SL Ginga, an Afternoon Passing Through the Mountain Gorge

When you stand in the mountains of Tono, the density of the air changes ever so slightly. A damp breeze brushes against your cheeks, and the calls of birds crossing the valley reach you in fragments. Deep within that silence, a low rumble begins to echo from afar. The vibrations traveling through the ground soon become a steady rhythm, approaching as if to shake the mountain ridges. I love that fleeting moment of tension just before the SL Ginga appears.

The black body of the train slowly reveals itself from a gap in the trees. The C58 at the lead, while carrying the weight characteristic of a machine that has survived many long years, looks ahead with a sense of pride. The thick smoke rising from the chimney creates a deep color against the backdrop of Tono's greenery, as if painted with a brush. Every time the smoke drifts in the wind, the mountain air trembles slightly, and the surrounding scenery shifts into another era for just a moment.

The SL Ginga is known as a sightseeing train, but the sight of it in Tono transcends the word 'sightseeing.' While the decorations on the cars, which are themed after Kenji Miyazawa's stories, and the exhibits inside are certainly charming, the train becomes the story itself when it runs through the Tono landscape. It crosses valleys, travels along rivers, and passes near old villages. Each time it does, the layers of time carried by the train overlap with the land of Tono.

I chose to shoot near the Akagawa Bridge, a little way from the Tono city center. The deep green covering the surroundings makes the black of the steam locomotive stand out. The moment the train reaches the bridge, the weight of the body is transmitted to the iron structure, and a slight creaking sound can be heard. The smoke rises straight up, slowly changing shape above the bridge before dissolving into the sky. The contrast between stillness and motion in that moment touches my heart no matter how many times I see it.

The Tono landscape has a depth that embraces the presence of the SL Ginga. The mountain ridges are soft, the river flows quietly, and the fields change color with the seasons. When a steam locomotive runs through there, the landscape envelops the train, and the train illuminates the landscape. It is not a matter of which is the protagonist; they exist in a relationship where they enhance one another.

After the train passes, a faint trace of smoke lingers on the bridge. The sound has already faded into the distance, and the birds' calls return once more. Yet, the scenery is slightly different from before. The scent of steam remains, and the temperature of the air has changed just a little. A new layer of time is added to the landscape after the SL Ginga has passed through.

When I photograph the SL Ginga in Tono, I feel as though I am capturing not just the train itself, but the memories of the land. The steam locomotive is not a relic of the past, but a presence running in the present. Yet, its form holds the scenery that travelers of the past once saw and the atmosphere of an era when the railway was the center of life. The land of Tono quietly accepts those memories, adding a new story each time the train runs.

The SL Ginga does not operate at night. That is precisely why its appearance in the daylight remains so vividly in my heart. The color of the smoke changes depending on the angle of the sun, and the black of the train body becomes deeper or softer. The mountains of Tono change their expression depending on the time of day. As the train moves through those changes, it looks as if the landscape is breathing in sync with the train.

When I finish shooting and pack up my equipment, the silence of Tono returns. Yet, the rhythm of the locomotive still lingers in my ears, and the lingering scent of smoke drifts through the scenery before me. The SL Ginga is not just a train that runs; it is a presence that weaves a thin thread connecting the past and the present to the land of Tono.

That thread grows a little thicker each time the train runs. The memories of the people of Tono, the recollections of travelers, the gaze of the photographer—these all overlap and accumulate within the name 'SL Ginga.' The power held by a steam locomotive is not merely the power of a machine. It is the power to carry time and carve stories into the land.

The act of photographing the SL Ginga in Tono is akin to picking up the quiet stories hidden within the landscape. The sound of the train running, the scent of the smoke, the shadows of the mountains, the sparkle of the river—these all overlap in a single moment and remain in the form of a photograph. However, it is the parts that do not appear in the photograph that remain most deeply in the heart.

On the days the SL Ginga runs through Tono, the mountain air becomes a little special. Even after the train has passed, that special air remains for a while, sinking quietly into the depths of the landscape. The land of Tono always seems ready to welcome the steam locomotive.

For Tono, the SL Ginga is more than just a sightseeing train. It is a presence that stirs the memories of the land and adds new layers to the scenery. The scent of steam and the weight of the black body hold a certain meaning within the silence of Tono. Each time the train runs, the time in Tono becomes a little richer.

The SL Ginga was a steam-locomotive-hauled sightseeing rapid train operated by JR East between Hanamaki Station and Kamaishi Station (Kamaishi Line), and from its start in 2014 until its retirement in 2023, it was a symbol of Iwate's reconstruction and tourism.

Overview of SL Ginga
Operating section: Hanamaki Station to Kamaishi Station (Kamaishi Line)
Operating period: April 12, 2014 to June 11, 2023 (retired due to aging passenger cars)
Purpose: Support for reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and revitalization of tourism in the areas along the line
Features: Fantastic interior design based on Kenji Miyazawa's 'Night on the Galactic Railroad'