years

Newly arrived visitors to Osaka from abroad soon remember the name Hankyu. The name is seen everywhere in Umeda. Hankyu even gave Umeda its name.  Originally a swamp, Hankyu Railway’s predecessor bought the area, filled it in (umeru, in Japanese) and called it Umeda, using the characters for fill and field (埋田). The first character was later changed to the more romantic plum (梅). The area was subsequently developed by Hankyu, with hotels, department stores and shopping complexes in the area bearing the Hankyu name, today.

Established in 1907 by Kobayashi Ichizo, Mino-o Arima Electric Tramway actually began operations with two lines—the Takarazuka and Mino-o lines—on March 10, 1910. In 1918, the company was renamed Hanshin Kyuko Railway, from which the current name Hankyu was derived in 1973. The Kobe Line, which opened in 1920 and was extended to Sannomiya in 1936, was a direct rival to Hanshin Railway, which also operated between Osaka and Kobe. The rivalry continued until Hankyu acquired Hanshin in October 2006 to create Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc.

Hankyu briefly merged with Keihan Electric Railway, another private railway in 1943. When Keihan spilt away in 1949, Hankyu retained what today are the Kyoto, the Senri and the Arashiyama lines. It was the first railway company in Japan to install automatic ticket machines at Kita-senri Station in 1967.

To ensure the company’s prosperity, Kobayashi developed the real estate along its lines. In particular, he established the Takarazuka Revue and the Takarazuka Family Land amusement park, which closed in 2003, to draw passengers for the Takarazuka Line. Today, the real estate along most of the Hankyu lines has a prestigious image, with the real estate north of the Kobe Line between Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi and Rokko Stations being one of the most expensive areas in the Kansai.

Text and photos by George Bourdaniotis. Originally published in Kansai Scene #120, May 2010 as "Leading Kansai development for 100 years".

Plane, Train and ... Ferry!

One of the many ways to get to Kobe—but relatively unknown—is the Kobe-Kanku Bay Shuttle ferry between Kansai Airport and Kobe Airport. Depending on the amount of luggage you have, the Limousine bus or the train will save you lugging heavy bags up and down staircases. If you are staying in downtown Kobe, the Sannomiya (三宮)-Motomachi (元町) area, the ferry is a cheaper alternative to the bus or the train—depending on the route.

I, personally, found it difficult to navigate—even after checking their web site—when I used it, late last year. Hopefully, this guide will make it easier.

From Kansai Airport:

First, buy your ticket at the vending machine (or at the counter) just inside the Door A at the Arrival Lobby on ground level. (Tickets are not available from the limousine bus machines outside, so don’t waste time, like I did, looking for the right button to press.) The machine-bought ticket is only valid for the ferry, so you will need to receive a ticket for the Portliner monorail (included in the fare) from Kobe Airport to Sannomiya Stn from the staff. The shuttle bus from the Kansai Airport terminal building to the ferry pier leaves from bus stop no. 12.

On arrival at the ferry terminal at Kobe Airport Kaijo Access Terminal, be sure to take the bus that is waiting ­at the pier for the monorail station. Having left from Kobe Airport on my trip, I assumed the shuttle bus to Kobe Airport terminal would pick us up from the stop in front of Kaijo Access Terminal. Wrong! It was at the pier and I had missed it. I missed the announcement (you tend to block them out after a while, no?), but there was also a lack of signs. The next bus? One hour later. Consequently, I had to drag my heavy bags in the rain across the car park to Kobe Airport Stn.

From Sannomiya, Kobe:

When leaving from Sannomiya to catch the ferry to Kansai Airport, be sure to buy your ferry ticket and monorail ticket as a set from the Portliner Information office before you get on the Portliner monorail, otherwise you will pay for both tickets. The office is located at the top of the escalators coming from JR Sannomiya Stn East Exit. The staff are very helpful in suggesting what time to catch the Portliner to make the ferry on time. The tickets can also be bought in advance.

On arrival at Kobe Airport, you will need to take the stairs or the elevator in front of the Kobe Airport Stn ticket gates to ground level. If the weather is fine and you have some time before the ferry leaves, walk across the car park to the ferry terminal building.

(Translations have been commissioned for additional signage for the ferry, so I hope the service is easier for people to use and patronised by more people.)

Official web site:

Kobe-Kanku Bay Shuttle (http://www.kobe-access.co.jp/en/)

Other useful links:

Jorudan (http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/)

Jorudan not only covers trains, but also planes and buses.

Limousine Bus (http://www.kate.co.jp/pc/index_e.html)

Kansai Airport (http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/)

Kobe Airport (http://www.kairport.co.jp/eng/)