This is a special tour to meet SL Hitoyoshi, which is back home and on display in Hitoyoshi City, as a sequel to the SL Hitoyoshi maintenance factory tour held in September 2024.
This is a tour to support the restoration of the Hisatsu Line by learning about the current situation of the Hisatsu Line, which was damaged by the torrential rains in 2020 and is said to be in need of restoration for about 10 years, and hearing the thoughts of the local people.
[Highlights]
A special tour of the train factory in Kumamoto, which is not normally open to the public.
The tour stops along the Hisatsu Line (river line) to learn about the current state of the stricken area.
Special experiences only available on this tour, such as taking photos and sitting in the driver’s seat with SL Hitoyoshi, which has returned to its hometown.
The tour also includes a special guided tour of Hitoyoshi Station and the historic engine depot by the engineer and assistant engineer of the time.
At Okoba Station on the mountain side of the Hisatsu Line (mountain line), the restaurant attached to the station will be open on this day only, and you can enjoy a boxed lunch inside the restaurant.
Ayu-no-sato’, a popular accommodation in Hitoyoshi City, with accommodation for one person in one room.
[Schedule]
<Day 1>
07:45 Meet at Hakata Station
08:10 Depart Hakata Station (Shinkansen)
09:00 Arrive at Kumamoto Station
09:30 Depart Kumamoto Station (chartered bus)
10:00 JR Kyushu Kumamoto Rolling Stock Centre (special tour only)
12:00 Depart Kumamoto Sharyo Centre
12:30 Lunch at service area
13:30 Departure from service area
15:30 Hisatsu Line, Isshoji Station (special tour to learn about the current status of the Hisatsu Line)
16:30 Departure from Ichishoji Station
17:00 Hitoyoshi Onsen, Ayu no Sato (overnight stay)
*Experience locally produced and locally consumed meals, Kuma shochu and other local delicacies.
<Day 2>
09:30 Depart from hotel (chartered bus)
10:00 Hitoyoshi Station (Special tour of the inside of Hitoyoshi Station and the stone engine house, guided by the engineer and assistant engineer who actually operated SL Hitoyoshi)
11:00 SL Hitoyoshi Special Experience (special experience including special viewing of the driver’s cab and photo-taking of the rare SL Hitoyoshi with a new headmark only on this day)
12:00 Departure from Hitoyoshi Station (chartered bus)
12:30 Ohata Station (visit to the station on the mountain line, special opening of the restaurant attached to the station building, lunch box lunch, explanation from a former engineer)
14:00 Departure from Ohata Station (chartered bus)
14:30 Sengetsu Sake Brewery (visit to a local sake brewery)
15:30 Departure from Sengetsu Brewery (chartered bus)
15:50 Product exhibition (shopping)
16:10 Departure from product exhibition (chartered bus)
18:00 Arrival at Kumamoto Station
18:20 Departure from Kumamoto Station (Shinkansen)
19:09 Arrive at Hakata Station and disband
