A Trip Using the Area Pass (Sapporo/South Hokkaido Zone Edition) ① ~Yuki~

The “Area Pass” I mentioned before has already ended its sales, but I want to share my memories of how I utilized it and thoroughly enjoyed the railway journey.

As I recall the itinerary using the “Hokkaido Zone,” my mind got confused, thinking, “Wait? I went through the Japan Sea side and rode that train, but I feel like I rode this one too…” When I rummaged through my collection of tickets, the mystery was solved: I had used it twice. The first time, I utilized the “Sapporo/Dōnan Zone,” located in the southern area of Hokkaido; and the second time, I used the entire “Hokkaido Zone.” It seems like I wasn’t satisfied with the first trip using the “Sapporo/Dōnan Zone.” When I found my tickets from that initial trip, my memory vividly returned. So, let’s start! Please enjoy this as if you are riding along with me!

The journey started in Osaka. The ticket for “Yuki” stated:
“Osaka City → Aomori”
And the stopovers included:
“Tokai・Hamamatsu・Shinkansen・Mishima・Tokai・Tokyo・Shinkansen・Hachinohe・Tohoku”
It was a straightforward route: from Shin-Osaka to Tokyo via the Tokaido Shinkansen, from Ueno to Hachinohe via the Tohoku Shinkansen, and finally from Hachinohe to Aomori on the conventional Tohoku Main Line, arriving at the zone entrance station of Aomori. At that time, I had an appointment in Tokyo, so I was wearing a suit, but I don’t remember if my clothes remained the same for the rest of the journey. I think I only had a regular-sized business bag, but did I change clothes? That detail wasn’t very important to anyone else, though. The ticket stated “19.-9.27,” which means 2019… no, it was Heisei 19, so that was 2007. At that time, the Tohoku Shinkansen had only been extended to Hachinohe Station; the extension to Shin-Aomori Station happened three years later, and the extension to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto happened six years after that—it felt like a massive expansion over ten years. Also, the fastest train on the Tohoku/Hokkaido Shinkansen, “Hayabusa,” didn’t exist yet; the fastest was “Hayate,” operated by E2 series cars. It wasn’t running at 320 km/h like the current E5 series, but only at 275 km/h. At Hachinohe Station, it connected with the conventional Tohoku Main Line, and I transferred across a connecting passage to connect with the “Tsuがる” limited express train. It seems this service was discontinued when the Tohoku Shinkansen was extended from Hachinohe to Shin-Aomori. I think we departed about 10 minutes after Hayate arrived. This was the general schedule, but since the reserved seat special tickets don’t print the exact train information, please forgive any rough details.

[Day 1]
Shin-Osaka
↓Tokaido Shinkansen Nozomi
Tokyo

[Day 2]
Ueno 7:02
↓Tohoku Shinkansen Hayate
Hachinohe 10:03
Around 10:15
↓Tohoku Main Line Limited Express Tsugaru
Aomori sometime after 11:00

Next time, I’ll talk about the unlimited ride pass for the “Sapporo/Dōnan Zone.”