Sea of Kyoto: An Adult Trip by Train and Bus - Kyoto Tango Railway Miyamai Line, Chiran, Maizuru, and Repatriation

Today, I am reporting once again from the northern part of Kyoto Prefecture, the Sea of Kyoto.

The theme of this trip is,

was the theme.

Yes, today we are leaving our car at the inn again.
I'll introduce the inn, which is a rare thing for me to do.

An inn that suits bamboo blinds,Charoku Honkan

It is not just atmospheric; with ikebana flower arrangements placed by the washbasin and along the hallways, and its elaborate architecture, this is an inn I want adults who appreciate the real thing to stay at.

While saying that, I wonder if I am an adult worthy of such an inn, and as I think about that, I have breakfast,

Mixed rice with a gentle flavor, clam clear soup, chilled chawanmushi, yudofu, exquisite dried horse mackerel, ohitashi... time flows slowly.
A quiet breakfast for just my wife and me.

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Today, we will take connecting trains and buses, and we will also ride a boat. And, we must not forget, I also want to think about the war.

8:53 AM departure

Departing from Miyazu Station

What we are using today is the Kyoto Tango Railway, or "Tantetsu"
for short. Let's fully enjoy the Tantetsu Miyamai Line, which connects Miyazu to Nishi-Maizuru.

The sightseeing train with meals, "Kuromatsu," just pulled into the station.
Today, I'm just watching.

I want to ride the Kuromatsu someday.
And if I do, it has to be this plan!

Seats available for 9/30 (Sat) (as of 9/18), hurry!

Arrive at 9:29

Watching the Kuromatsu pass by, we arrived at Nishi-Maizuru Station

Time for some Kyotaro Nishimura!
The train times don't match up.
I need to take the JR from Nishi-Maizuru to Higashi-Maizuru, but the connections are spitefully bad.

Depart at 9:55

A savior for the JR's spite: Kyoto Kotsu Bus
Boarding the clockwise East-West loop line

Navy
Or rather, perhaps they are Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force trainees, young people in sailor uniforms also boarded the bus. A sense of tension from arriving at a strategic point.

Arrive at 10:13

Get off at Shiyakusho-mae, just before Higashi-Maizuru Station, and dash to the port!

I came here to see this. What is this?

The answer is!

It's a minesweeper!

I see.

Depart at 11:00

Since they advertise it as a port with naval ties, it's easy to accidentally call the Maritime Self-Defense Force the Navy.

The sightseeing boat departs every hour on the hour. I dashed to make it in time for this. Just barely made it.

Here is a travel tip

Besides minesweepers, if you are lucky, you can also encounter destroyers, including Aegis ships, and helicopters (SH-60J).

I see, I see.

I knew of the existence of ships called minesweepers. But I didn't realize they were that important.

A minesweeper is a ship that cleans up sea mines. Japan is surrounded by the sea, and if sea mines are scattered, logistics will come to a halt.

Also, many sea mines are magnetic mines that explode in response to metal. That is why many minesweepers are still made of wood (Surprising!)

I was lucky enough to see an Aegis ship. Thanks to the explanation from the Self-Defense Force officer who was also a sightseeing boat guide, I can now identify an Aegis ship even if I encounter one at sea.

That sounds like knowledge that would make it into the top 3 most useless pieces of information... I mutter to myself.

I get off the sightseeing boat.

Trudge, trudge.

I walk from the port to Higashi-Maizuru Station.
I wait for the bus again at the bus stop near the station. My next destination is...

It's a bit late, but here is one more
travel tip.

With the Kamaboko Tegata,
you get unlimited rides on Kyoto Kotsu buses for one day, and free admission to the Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum. This is just 1,000 yen! How about that!
I don't know what 'how about that' refers to, but it is 'how about that'.

12:10 PM departure.

The real reason I walked to Higashi-Maizuru Station was to look for an ekiben (station bento).
But, unfortunately... there are none.

Board the bus.

Arrive at 12:25

Arrival at the Repatriation Memorial Museum

Here is another point!

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Mother has come~ today she has come~ again~♬

If you are around my age, you might remember singing this song in elementary school.

You probably even sang it as a parody song.

Embarrassingly, it has been nearly 50 years since my carefree elementary school days when I sang this song, and only now have I learned what "repatriation" actually means. No, I must have learned it in class. But it is long gone from my memory.

August 9, 1945
Soviet Union invades Manchuria
August 23
Ceasefire with the Soviet Union

As a result, 600,000 people were forcibly taken to the Soviet Union.
This is what is known as the Siberian internment.

Forced labor in horrific conditions.
To bring those people back to Japan, Maizuru was chosen as one of the ports of call for repatriation ships. And eventually, it would serve as the final and only remaining repatriation port.

The Mother of the Quay, Ise Hashino, was a real person.
Every time a repatriation ship entered the port, she traveled from Tokyo to Maizuru for six years, hoping to reunite with her son. A photograph of her profile, filled with prayer, remains.

Also, next to her is a photograph of the Wife of the Quay, Chie Kotani,
the back view of her standing on the quay with her two children speaks to us.
Why? It asks.

My eyes well up with tears, and I cannot watch it properly.

But it is a reality that must be faced.

Just before the end of the war in 1945, mines were scattered in Maizuru, causing the naval port to malfunction. Before the bombing of Hiroshima, a mock atomic bomb was dropped there for practice. The following day, there were air raids on Miyazu and Ine, causing significant damage to ships, crews, and residents who had escaped Maizuru. Although I did not mention it in the Ine walk article, the submarine tender 'Chogei' was one of them.

Earlier, I wrote in a peace-dazed manner that 'if mines are scattered, logistics will stop,' but far from just stopping logistics, the mines prevented even battleships from departing.

Although it is not as famous as the Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots, I would like you to visit the Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum as well.

A man who experienced both Chiran and Maizuru

The other day, while reading 'The Mechanism of Kamikaze' (Chunichi Shimbun Co., Ltd.: Taku Kato), I learned about the life of Fumio Sekiguchi, who was drafted from Manchuria to Chiran, took off as a kamikaze pilot, but returned due to a fighter plane malfunction. He returned to Manchuria, experienced the end of the war, was interned in Siberia, and eventually managed to return to Maizuru on a repatriation ship.

August 9, 1945
The Soviet Union invades Manchuria

It was America that encouraged this Soviet invasion
The place, the Crimean Peninsula, was the stage for the Yalta Conference
I feel the twists and turns of history, and the ties of fate.

When will we emerge from this long tunnel?

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It has become a long post today, but
I am heading home. Let's go back to the inn.

Repatriation Memorial Museum: Departs at 14:01
Higashi-Maizuru Station: Departs at 15:22. The return trip has smooth connections.

Departing at 15:37

Alright, let's say goodbye with the view from the window of the Kyoto Tango Railway Miyamai Line!

As we emerge from the tunnel,

The tracks continue on forever.

The journey continues too.

(To be continued...)

For a trip to Sea Kyoto,click here for the Ine Boat Houses edition