[Hokkaido & East Japan Pass Record ②] A scenic journey along the Sea of Japan that you can enjoy even on local trains

Hello everyone.
My name is Otenkiya.

Introduction

This is a travelogue from last July 2025.

Last year, during about half a year of leave, I decided to go on a railway trip, a hobby I truly enjoy, to help with my recovery.

The ticket I used for this was the Hokkaido & East Japan Pass.
It offers unlimited rides on JR Hokkaido and JR East local trains, making it a dream ticket for railway enthusiasts (train riders).

This time, I will write about the second day of that railway trip, traveling north from Naoetsu (Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture) to Akita, enjoying the spectacular scenery along the Sea of Japan.

◇ Overall itinerary of the railway trip
July 13 (Sun) - 18 (Fri), 2025, 6 days

1. Yotsuya - [Takao, Kofu, Kamisuwa, Nagano, Myoko-Kogen] - Naoetsu (Stay)

2. Naoetsu - [Nagaoka, Niigata, Murakami, Sakata] - Akita (Stay)

3. Akita (Resort Shirakami) - Shin-Aomori (Hokkaido Shinkansen) - Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto (Stay)

4. Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto - [Hakodate, Oshamambe, Higashi-Muroran, Tomakomai, Minami-Chitose, Sapporo] - Nakajima Koen (Stay)

5. Nakajima Koen - [Sapporo, Hoshimi, Otaru, Yoichi, Otaru, Chitose, Tomakomai] - Tomakomai Port FT: Taiheiyo Ferry Ishikari (Stay on board)

6. Sendai Port FT - [Nakanosakae, Sendai, Haranomachi, Mito, Nippori] - Station nearest to home

[ ] indicates transfer stations
*Includes sections not covered by the Hokkaido & East Japan Pass

◇ Reference
Details about the first day of the railway trip and the ticket

It is written in this article. Please take a look if you would like.

Staying in Naoetsu

05:00 Wake up

The morning on a trip feels very refreshing. I look out from the room window toward
Naoetsu Station. Even though it was July, there was
residual snow on the high parts of the mountains.

06:00 Morning run

Since I had a hearty dinner yesterday, I decided to go for a morning run to burn off some calories. *I wrote about yesterday's dinner
here.

I ran for about 30 minutes in the vicinity of the inn, making sure not to get lost.

The sunlight is strong from the morning, and I have a feeling it's going to get hot. Here is a

30-second video I took of the state of the sea during my morning run. You can see the
Sea of Japan bathed in the morning sun.

Here is the course for my morning run.
Since I stopped the tracking while filming the video, the time is just for reference.

07:30 Breakfast

It was a plan that included a breakfast bento. I picked up the bento at the front desk and ate it in my room. Among the side dishes, the

thick-cut salmon was delicious.

Railway travel section

From here on, the railway journey begins.

◇Detailed itinerary: Day 2

Naoetsu 09:22 (Rapid) → 10:25 Nagaoka 10:29 (Rapid) → 11:29 Niigata 11:44 → 12:57 Murakami 13:41 → 16:13 Sakata 16:30 → 18:23 Akita: Hotel α-1 (Stay)

Shin-etsu Main Line and Uetsu Main Line will be the main lines used for this train journey.

◇ Travel route map

Naoetsu 09:22 (Rapid) → 10:25 Nagaoka

The first runner for today's rail journey is the Rapid train bound for Nagaoka. Since it departs from Naoetsu, I was guaranteed a seat, but I
wanted to sit in a seat with a good view, so I decided to check out of the hotel early and head to Naoetsu Station.

It pulled into the station about 10 minutes before departure time. It is a cute
2-car train.

Box seat on the left side of the direction of travel (seaside), I was able to secure it successfully. Furthermore, the
E129 series used on this train has large windows, and from the box seat you can see the scenery well, so it is a train model I really like. At the time of departure from

Naoetsu, the box seats were shared, and from Kashiwazaki onwards, the occupancy rate became high enough that people had to stand.

◇ Omi-gawa

Between Kakizaki and Kashiwazaki (strictly speaking, one stop before at Kujiranami), the Sea of Japan comes right up to the left side. I remember being able to leisurely gaze at the sea when I rode the local train before, but

on the rapid train, it passes by in the blink of an eye, doesn't it.

Here is a short video of just over 30 seconds and a still image taken from it.
You can see the deep blue sea shining under the summer sun.

Nagaoka 10:29 (Rapid) → 11:29 Niigata

From Nagaoka, it is also the E129 series, Rapid train bound for Niigata.
This one was a 4-car train.

I secured a box seat on the left side in the direction of travel in the very last car.

◇Sado Island

Shortly after departing Nagaoka, you can see Sado Island on the left side in the direction of travel.
The green of the rice fields, the viaduct of the Joetsu Shinkansen, and Sado Island beyond that.

When departing Nagaoka, every box seat was occupied, but as we went along, the number of people gradually decreased, and I was able to enjoy a relaxed mood.

Niigata 11:44 → 12:57 Murakami

Niigata Station has been completely renovated.

From Niigata, I transfer to the local train bound for Murakami (E129 series, 4-car train).

There are quite a few passengers in the Niigata suburbs.
The seats around me were completely filled.

I get the impression that there are many young women.
Perhaps they are on their way home from school or commuting to part-time jobs.

Furthermore, the number of passengers decreased steadily before reaching Shibata, the terminus of the Hakushin Line, and beyond that, it took on the atmosphere of a local line.

13:00 Lunch

In Murakami, I used the transfer time to head to a soba noodle shop near the station. It's the kind of place where you buy a meal ticket and sit on a chair to eat. I had the

tempura egg soba.

Although the air conditioning was on, I realized as I ate that it was a mistake to choose a hot dish in this heat. I finished the whole bowl
while sweating profusely.

However, it seems that it has closed down now, which is a shame because it was delicious.

Murakami 13:41 → 16:13 Sakata

From Murakami, I boarded a two-car local train bound for Sakata (GV-E400 series). Since the route passes through a scenic area called
Sasagawa-nagare, I secured a seat on the left side of the direction of travel where I could see the sea.

Note that this two-car train is a one-man operation, so you have to get on and off from the front car at unmanned stations. Because of this, local passengers tend to crowd into the front car, so for a passenger like me who is riding all the way to the final stop,
the back car is recommended. On the

left side of the direction of travel, there were three sets of face-to-face seats for two, and I sat in one of them.

◇Sasagawa-nagare
It was quite cloudy today, giving it a monotone feel. I think it would have been even more beautiful if it had been sunny. It's a little disappointing.

The train moved from Niigata Prefecture to Yamagata Prefecture, and this is the view from the window just before Tsuruoka. This is a

20-second video of the rural landscape. It includes the train announcements. Please take a look if you'd like.

Tsuruoka is a stop for about 20 minutes. As it is a hub for the
Shonai region, many local high school students got on the train.

A while after departing Tsuruoka, a rainbow appeared on the right side of the window. I instinctively rushed to the window to take a picture.

Sakata 16:30 → 18:23 Akita

From Sakata, I transferred to the two-car local train bound for Akita.
Unfortunately, it was a long-seat car.

On the left is the train I arrived on, and on the right is the train I will be boarding next (701 series).

◇Mount Chokai

When departing Sakata, the seats were almost full with high school students heading home, but by the time we reached the area around Mount Chokai, as you can see, it was almost empty.

Since it was empty, I felt free to move around to different seats and take photos.

Perhaps around the time we entered Akita Prefecture.
Wind turbines for power generation started to stand out.

The Akita wind turbines also appeared in this article I wrote in the past.
It is a record of a sea voyage, but please take a look if you have the time.

After that, as we approached Akita, the number of passengers gradually increased again.

From two stations before Akita (Araya), many passengers who seemed to be returning from work boarded, and it suddenly took on the appearance of a commuter train, which really surprised me.

Looking back at the timetable, it seems that trains that only shuttle between these two stations (Akita - Araya) are also in operation, so it is a section with a fair amount of demand.

Staying in Akita

This is the view after exiting the ticket gate at Akita Station.

19:30 Dinner

Initially, I thought about eating something typical of Akita at a restaurant in the station building, but due to budget concerns and not having the courage to enter a restaurant alone...
After checking into the hotel, I ended up buying rice balls and other items at a convenience store and eating them in my hotel room.

21:00 Night view

This is the view in front of Akita Station taken from my room.
At this hour, there are very few people around.

Today's weather map

This is the surface weather map at 9:00 AM.
Reading the analysis, it says that a maximum temperature in the 36-degree range was recorded in Akita Prefecture, so it seems that on the Sea of Japan side, including Akita, a southerly wind blew and caused the temperature to rise (a Foehn phenomenon occurred).

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency website, here in Akita, it was still 30.7 degrees at 7:00 PM. It seems I
went out of my way to come to a hot place, so I'm out of luck...

Day 2 edition ends here.
Thank you for reading until the end.

Next time, I plan to write about the Day 3 edition (Resort Shirakami train and Hokkaido Shinkansen trip) from Akita.

If you found anything helpful, I would be very happy if you could press the Like (heart mark) button!

*Postscript: The sequel (Day 3 edition) is here

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