ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture--Six hundred singing children riding on a steam train brightened the quake-ravaged landscape near this northern city on Nov. 10.
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture--Six hundred singing children riding on a steam train brightened the quake-ravaged landscape near this northern city on Nov. 10.
The train, pulled by the steam engine Fukkogo (Reconstruction), chugged 28 kilometers from Kogota to Ishinomaki on Miyagi Prefecture’s JR Ishinomaki line.
Children waved to local residents from the train and sang the Japanese version of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" with singer Muneyuki Sato, a resident of Sendai.
"It was fun to sing along," said Yura Sugiyama, 6, who attends Kokucho Kindergarten in Ishinomaki. "The whistle sounded like an ‘onara’ (breaking wind). I want to ride a locomotive again."
The special excursion was organized by the Sendai branch of East Japan Railway Co. (JR East). The steam locomotive will make a round trip from Sendai to Ishinomaki on Nov. 12 and 13. Tickets for both days are already sold out.