Doctor Yellow - Japan's very special trains -

Hi! Thank you for visiting my blog. My name is Mari. I've traveled by trains all over Japan. And I'd love to offer you train traveling tips. 

My very first entry is about a "Doctor Yellow" multiple inspection train consisting of seven special carriages not to carry passengers but to perform inspections.

Have you ever seen or heard of them at all? Below is one of the two such trains, "T4" with blue lines on the sides of the body, the color of the JR Central.

Their popularity is often compared with that of some iconic idols because ......

Because of its rarity they say you will be blessed with more fund and happiness just by spotting one!

Yes, indeed it's very hard to spot one. The operating companies of the trains, JR Central and JR West do NOT announce their operating schedules. What we are certain is that the trains run every ten days to cover the Shinkansen tracks of JR Tokaido / Sanyo Shinkansen Lines, and that there are some people who fortune-tell the train schedules.

Thanks to my photographer friend I could wait at a platform of Tokyo Station just in time to view closely a Doctor Yellow pulling into the station the other day.

The above is a blurred picture of the platform announcement in Japanese to tell that the next train is "out of service" with no further details. Sorry for the picture quality(>_<)

 "Doctor Yellow" is a nick name given to the two test trains of Japan's south-bound Shinkansen trains operated by the above-mentioned spin-off companies of our former Japan National Railways. You can goggle "Doctor Yellow" to find its Wikipedia entry in English. In a nutshell "Doctor Yellow" are celebrated preventive doctors of railway medicine! They are the hallmark and epitome of our safest super express train system in the world.

Under the blue line is "923-2" or the second carriage of the train type 923 inscribed on the side of the train I  spotted.

Sorry again! I'm not a "Tori-Tetsu" or railway photography enthusiast, and I'm not at all good at pictures."(-""-)"

This kind of information on the side of the train tells a lot about the train: モハ(mo ha)E233-1469. "mo" means driven by motors, "ha" consisting of ordinary seating carriages, "E2" E2 system train, "3" special carriages, and finally "1469" manufacturer's serial number.

There are only crew, specialized inspectors (in total less than ten people) and a bunch of special hi-tech equipment on board the train. You cannot see through most of the windows with curtains, but a carriage at least is double-decked.

Despite the picture quality you can still guess how special to find a yellow train in Japan. What's on top of the train and everything looks different and special to me! I can never forget about this train.

The train stayed at Tokyo Station for ten minutes, so I could have a close look at it.

Would you like to spot it yourself or learn more about it? If you speak and read Japanese, there are many  ways to do so by reading books and watching TV programs.

I'm going to post more about trains, trams, stations, traveling, eki-ben boxed lunch and more about Japan in English. And I hope to see you here in Japan soon! Thanks.(*^^)v

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