Fuji (train)

"Fuji" (富士) is a sleeper train operating between Tokyo and Ōita, Japan. It is classified as a limited express service.

Route

"Fuji" uses the Tōkaidō Main Line, Sanyō Main Line and Nippo Main Line. It is operated by the West Japan Railway Company on the island of Honshū, and by the Kyushu Railway Company on the island of Kyūshū.

The train is coupled with the "Hayabusa" sleeper between Tokyo and Moji Station. "Hayabusa" travels farther west, serving Fukuoka and Kumamoto.

The 1,240 km Tokyo-Ōita run takes just over seventeen hours, leaving Tokyo at 18:03 and arriving in Ōita at 11:17. The return service leaves Ōita at 16:48 and arrives at Tokyo at 09:58. [http://homepage1.nifty.com/hodo/burutore/fuji/]

The "Fuji" is scheduled to be discontinued along with the "Hayabusa" in March 2009.

History

"Fuji" pre-World War II

"Fuji" began as an intercity daytime service in 1912, although the train did not have a name until 1929. It was one of two long-distance services on the Tōkaidō/Sanyō corridor. The other train on the route, named "Sakura", was aimed at middle-class travelers, while "Fuji" had higher-class rooms, dining cars serving Western food and a "Momoyama" observation car. "Fuji" and "Sakura" were the first named trains in Japan.

"Fuji" services originally operated between Tokyo and Shimonoseki Station. Connecting ferries were available from Shimonoseki to Pusan, Korea, from which passengers could connect to train services bound for China, Russia and even Europe. In 1942, service was extended to Nagasaki, from which ferries were available to Shanghai.

"Fuji" services were suspended in 1944 due to Japan's deteriorating situation in World War II.

"Fuji" following World War II

The "Fuji" name was briefly used on a Shinjuku-Kawaguchiko service (Chūō Main Line) in 1950, but did not return to the Tōkaidō corridor until 1961, when "Fuji" service resumed between Tokyo and Kobe.

After the Tōkaidō Shinkansen opened in 1964, "Fuji" became a Tokyo-Ōita sleeper service. Between 1965 and 1980, the service was extended to Kagoshima (Nishi-Kagoshima Station), becoming the longest train service (1,574.2 km) in Japanese history: the Tokyo-Kagoshima run took over 24 hours. From 1980 to 1997, "Fuji" operated between Tokyo and Miyazaki (Miyazaki Station or Minami-Miyazaki Station).