Exploring with the Regional Pass (Sapporo/Dōnan Zone Edition) ② ~Zone Part 1~

Last time, I talked about the Regional Pass journey. From Osaka to Tokyo, and then from Hachinohe to Aomori, we arrived at “Aomori Station,” the entry point for the Sapporo/Dōnan Zone. Now, let’s start right at the beginning of the zone.

(Photo: JR Hokkaido 789 Series Super Hakucho / Regional Pass Zone Ticket Undersea Viewing Voucher)

We boarded the Hayate train at 7 AM, heading north, and arrived at Aomori Station shortly after 11 AM. For me, who usually checks out of hotels around 10 AM after having a few too many drinks… there was actually a good reason for arriving this early. That’s right—the Seikan Tunnel undersea station viewing tour! The Seikan Tunnel, which connects Honshu and Hokkaido beneath the sea, is a long underwater tunnel spanning about 55km. If you are middle-aged or older, you might remember “Kaikyo,” starring Ken Takakura, which spent 30 years on tunnel construction following the Toyama Maru accident. At that time, I heard rumors that the viewing tour would soon end due to the construction of the Hokkaido Shinkansen, so I booked it because I figured now was my only chance. By the way, reservations for this viewing tour were available at the Midori no Madoguchi (ticket counter). The staff member operated the Marus terminal with practiced ease, and here is the voucher from the reservation. It says, “Please board S Hakucho No. 24 departing from Hakodate at 12:53.” The “S” stands for “Super,” and at that time, there were two types of trains running through the Seikan Tunnel: the “Hakucho” and the “Super Hakucho.” The difference was very simple: the “Hakucho” used a modified 485 series train from the former JNR (Japanese National Railways) East Japan Railway Company, while the “Super Hakucho” was a 789 series developed by JR Hokkaido. Their performance differed, and I remember that the Super Hakucho had a shorter travel time. Please correct me if I’m wrong! Anyway, we had to board the Super Hakucho departing from Hakodate at 12:53, but we were still at Aomori Station after 11 AM. While New Aomori and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto are connected by about an hour now, back then it took about two hours on conventional lines, so we wouldn’t make it. This was factored into our plan: we planned to board the train at “Kikurauchi Station,” a stop just before the Seikan Tunnel on the Hokkaido side. With a short transfer, we headed toward Kikurauchi Station via the Hakucho. I remember seeing the electronic display inside the car showing something like, “4 stations left until the Seikan Tunnel.” Since there are several regular tunnels before the Seikan Tunnel, it was quite an impressive service by JR. We arrived at Kikurauchi Station after about an hour. The Hokkaido Shinkansen construction for this station hadn’t started yet, and the Esashi Line, which had already been abandoned, was still operational—it must have been a completely different landscape back then.

[Day 2]
Aomori shortly after 11 AM
↓ Limited Express Hakucho
Kikurauchi around 12:30 PM

Next time, I will finally report on the main event: the “Undersea Station Viewing Tour.” Stay tuned.