Welcome, everyone, to our journey upon the Romantic Train. Now, please listen to this guide as you enjoy the scenery outside your window.

Let us start with a question: Do you recall any sounds or smells prior to entering this train? You should notice that this ride feels slightly different from normal trains.

Please consider those differences as you view the scenery outside your window.

So, have you realized what makes this ride so different? We will keep the answers in our pocket until the end of the guide.

For now, we want to tell the story of how this railroad was first laid, and how trains first started running along the Hozukyo Ravine’s sheer cliffs.

These tracks wind and turn alongside the Hozu River, which you can see right outside your window. A long and arduous journey led to this, the very first railway built on the Hozukyo Ravine.

Once upon a time in the Meiji Period, a politician drafted a plan for a railroad connecting Kyoto and Maizuru, a port city on the Sea of Japan. However, the technology of the era made it difficult to excavate a mountain tunnel and raise a bridge across a river while laying the tracks. Bringing materials to sheer cliffs was also an arduous task. Surely, this was the biggest hurdle in the way of building a railway across the Hozukyo Ravine.

Modern heavy machinery was but a dream in those days, but despite that, eight tunnels were excavated by hoe and shovel, and 51 bridges were built in what became one of the longest railroad bridge construction projects in Japan at the time. It cost an untold amount of money, and the project saw setbacks. Nevertheless, a route to Sonobe, which was closer than Kameoka, was completed.

As a result, trains ran across the Hozukyo Ravine for the first time. Cargo was transported faster and in larger quantities than before – and soon, people would also start riding, changing their lives greatly. Within the Hozukyo tunnel, you could hear raucous clattering as a locomotive mountain of metal raced through. For the people of that era, it was a monumental achievement that represented a change of the times.

Thus, the railroad prospered for a long time, but development progressed on a different route at the start of the Heisei Period. You can see this new route from the JR Hozukyo Station; it cuts straight through the Hozukyo Ravine, and it brought about the end of this railroad’s usefulness. It seemed as if the tracks would fall into disrepair, but people suggested the route be revived as a sightseeing train. After that, with only nine people on board, the smallest railroad company in Japan was born.

Their efforts resulted in the Romantic Train you are currently riding. They shoveled the ground, planted cherry and maple trees, and conceived unique guide announcements. Some of the announcers were famous for their singing abilities. All of it came from an earnest desire for people to enjoy the ravine and come back again someday.

The longest tunnel on our trip is called the Asahi Tunnel. It is said to be the first place in Hozukyo that the sunrise hits, hence its name, “the morning sun”. When we go through this tunnel, I invite you to imagine the sun rising upon the dawn of the locomotive railway.

The ones who restored this decommissioned train inherited the hopes and dreams of the predecessors who blazed a trail towards that very dawn. Today, a million people ride the Romantic Train every year and enjoy the Hozu River vistas as they change with the seasons.

With a history spanning well over 1,000 years as a cargo transport route, this train now runs along a tourist route that is inextricably connected to that legacy.

Looking back, the Emperor and the Sagano merchant who tamed the Hozu River understood the area’s rugged geology and decided to make it into a trade route. Of course, it’s likely that one of their reasons was economic development; where there are roads you will find goods to be hauled.

And yet, perhaps there’s more to it than that. Pioneers imagine what future lies beyond the boundaries they break. Maybe Hozukyo is a place that inspires such romantic notions.

By the way, a very special “something” used to be transported via this picturesque river gorge. Something very important to the city of Kyoto. What in the world could it be? Please turn this over in your mind, and listen to the music playing in your headphones as you appreciate the beautiful scenery of the Hozukyo Ravine, until we reach our next stop.