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Entry tags:
Awdry Yes, Tawdry Never
This has been a rather train-orientated couple of days. On Saturday I made my way to the other side of the city and the Katano branch of the Keihan line, where (following a tip from my colleague at the Prefectural Library) I had heard that there was a Thomas the Tank Engine promotion ongoing - connected tangentially, I believe, with the forthcoming 2025 Osaka Expo.
I wasn't sure what it would entail, but I had reason to hope that there would be a 'wrapped' train running the line, decked out with characters from the Thomas franchise. And so there was: here was my first glimpse of the Thomas train pulling in to Miya no Saka station:
The decorations were pretty extensive, inside and out:
The sign showing tHe name of each station on the line was dedicated to a different member of Thomas's intimate circle, with the terminus at Kisaichi representing Thomas himself. There were various other Thomas-themed displays there too, including a floral Thomas Halloween tribute.
Altogether they'd put in an impressive amount of effort - I've certainly never seen anything this elaborate in the UK, even when visiting a Thomas-themed steam weekend. And it paid dividends, at least in the sense that when I visited there were several small children who were clearly making a pilgrimage, even though the theme has been in place since April.
Kisaichi was virtually countryside, and there wasn't much within walking distance except a cafe that was already full, so in the end I got back on the train and returned to downtown Osaka. However, I was intrigued to read about the nearby Iwafune Shrine, with its cave system and tight squeezes between boulders to reach the sanctuary. It's somewhere I would very much like to visit, though it's not easy to get to if you don't have a car, and even then the cave seems to be closed more often than not. English-speaking YouTubers appear not to have discovered it yet, but here's a walk-through video. There's also a 12-metre boat-shaped rock (Iwafune means "boulder boat"), which was apparently used by a kami to descend from heaven back in the day.
Otherwise, I've done a little light souvenir hunting, but basically had a quiet time. Only, returning to my apartment via the Kintetsu Line earlier, I found an even more elaborately 'wrapped' train, this one advertising the charms of nearby Nara and its bowing deer:
Pretty as the outside was, the detailing of the interior was still more impressive, going as far as deer-patterened upholstery:
And - wait - what's that on the strap-handles???
Yes, each handle is being nibbled, as if it were one of the senbei used by tourists to feed the animals in Nara, by a little plastic deer.
This is very "extra", I know - no one would have complained if the little plastic deer had been absent - but the extraness is the point.
I wasn't sure what it would entail, but I had reason to hope that there would be a 'wrapped' train running the line, decked out with characters from the Thomas franchise. And so there was: here was my first glimpse of the Thomas train pulling in to Miya no Saka station:
The decorations were pretty extensive, inside and out:
The sign showing tHe name of each station on the line was dedicated to a different member of Thomas's intimate circle, with the terminus at Kisaichi representing Thomas himself. There were various other Thomas-themed displays there too, including a floral Thomas Halloween tribute.
Altogether they'd put in an impressive amount of effort - I've certainly never seen anything this elaborate in the UK, even when visiting a Thomas-themed steam weekend. And it paid dividends, at least in the sense that when I visited there were several small children who were clearly making a pilgrimage, even though the theme has been in place since April.
Kisaichi was virtually countryside, and there wasn't much within walking distance except a cafe that was already full, so in the end I got back on the train and returned to downtown Osaka. However, I was intrigued to read about the nearby Iwafune Shrine, with its cave system and tight squeezes between boulders to reach the sanctuary. It's somewhere I would very much like to visit, though it's not easy to get to if you don't have a car, and even then the cave seems to be closed more often than not. English-speaking YouTubers appear not to have discovered it yet, but here's a walk-through video. There's also a 12-metre boat-shaped rock (Iwafune means "boulder boat"), which was apparently used by a kami to descend from heaven back in the day.
Otherwise, I've done a little light souvenir hunting, but basically had a quiet time. Only, returning to my apartment via the Kintetsu Line earlier, I found an even more elaborately 'wrapped' train, this one advertising the charms of nearby Nara and its bowing deer:
Pretty as the outside was, the detailing of the interior was still more impressive, going as far as deer-patterened upholstery:
And - wait - what's that on the strap-handles???
Yes, each handle is being nibbled, as if it were one of the senbei used by tourists to feed the animals in Nara, by a little plastic deer.
This is very "extra", I know - no one would have complained if the little plastic deer had been absent - but the extraness is the point.