A former railway line converted into a beautiful forest trail in Azumino, Japan

Japan has a long railway history, which began in 1872 with the opening of the line between Tokyo and Yokohama.

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Today, Japan has 30,625 kilometers of active railways (to give you an idea, Spain has 15,820 kilometers). Japanese rail transport is operated by more than 100 private companies. Despite being a country famous for its modern trains, dozens of railway lines have been abandoned in Japan due to three main reasons: the increased use of airplanes, the proliferation of bus lines, and depopulation in rural parts of the country. Between 2000 and 2020, 44 railway lines, with more than 1,000 kilometers in total, were closed, mainly in those rural areas.

The abandonment of these railway lines opens the door to new uses for them. An example of this is an old line built more than a hundred years ago in Azumino, in Nagano Prefecture, located in the center of Honshu, the main island of Japan. This railway line, known as Shinonoi, belonged to the Japanese National Railways (JNR), and was abandoned on October 1, 1997, following the opening of the new railway line connecting Karuizawa Station with Shinonoi Station in Nagano, owned by Shinano Railway Co.

The rails of the old Shinonoi Line have been dismantled and the area has been turned into a beautiful forest trail. It's a good example of how old railway infrastructure has been reused, with some elements still visible. Tokyo Lens Explore has showcased this trail in a video released today:

You can see some screenshots from this pleasant video here, which allows you to take a pleasant walk without leaving home. This is the initial tunnel of this old railway route. It has a light that activates automatically when someone passes through. It is in good condition.

The forest is truly beautiful, although it's also ideal for letting the imagination run wild for the Japanese, who are very fond of ghost stories. Apparently, this route has some stories of supposed women appearing in its tunnels. As you can see, there are several small Shinto temples along both the main route and some adjacent paths.

The old catenary pole, indicating that this was an electrified railway line. The pole still retains the pulley used to tension the cable that supplied the trains with electricity via the pantographs located on the locomotives.

There are several tunnels along this route. This one is the least well-preserved because a river flows through it when it rains. A beautiful image of nature reclaiming the land occupied by the old railway infrastructure.

One thing that strikes me about this route is its complete lack of vandalism. There's no graffiti, and the information signs aren't broken (just slightly dirty, due to the rain). In the West, a route like this would already be destroyed. I've never been a big fan of Japanese culture, but I recognize that we have a lot to learn from it in this regard.