Road Trip on Nagai Line (Part 1)
Japan Hour
Sub Navigation
- Remarkable Living 3
- Contact Tracers
- Plastic Wars
- Game Nation
- The Great Escapade
- Can We Cool The Planet?
- Ahead Of Their Time
- When Titans Clash
- From Crisis To Catalyst
- The Year Ahead 2021
- Tsunamis: Facing A Global Threat
- The Interpol Case
- Becoming Human Again
- The Pandemic: One Year On
- A Deadly Ascent
- Strangers In My Head
- Into The Vault 2
- Business Unusual
- Beyond the Viral Video
- Wild City: River World
- Disease Hunters
- Wizards Of Tech
- Feeding A City
- Undercover Asia S3
- 23
- Belly Of A Nation 2
- For Food's Sake! 3
- Forgotten Heroes
- Kampong Konkrit
- Rising To The Challenge
- Grounded
- The Longest Day
- Survival: Developing Countries On The Frontline
- Artists Unstaged
- Corridor of Hope
- Deciphering Japan
- The Family Affair S5
- Singapore Votes 2020: The Political Debate
- In Conversation Special
- Coronavirus Pandemic
- GRIT
- National Broadcast
- Why It Matters 4
- Faith Over Fear
- Outbreak Onboard
- Slumfood Millionaire
- #COVID19: The Social Media Pandemic
- CNA Correspondent
- One Of Us
- The Mark Of Empire
- Courage
- Race Against Pandemic
- A Frame In Time
- Carbon Conundrum
- Secret Wars
- Chasing Scarcity
- Undercover Asia S7
- Stronger: The Battle Against COVID-19
- Gadg(AID)
- Food In Our Time
- Singapore Budget 2020
- Tycoons China
- Inside The Child Protective Service
- Politics Of Climate Change
- The Singapore Perspectives Conference
- Borderlands
- In Our Time
- The Next Wave
- One Day That Changed Asia
- The Year Ahead 2020
- Migrants' Diary
- Ships That Shaped Us
- We Are Gen Z
- Crime Science
- Majulah: Symbols For Singapore
- A Billion Chinese Dreams
- CyberPunk'D
- Remarkable Living S2
- China's Growing Appetite
- In Search Of The Frog Boys
- Venturepreneurs
- The Skin We Wear
- The Millennial Investor
- Show Me The City
- Jewel: After Hours
- The Islands That Made Us
- Rishi & Sharul Try…
- Why It Matters 3
- Regardless Of Generation
- The Singapore Bicentennial Conference
- The Negotiators
- Secret Delicious
- Fighting Foreign Interference
- Hawkers In Our Centre
- HT MintAsia Leadership Summit 2019
- Coded World
- For Food's Sake! 2
- The Big Boss: A 21st Century Criminal
- Belly Of A Nation
- #DontForgetMe
- #HuntingHistory
- #Wanderlust
- Aarushi – Beyond Reasonable Doubt
- Across ASEAN
- Aerial Asia
- A Big Little Murder
- Against The Elements
- Age Of Innovation
- Algorithms
- An Astronomical Journey
- Astropreneurs: To The Stars & Beyond
- ASEAN’s Next Generation Leaders (ANGeLs)
- ASEAN Spotlight
- Asia First
- Asia First Encore
- Asian Century
- Asia in the Great War
- Back to School
- Becoming Human
- Becoming Singapore
- Bridging Giants
- Blueprint For Survival
- Bronze: A Forgotten Treasure
- Butterfly Children
- Challenge Tomorrow
- Champions For Change
- Check In
- City DNA
- City of Opportunities
- China on Film
- CNA Leadership Summit: Navigating a Post-Pandemic World
- Coming Clean About Green
- Conversation With S14
- Cool Living in an Eco-city
- Correspondents' Diary
- Cram Course Asia
- Days in Pyongyang
- Days Of Rage
- Days Of Disaster
- Deciphering Indonesia
- Deciphering The Philippines
- Destiny of a Maritime Nation
- Don't Make Us Invisible
- Electric Dream
- Edible Wild 2
- Edge of Space
- Enemy Within
- Every Woman
- Facing Dementia
- Facing Depression
- Fake News
- Finding Singapore
- Fighting Fake News
- Fighting Falsehoods
- Facing Terror
- Food Heroes
- For The King
- Forums
- Futuropolis
- Gangnam Insider's Picks!
- Get Real S17
- Going Places
- Going Underground
- How To Raise A Super Baby
- In Conversation
- Into The Vault
- India on Film
- Inside the Storm 4
- Indonesia’s Game Changers
- Inside The Children's ICU
- Inside Our Factories
- Insight
- Inside The Cryptokingdom
- In Search of Umami
- In Pursuit of Magic
- I Remember The Fall Of Singapore
- Johor: A New State of Affairs
- Japan Hour
- Just Like You
- Kashmir: A War of Stones
- Land Unlimited
- Law of the Land
- Love in A Time of Change
- Life Lines
- Luxe Asia S5: The Ultimate Access
- Made in Singapore
- Maverick Politicians
- Money Mind
- National Service - The Beginning
- National Service - The Transformation
- Neighbours: Singapore-Malaysia Relations
- Nepal's Child Brides
- The New Silk Road
- Once a Refugee
- On The Red Dot
- Our Tiny Superheroes
- Palu: A Month After
- Perspectives
- Parliament Specials
- Asia Tonight
- Power And Piety
- Powering the Future
- Power List Asia
- Raffles Revealed
- Raffles: An Icon Reborn
- Real Deal
- Rebellion In Marawi
- Refugee Chef
- Regardless of Class
- Regardless of Race
- Regardless of Religion
- Roar!
- Savouring The Future
- Slackers, Shockers, Suits and Superheroes
- Singapore Food Stories
- Singapore Reimagined
- Singapore Mosaic
- Game Changers Singapore
- Singapore Tonight
- Singapore on Film
- Singapore After Dark
- Smart Cities 2.0
- Specials
- Super Octogenarians
- Start-UP S6
- Talking Point
- Taking Singapore Forward
- Tapestry: The Heart of ASEAN
- The ASEAN I Know
- The Big Questions
- The Dark Web
- The Family Affair S4
- The Great Migration
- The Last Rites
- The Past Beneath Us
- The Successors
- The Terror Trail
- The Truth About Fake News
- This is What I Hear
- The Traitor Within
- This Weekend
- This Side of The Border
- Tipping Point
- To Live
- Trash Trail
- Undercover Asia S6
- Unusual Suspects
- Vanishing Foods
- Vice & Virtue: 1800s Singapore
- Walk This Way
- When We Play
- Wild City: Forest Life
- Wild City: Secret World
- Whiter Shade of Terror
- Why It Matters 1
- Why It Matters 2
- Work Is A 4-Letter Word
- Don't Call Us Poor
- Don't Call Us Beaten
Bookmark
Japan Hour:
Road Trip on Nagai Line (Part 1)
Join us as we embark on a two-day journey of enquiry and discovery along the Flower Nagai Line, which runs through the southern part of Yamagata Prefecture. This local line originally started operating in the Taisho era. It became the current Flower Nagai Line, a joint private and public sector project, in 1988 under Yamagata Railway. It runs between Arato Station and Akayu Station, covering 17 stations over a distance of 30.5km. The trains’ exterior features flowers which can be found along the line’s route.
We start our trip from Arato Station in the town of Shirataka. It is known for cultivating safflowers to produce textile dyes or a crimson pigment for makeup. This area is currently Japan's leading producer of these flowers. We begin by taking the 10.25am train from Arato Station to Shikinosato Station, one stop away. We arrive at Shikinosato at around 10.30am and the next train from here will leave at 11.50am.
A local we speak to suggests we visit the Hachiman Shrine, located at the site of the former Ayukai Castle. We speak to the chief priest who tells us that the shrine was established here during the late Heian period by warrior Minamoto no Yoriyoshi. The priest also leads us to the main shrine, located in a building which has been around since the late Edo period. It is one of Yamagata Prefecture’s tangible cultural properties, due to the magnificent wooden carvings of phoenixes and dragons.
We next head by train to Shirousagi Station, which is three stops away. This time, we ride on a yellow train featuring dahlia patterns. We arrive at the station at noon and have until 1.35pm to explore the place. We meet Mr Yokosawa, who tells us about a rabbit ornament he carved and which can be found in the train station’s waiting room. A farmer by profession, he was asked by the mayor to decorate the station when it opened 30 years ago and decided to put his hobby of wood carving to good use. Since then, the wood carving of the rabbit has become the station’s symbol. Some black lion masks placed at the local Hayama Shrine were made by Mr Yokosawa as well.
Our next stop is Uzen-Narita Station, which opened in 1922. The wooden station building has retained its original structure and design and has been designated as one of the country's tangible cultural properties. The elegant station building draws railway enthusiasts from all over Japan. We want to have lunch and a local recommends we go to Unohana Onsen Haginoyu, a hot spring inn which serves delicious spicy miso ramen. The inn’s natural hot spring water is drawn from 1,000m underground. A giant granite weighing 30 tonnes was hollowed out to make its black lion open-air bath.
Yamagata Prefecture is said to have the most number of ramen stores per capita in all of Japan. Each area has its own version, with spicy miso ramen being the most popular. The miso is a blend of two types of bean paste and chilli peppers. At Haginoyu, we order the recommended ramen with fried squid rings, its most popular side dish.
At the restaurant, we ask the staff to suggest a famous spot near our next destination, Nagai Station. The staff mentions Tas Park Hotel. We head back to Uzen-Narita Station and take the 4.15pm train to Nagai, two spots away. We reach in about five minutes and first drop by a lacquer crafts place to ask about more popular spots. The owner tells us about a cafe, Yamanoshita, which has a board game store on the second floor. More than 200 games from around the world are sold here. On weekend nights, customers can enjoy playing board various board games on the first floor. We later find out that the cafe is closed on this particular day.
We then go to the recommended Tasu Park Hotel, which opened in 2009. The nine-storey building has halls, conference rooms and a sports gym. When he was still the Crown Prince, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako had visited Yamagata and ate lunch at this hotel. After checking out our room which commands a nice view of the city, we have dinner at a Japanese restaurant on the top floor, Seiseiden. We order the Yakuzen set, which showcases medicinal cooking with seasonal local ingredients. An example is fiveleaf aralia, a vegetable the locals have been eating for a long time. It has polyphenols which are good for the body. The miso-style somen noodles have Japanese ginger, which promotes digestion and is good for detoxifying. The corn rice, meanwhile, has a good balance of minerals and fibre.
Tips:
1) Fans of games should visit the board game store at Yamanoshita in Nagai
2) Try the Yakuzen meal at Tasu Park Hotel to get a taste of medicinal cuisine