Heading North Along the Sea of Japan in the Evening | A Journey to Cape Soya with the Hokkaido & East Japan Pass #02 (December 2025)

Every time the engine roared, I could feel the heat radiating through the soles of my feet. Even though I was just sitting in my seat, I had the sensation that the core of my body was gradually warming up.

The train that left Murakami Station was surprisingly empty. A few people who seemed to have been on the train since the Joetsu Line remained. Everyone was facing the same direction, without exchanging any particular words.

🚊 Glancing at the rough sea

Beyond the train window was the Sea of Japan. The waves were high and breaking into white foam, a sight that felt far from calm. It looked as if it had carried over the harshness of winter.

Since entering this section, my child has been looking out the window the whole time. They seem to love the time when the Sea of Japan is visible between Murakami and Sakata, and they barely turn around even when I call out to them.

At a station along the way, a local person ran onto the platform and jumped onto the train. Even without an explanation, the circumstances were clear: if they missed this train, the next one wouldn't be for two hours.

I stepped out of the train at Tsuruoka Station, where we stopped for about 20 minutes. The cold was gradually becoming more intense, and I could tell I would soon need gloves.

The train continued to head north calmly. The vibration of the diesel engine continued in a steady rhythm.

🚊 The boundary of sunset

Even after transferring at Sakata Station, the inside of the train remained quiet. However, the scene outside was changing little by little.

The sky has grown dark, and the Sea of Japan is no longer visible.
It was dark enough to know that looking out the window from here on would reveal nothing.

Even when the train stops at a station, it is so pitch black outside that sometimes you cannot tell which side the platform is on.
People getting off and on were moving like shadows.

More people boarded at Ugo-Honjo Station, and by the time we passed Araya Station, the seats were almost full.
Some people were standing, but the view outside the window remained invisible.

Because of that, I naturally found myself observing the interior of the train.
What kind of people are they, and where are they going? I couldn't find an answer even if I thought about it, but in the darkness, that was all I had to do.

🚊 At the station at night

When we arrived at Akita Station, it was completely night.
The moment I stepped onto the platform, I felt the air turn a notch colder.

Inside the station, I charged my smartphone again and had dinner.
Even though I must have traveled a very long distance today, the feeling that I was still "in the middle of it" remained.

The journey continues from here.
But for now, under the lights of the night station, I was listening to the sound of the train fading away.

(To be continued)