Everio Video Hunters! Journey on the Noto Express – Part 1

This edition’s mission

Hello and nice to meet you. My name is Sakura, from the Everio Team.

A bit out of the blue, a couple of days ago I decided to take a trip on the overnight express "Noto" train. This is about a seven-hour journey connecting Tokyo’s Ueno station to Kanazawa, which faces the Sea of Japan.
The Noto is the last of the 489-type trains that have a bonnet-style front. The train had a schedule overhaul, marking the end to its regular operations.

I have actually taken this Noto train several times to visit my friend in Kanazawa. The train passes through mountainous terrain as well as running along the Sea of Japan. Waking up to the beautiful scenery aboard the Noto is wonderful, and I’ve experienced it many times. This end to its operations is quite sad for me.
Since I wanted to ride it one last time, I took the Everio (GZ-MG750) with me to record the Noto as well as the scenery passing by the train window.

The Noto enters the platform

After work, at around 10:30pm on Friday, I arrived at Ueno station. As the Noto was scheduled to leave at 11:33pm from Ueno station, I thought I’d have some time to kill. But there were already so many people! There was no room for me to position myself in the best place to record the Noto from the front, as it entered the platform.

In Japan, there are many train fans, of all ages and gender, who absolutely love trains. In the past, this craze was dominated by men, but nowadays women have taken to being fans as well. And among these fans, there are many types, such as people who enjoy traveling by train, taking photos, recording the sound, and also model collectors. When it has been announced that a certain train will be taken out of commission, they flock to ride the train, or take photos or record the sound.

But I was there to record the Noto as well. Although I couldn’t secure a frontal photo position, I was able to at least get a spot to record. Then at around 11:20pm, I was able to record the Noto as it slowly made its way to the platform.

After recording its dignified form, I decided to get on the train and enjoy my last trip on Noto.

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