[Newsletter] Ride 5+ hrs on Honshū’s longest daytime diesel train (Patreon)

I'm back on another epic train ride this week – in fact, the longest daytime express you can take on the main Japanese island of Honshū. It's called the Super Oki.

This is a named train service that's existed since 1975. Back then it was simply called Oki, and was established to bring people from the north part of western Honshū down to Yamaguchi to access the new Shinkansen line (the one I rode last week).

Best of all, I found the only Super Oki (it was renamed that in 2001) that goes to every station. I do enjoy taking trains to the max when I can.

▶︎ Watch the new video → https://youtu.be/gkI692de_JQ

Being a limited express, I mean, it doesn't stop at every local station. But this is the only Super Oki that extends all the way to Tottori and stops at Shinji station, which all the other end-to-end trains skip for some reason.

I don't know why this is the only one, in either direction, that does so, but I'll take it.

The entire ride was five hours and 25 minutes, and went a whopping 236 miles (380 km). That's through forest, mountains, small-town plains and valleys, over dramatic bridges, and along miles and miles of beautiful sunny coast.

This video shows my conniving maneuvers to get a good seat aboard the train. It begins at Shin-Yamaguchi, the station I stayed near overnight. (After I arrived at Hakata on the Shinkansen in last week's video, I rode back and got a hotel room here.)

The video is also full of interesting facts and history I learned about each place along the way.

I found some failed and never-fully-realized train lines jutting out from mine, got treated to some excellent views, and found a lot of dozing fellow passengers, Japan's cleanest river, one of its dirtiest lakes, and stations both gigantic and minuscule.

And the whole time, a pleasingly noisy and dusty diesel train pushing grimly ahead through it all.

▶ TRAVEL LOVERS, PARTNERS, AND MASTERS: Watch the extended 37-minute ad-free version, including much more from the Shin-Yamaguchi station platform, more history and fun facts about the stations, rivers, towns, and people on the way, and the full experience of riding this 5.5-hour train through the San'in region of Japan → https://patreon.com/posts/136082788

Other Patreon exclusives

In case you missed it, I've put out some Patreon-only videos recently – three reels of outtakes/bloopers (for all paid members), and one new full exclusive video (Travel Partners and Travel Masters):

• Sanyo Electric Railway bloopers → https://www.patreon.com/posts/136366826

• Sanyo Shinkansen bloopers → https://www.patreon.com/posts/136367006

• JR Super Oki bloopers → https://www.patreon.com/posts/136367168

• Quiet noisy joyous tragic: The wild world of Ogōri → https://www.patreon.com/posts/136458251

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Everywhere is worth exploring!

–Jeremy