Sunday 13 October 2013

Celebration of World Heritage... Everywhere

Displaying the celebration plate, EMU Izu-Hakone 5000 series arrives at Wadagahara Station
 
As I mentioned before, Mt. Fuji was added to the UNESCO list of the World Heritage sites on June 22nd this year. Taking this opportunity, many industries, such as hotels and tourism businesses, are exploring new business opportunities. Railway companies are no exception.

For instance, Fujikyu is displaying a celebration plate on the front of all their trains; whereas JR East changed the name of their sightseeing train from "Kawaguchi-ko (Lake Kawaguchi)" to "Fuji-san (Mt. Fuji)" to promote passengers to visit the new World Heritage site.

Izu-Hakone Railway is also capitalizing on the fame of the new World Heritage site. Look at the top photo. It is the EMU 5000 series on the Daiyuzan Line. You can see a large celebration plate on the front of the train, congratulating on the listing of World Heritage. The train with a special plate is photogenic for rail fans, but there is a question about this plate.

Is the Daiyuzan Line close to Mt. Fuji?

The Daiyuzan Line is situated in Kanagawa Prefecture; whereas Mt. Fuji is located in Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures. The administrative area is different. The distance between the Daiyuzan Line and Mt. Fuji is about 35km. It is not close. Furthermore, we cannot see Mt. Fuji from the Daiyuzan Line trains.

Let's not be too argumentative. Whatever the case may be, the listing of the new World Heritage is good news for all Japanese people, because Mt. Fuji is a symbol for Japan.

 
The celebration plate on the front of the EMU Izu-Hakone 5000 series