Gakunan Tetsudo wine train

Like its cousin beer train, the wine train (or wine densha) event put on yearly by the small private Gakunan Tetsudo train line is pretty special. Buy a ticket for about 2500 yen and ride the train to the end of the line and back (a total of about one hour) and drink all the wine you can. There are various kinds of wines on board, including a selection of nearby Yamanashi wines. And you shouldn't feel ashamed of keeping your glass full either. Everyone will be trying to get as much value for their money as possible and swaying by the end of the ride.


Like beer train, wine train is a good chance to talk with drunk locals and get your picture taken a lot and have an all round good time. It starts off and returns to JR Yoshiwara Station. Make sure to walk over to the Gakunan Tetsudo side of the station. Making a reservation for your party is very much recommended as tickets tend to sell out very quickly. While beer train takes place in summer, wine train is a winter event (February). Contact the Gakunan Tetsudo company for more information and walk with your own snacks.

Yoshiwara Chuo Station

This rather dingy bus station is a major transportation hub in Fuji City. Here you can get buses to suburbs of the city including Fujimidai, Obuchi, Imaizumi, Sobina and others. You can also catch regular buses to Fujinomiya Station, Rose Theatre, Fuji Central Hospital and Fuji Station, as well as Shin Fuji Station, Numazu Station and JR Yoshiwara Station.

There are only a couple of buses daily to Fuji Soko Undo Park and the popular family destinations of Fuji Children's Park, Safari Park and Yeti ski park. There are three buses every morning directly to Tokyo Station. Also, shuttles to Fuji AEON Mall stop here a few times a day. Finally, you can get a taxi here at almost every time of the day or night. The Tenjinya right next door has cheap (and often greasy) breakfast and lunch.

To get the full bus schedule, simply ask the woman at the window: "Jikokyu-hyou kudasai." If you don't speak Japanese though, you'll need some help to make sense of it.

Gakunan Tetsudo beer train

The Gakunan Tetsudo is a small, private train line that runs from Yoshiwara Station to Gakunan-Enoo Station in Fuji City. The area served by this train line is fairly isolated and industrial so chances are you'll never have to take it. But there's no better reason to check it out than the annual beer train!

Such a brilliant concept really - you buy a ticket (about 2200 yen) and drink all the beer you can while the train goes to the end of the line and back (one hour). Depending on how many beers you drink, it can be a pretty good deal. Snacks are provided but most Japanese people bring food with them. Chances are you'll be the only foreigner on board so be prepared to make friends! This was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had in Japan.

The beer train departs from Yoshiwara Station on Friday evenings in July and August at around 7:00 p.m. Please check at the station for more information and tickets. The Gakunan Tetsudo also has a jazz train sometimes (live jazz band on board) but I don't think it will happen again this year.



*Pics by Em

Fujinomiya Station

Fujinomiya Station is easy to get to from Fuji either by JR train or by bus from Yoshiwara Chuo Station/Fuji Station. Besides being able to catch buses around Fujinomiya, you can also connect to some of the best tourist sites in the country from here. For example, during the climbing season you can catch a bus to Mt. Fuji Fifth Station.

You can also get buses about once an hour to Shiraito waterfall, Taiseki-ji temple, Makaino Farm, Asagiri Highlands, Fuuketsu wind cave, Lake Tanuki, Lake Motosu, Lake Kawaguchi (and the very picturesque Fuji Five Lakes region) and Fujikyuu Highlands amusement park. I'm sure there are many more places along the way but I haven't explored them all. It's just a beautiful part of the country, inaccessible by train, and the buses from Fujinomiya Station will get you there.

Buses depart from Fujinomiya Station to Fujikyuu Highlands (with stops at Shiraito falls, Asagiri Highlands, Lake Motosu, Fuuketsu wind cave, Midori no Kyuu Kamura green village, Kawaguchi Station etc) at: 8:35, 9:05, 9:50, 10:35, 11:35, 13:05, 14:55, 15:45 and 17:05. The last bus back from Fujikyuu Highlands is at 17:35.

Oigawa Railway

To me, one of the best things about Japan is the train system. Shizuoka has some awesome scenic lines like the Minobu Line and the Oigawa Railway. The bit of Japan through which the Oigawa Railway passes is beautiful and epic. I use the word epic a lot to describe nature in Shizuoka because it leaves me in such awe.

Kanaya

The Oigawa Railway has two lines - the Oigawa Main Line and the Ikawa Line. Check out the Wikipedia entry for more information. I took the Main Line from from its start at JR Kanaya Station to its end at Senzu Station. The journey is 75 minutes of bliss. The trains themselves are like museums. This is also the line that operates the famous Shizuoka steam locomotive. You can ride the locomotive but you have to check the times in advance as (I think) it only makes one return trip each day. The normal trains are much more regular.

The Main Line goes along the Oi River, with views of flower covered river banks, tea fields and lots of green. Children wave at you at the small town stops along the way. The one way fare is 1810 yen and worth every penny I think. You don't have to go all the way to Senzu but I did because I wanted to visit the Sumata Valley. Kawane Town, known for its onsens, is also along the way. The Jorudan site is a great tool for planning train travel anywhere in Japan. The pictures below are all summer shots. I'd like to go back in the fall when the leaves change color. That is supposed to be the best time to visit.