- Fuji (train)
"Fuji" (富士) is a
sleeper train operating betweenTokyo and Ōita,Japan . It is classified as alimited express service.Route
"Fuji" uses the
Tōkaidō Main Line ,Sanyō Main Line andNippo Main Line . It is operated by theWest Japan Railway Company on the island ofHonshū , and by theKyushu Railway Company on the island ofKyūshū .The train is coupled with the "Hayabusa" sleeper between Tokyo and
Moji Station . "Hayabusa" travels farther west, serving Fukuoka andKumamoto .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 toPusan ,Korea , from which passengers could connect to train services bound forChina ,Russia and evenEurope . In 1942, service was extended to Nagasaki, from which ferries were available toShanghai ."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 andKobe .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 orMinami-Miyazaki Station ).
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