Christmas Steam Train Bound for Niigata!

A couple of times a year Aizu Wakamatsu Station of Fukushima Prefecture operates a Christmas steam train to Niigata.   This C57180 engine is black and classical with its Plumes of thick smoke rising from her stack invoke a moment before my time.    The snowscapes and sunset from the train window are priceless and unforgettable.  Especially now, with 180cm of snowfall through out parts of Tohoku would make this the perfect time to ride a classic steam engine like this.   Meandering through mountains and valleys and frozen over rice fields with little tiny patches of snow.  

This train ride was replete with fireworks and carolers singing Christmas songs at just about every stop we made. I must’ve took hundreds of pictures! Sleeping drunk men sprawled over the floor, children running and playing about wearing hats while toting bags of candy with smiles across their faces

I ate four ekibens and downed five 350ml. bottles of sake while soaking in the sunset amidst a breathtaking backdrop of a majestic mountain from my train window. Some experiences can never be bought with money – just good timing and respect for Japanese god water and the old country.