Visiting Nagasaki on a Train that Transcends Time | JR ‘Design and Story Train’ Two Stars 4047

Visiting Nagasaki on a Train that Transcends Time | JR ‘Design and Story Train’ Two Stars 4047

[Music] this is hakata station and i’m here waiting for a train nobody likes to wait but still roughly 5 to 10% of our lives is waiting and it’s just like when you travel there’s a beginning an end and maybe a few stops along the way what comes in between is waiting traditionally in japan at least a good portion of that waiting happens on a train you get on board take your seat and you are stuck there for the rest of the journey the rides themselves rarely serve a purpose beyond getting you from point a to point b but this one is a different story [Music] what i’m waiting for is a very special sightseeing train operated by jr and with it i plan to see the beauty of western kyushu an area still largely unknown to most travelers to japan so buckle up folks we are heading to nagasaki [Music] i didn’t sleep well last night being the genius that i was i cancelled my reservation at the best rated hostel in the city just to switch things up a bit and surprise surprise it didn’t go well as a solo traveler all i need is a good shower a clean bed and a good night’s sleep let’s just say that some of these i didn’t get and leave it as that but i try not to let things get to me because i have a beautiful day ahead and that’s really all that matters i was heading towards hakata station the central jr station in fukuoka since our mysterious sightseeing train starts in the onsen town of teo i need to get there first trains in japan are truly something else just look at this and tell me that isn’t a magnificent piece of machinery limited express trains like these are almost always the coolest the daily commuter trains don’t need the looks to attract an audience the salarymen never had a choice and the shinkansen couldn’t afford to stray too far from the streamlined look because aerodynamics so that leaves us only the limited express trains where wild imagination isn’t bound by the laws of physics or practicality [Music] just look at this who the hell even approved of this
i don’t know
please give us more it didn’t take long for my train to arrive as soon as we left the station we were instantly surrounded by rice fields glowing in brilliant shades of gold which will probably soon be turned into rice balls nobody could afford amidst this rice shortage madness the ride to teo onen took about an hour when i arrived i had to head downstairs and make my way to the sightseeing train’s dedicated platform as indicated by this poster here and seeing the poster only made my anticipation grow the transfer only took about 3 minutes but the train won’t be here for another 20 so that required just a little more patience after some anxious waiting the platform bell suddenly went off signaling the arrival of the very train i’ve been waiting for i turned my head only to see a white silhouette gliding gracefully toward the platform i guess now is finally time for a proper introduction this is the two stars 4047 a unique sightseeing train that runs once a day between teo onen and nagasaki it’s a proud member of jrushu’s design and story train fleet a collection of trains where each one serves a unique purpose the purpose of our train is hinted at in its name the two stars refer to saga prefecture and nagasaki prefecture the two stars of kyushu every day the train runs between them to offer its passengers a glimpse into their often overlooked beauty the black and gold decals on pearl white exterior made it one of the cleanest yet most elegant designs i’d ever seen walking inside the hardwood and bamboo decor was a masterful fusion of western aesthetics and traditional japanese craftsmanship i don’t think anyone would disagree that this is a work of art on rails something i didn’t realize until i was roaming the carriages was that the two stars only had three cars one passenger carriage at each end and the lounge car in the middle that’s just about 100 seats total you’d think that a train with so much charm and so few seats would definitely be sold out every day but i soon discovered that more than half of the seats were in fact empty my theory was that not all people are willing to spend 3 hours on the road when they can just take the shinkansen and get to the destination in a fraction of the time and i can totally understand that
yes indeed
the two stars isn’t the fastest train there is but it offers a lot more to make up for it now take a seat and i’ll show you [Music] as the train slowly moved away from the platform our journey officially began one of the attendants welcomed us on board and gave a brief introduction to the train’s facilities when she finished i followed her advice and went to get a commemorative stamp for the service at the end of the car i don’t personally collect these but trying to get the huge stamp to align perfectly and get clean results tingled my brain the right way on my way back the lounge area just opened and people were moving in so i followed the other attendant just casually switched into bartender mode and is now mixing cocktails behind the counter for real though these two young ladies were the mvps of the ride aside from the driver they were the only staff on board so they quite literally did all the heavy lifting and hard carried the whole trip and i have nothing but respect for them i bought a beer and found a seat by the window they were only selling saporro black label on board which shares the same star insignia as the train itself it reminded me of a commercial of theirs with a slogan that stuck in my head which roughly translates to “don’t be a circle be a star.” and i guess it means to defy conformity if you are looking for deeper meanings while i don’t think consuming alcoholic beverages is exactly the path to self-actualization you can’t deny it’s a pretty cool slogan unlike the beer however the stars in the train’s name were more than just contrived marketing symbolism the train actually tries to form a meaningful connection with the land it’s named after along the way the two stars would make longer stops at select stations to allow passengers to step off enjoy the views and get a taste of the local specialty from the stalls run by small businesses and the local community i’m not entirely sure how much it actually helps the local economy but it’s cool to see the train acting as a mediator regardless the locals get exposure and the passengers get a more authentic experience everybody walk away a little happier i just hope that it all works out on the long run now we’ve talked plenty about the two stars some of you might be wondering “what about 4047?” i’m glad you asked because the string of numbers is a tribute to a decad’s old legacy the two star service only began recently in the fall of 2022 but the train itself is much older all three of its cars were in fact inherited from earlier sightseeing services that once carried passengers across kyushu and through all kinds of adventures cars one and three a kiha 47 and a kiha 147 were originally from the hayato nokaz a limited express train launched in 2004 that ran between kumamoto and kagoshima car 2 the lounge car is a kiha 140 that came from isizaburo shinte another sightseeing service introduced in 1996 also in southern kyushu as wrership declined jrushu eventually retired both services in 2021 but rather than scrapping the trains they chose to repurpose them for a new chapter and gave them a name that honors the legacy they came from it’s still a little bittersweet to think that these once-beloved memories are now a footnote in railway history but it’s also pretty remarkable that jrushu let that legacy live on with a new purpose and a fresh coat of paint as i was telling you stories about the train’s past we had already cleared the rice fields and were now tracing the edge of the coastline since the car was never even close to full i figured no one would mind if i gave myself a seat change so i sat down on a couch seat in front of the window rested my chin on the counter and closed my eyes for a little nap this reminded me that beyond everything i’ve shown you there is also something more subtle that really sets this train apart something you won’t get by gliding through the air at 300 km an hour ask yourself this when was the last summer afternoon where you simply chose to do nothing and just lie down in the grass to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the gentle breeze modern society has trained us to feel uncomfortable when we are not actively doing something but the train puts you in a nice carriage and gives you beautiful views outside the window it tells you that it is okay to just stop whatever it is you are doing leave your worries behind and simply enjoy every minute of the trip for the 3 hours it runs for we tend to forget that joy can still be found in things that come slow and subtle this ride is a reminder after getting past the rocky beaches of the aryaki sea we were approaching our final destination and as we do i have a confession to make nagasaki was a city that i felt very hesitant to visit not because i doubted its beauty but because of the weight it carries and the way that weight is often presented too often nagasaki and hiroshima are visited with their tragedies as the only focus and while remembrance has its place i didn’t want that to be the only lens through which i saw the city what also left me conflicted was that to me the tragedies of the two cities were a testament to how ordinary people suffered for the atrocities committed by the leaders of their country in the museums this is always there while this is often not it just doesn’t sit right with me still i didn’t come here to dwell on that i came to see nagasaki as it is now i wanted to walk its streets with fresh eyes and appreciate it not just for what it has endured but for what it has become and with that the train slowly came to a halt this is our stop [Music] as soon as i got off the design of the station really caught my eye the white membrane ceiling of the station felt like a giant softbox diffusing the sunlight into a mellow glow that lit up the platforms with a gentle warmth i followed the track to the edge of the station hoping to get a first look at the city but an elevated highway was in the way and i couldn’t make out much so i had to head back towards the exit and i was pleasantly surprised once more after exiting the ticket gates it was immediately noticeable that the station was incredibly clean and modern i know that probably describes every city’s central station here in japan but it had something else that felt different i’m not sure if it’s the buzzing crowds or the little girl playing piano in the hall it just had a liveless that’s not at all what i expected from a relatively small city tucked away in japan’s western edge the station itself was a timeless blend of brick tiles steel and wood and the undulating terrain in the distance gave the cityscape a natural pleasing cadence however i was still suffering from my leg injury and could barely walk so i took my painkillers and walked to the station mall nearby to wait for it to take effect as i was crossing the street i heard some really loud music coming from the other side only to discover that there was a festival being held in front of the mall there were rap music and hip-hop dancing taking center stage and a basketball match was happening off to the side i was astonished to see probably thousands of people all gathered there enjoying food and the performance the whole place was so lively and so loud up on the rooftop i found another food court of sorts where people lounged on the fake grass and enjoyed this beautiful sunny day with hot dogs and beer i know i had only spent an hour or so in the city and far from having seen it all but first impressions can be a scary thing and nagasaki was beaming with so much energy i was simply blown away maybe i arrived at just the right time or maybe the impossibly radiant weather was cheating a little bit but through the camera i’ve shown you what i’ve seen so you be the judge it took another half an hour and an extra-l large beef bowl before i could walk again since it was already afternoon when i arrived and i wasn’t staying the night if i still want to explore i really needed to hurry up i had to consult the map to find a good angle on the city and the megumi bridge which guarded the mouth of the sea looked like a very promising choice so i turned my back on the rhythm still grooving in the distance and hopped on a bus when i arrived at the foot of the bridge i was a little disappointed it was just a bit too far from the city to get a proper view but still the bridge itself towering some 65 meters above glowing in the waning sun was a sight to behold there wasn’t much point in staying though since i couldn’t really see what i came for but i knew of another spot in the city one where i can see anything and everything the bus dropped me off at the foot of mount inasa and we are here for an observation deck that overlooks the city if you’ve watched my past videos you know that i’m obsessed with observation decks i just love to go up there and see the cities from a different perspective and every time i do i always feel that i get to know the cities a little better i had to walk through a small shrine for the cable car station and there wasn’t a lot of people waiting after i bought the ticket for a round trip the next car arrived soon after we started climbing slowly and from that height you can see houses crawling up the hills and it’s fascinating to see a city with this much verticality the parallax unfolded in real time every few seconds you see a little more of the city than just a moment before most of japan’s big cities are built on vast flat plains so you don’t get to see something like this very often the sun had already set by the time we reached the top down in the distance the city lights started turning on the night had only just begun but what i came here for was still waiting at the very top [Music] the whole city fits snugly within the frame yet every fine detail is as vivid as if it’s within arms reach at 300 m above i could sense its heartbeat sending streaks of light through its veins and i felt deeply connected with the city i know i hadn’t explored nagasaki enough to learn every detail about it but in the very short time i was here i saw that it had been rebuilt into something so full of passion and energy it has genuinely become one of my favorite cities i’m just really happy for nagasaki that it now has a lot more to be remembered for than just its tragedy and i think it’s a more powerful testament to the city’s story than anything else could ever be i stayed at the top of mount inasa for an hour and a half until it got too cold and i had to leave when i got back to the station the festival was still going and as much i wanted to stay the next train back to fukuoka was minutes away i couldn’t linger so it was time to say goodbye thanks to the two stars 4047 i discovered a beautiful city i otherwise would never had visited however this wouldn’t be the only special sightseeing train i took during this trip tomorrow morning i’ll be boarding a different train heading off on yet another adventure this time into the forests of euene i’ll see you in the next one stay safe peace [Music]

It’s hard not to become a railway nerd in Japan. When speed is no longer the concern, it opens up all kinds of possibilities for trains that tell stories and make memories.

Today I’m taking the Two Stars 4047, a ‘Design & Story’ train from JR Kyushu, and try to understand what’s so special about this very slow train.

This is the sixth episode of ‘It’s Still Summer in Kyushu’, where I take you on an adventure across Kyushu, the least visited island of Japan.