New Tama Cat Train in Kishi, Wakayama

たま電車ミュージアム号

Wakayama Electric Railway‘s Kishigawa Line connects Wakayama Station to Kishi Station, a distance of 14.3 km. The line offers residential areas, historic shrines, scenic parks, and peaceful scenery, but the trains that run on this line are another attraction.

As of August 2022, there are five types of trains on the Kishikawa Line, and one of the most popular is the Tama Train Museum-go, which was introduced in December 2021.

The "Never-before-seen cat train" was made possible through crowdfunding.

The Tama Train Museum is a train that was realized in 2021 as a crowdfunding project. The purpose of the project is to revitalize the local community through railroad infrastructure, and the design was created by Eiji Mitooka, a leading railroad design expert. With the addition of approximately 10 million yen raised through the support of 959 crowdfunding supporters, the train has been in operation since December 4 of the same year.

The concept is that the first Tama Station Chief is surrounded by Nitama Station Chief, Yontama Station Chief, fans and children.
From the interior to the exterior, this gorgeous train is filled with the charm of the cat stationmasters.

Each car, including the Tama Train Museum runs at intervals of about one per hour.

Beautiful Hydrangea in Wakayama Castle, Japan

和歌山城、鶴の渓のアジサイ

As the rainy season approaches in June, hydrangeas can be seen everywhere in Wakayama City. They can be found in private gardens, in potted plants, in flower beds along the streets, and inside the castle…

Wakayama Castle has many faces in each of the four seasons, and in the castle’s Tsuru-no-Kei area, hydrangeas of various types and colors are planted, all blooming at the same time during this season.

The name comes from the fact that cranes were kept in this section of the castle when the Asano family was the lord of the castle.

和歌山城 紫陽花

The hydrangea surrounded by mossy stone walls is very emotional.

The Momijogei Garden right next door was also a quiet place where only the sound of rain could be heard.