Monday 16 October 2017

2017 Urban Greening Fair in Hachiouji

EMU JR East E233-6000 series arrives at Hachiouji-Minamino Station

It is mid-October already. A year passes quickly. Taking the pictures of the "New Year Express" on the Keio Line seems like only yesterday. Now, it is a nice time for strolling, neither too hot nor too cold.

My recent destination was Hachiouji in the western part of the Tokyo Metropolis. Currently, the 2017 Urban Greening Fair is being held there. What is the Urban Greening Fair? It is an annual event held by the Organization for Landscape and Urban Green Infrastructure to promote greening in the urban areas. Hachiouji City hosts the event this year, because Hachiouji is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its municipality. I saw whole new flower beds here and there in the city. Many events, for example an exhibition of home garden samples, were also held in the main venue.

To visit Hachiouji, I took the JR East Yokohama Line. The Yokohama Line is one of the main transportation arteries in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Connecting Higashi-Kanagawa and Hachiouji, the route length is 42.6km. The track is double and electrified. The electric system is 1,500 V DC overheard. The gauge size is 1,067 mm. 

Currently, all the commuter trains on the Yokohama Line are operated with green colored 8-car trains of the EMU E233-6000 series. All the previous trains, namely the EMU 205 series, were moved to Jakarta, Indonesia in 2014. Three years later, the green colored E233-6000 series has already blended with the cityscape of Hachioji.

Trains in Hachiouji are also greened.

Katakura-tsudoinomori Park near Hachiouji-Minamino Station on the JR East Yokohama Line