4 Torokko Trains to Ride from Summer to Fall: Eastern Japan Edition

Torokko Wassy operates two round trips per day (service is suspended from July to September 2026; in winter, it operates one round trip per day). Its design is inspired by Watarase Keikoku Railway’s character, “Watetsu no Wassy.” Outside of winter, it runs as an open-air torokko car without window glass.
It operates along the entire line between Kiryu and Mato. It stops at a total of eight stations: Aioi, Omama, Mizunuma, Godo, Sori, Tsudo, Ashio, and Mato.

Torokko Watarase Keikoku operates one round trip per day in a classic style, with a diesel locomotive pulling four passenger cars. There are two diesel locomotives: the copper-colored DE10-1537, matching the torokko cars, and the red DE10-1678. The train is formed with two open-air torokko cars without window glass in the middle, flanked by two standard cars with window glass.
Torokko Watarase Keikoku operates on a shorter section than Torokko Wassy, between Omama Station and Ashio Station. It stops at a total of five stations: Mizunuma, Godo, Sori, Tsudo, and Ashio.

After passing Omama Station, the train enters a section that follows the Watarase River. In Kojise Gorge between Motojuku Station and Mizunuma Station, the vivid green of the opposite bank is reflected on the river surface.

The section between Omama and Mato is the line’s best-known spot for autumn foliage. When the mountainsides along the gorge are covered in color, the scenery resembles a tunnel of fall leaves. The colors begin around Ashio in late October and gradually move down toward Omama over about a month.

In spring, many flowers, including rapeseed blossoms, cherry blossoms, and flowering peaches, bloom along the Watarase Keikoku Railway. Godo Station is especially known for its flowering peaches, with around 300 trees blooming close to the train.

From Godo Station toward Ashio, the line moves away from national and prefectural roads, revealing scenery that can truly be seen only from the railway. One example is the gorge near the prefectural border between Gunma and Tochigi, between Sori Station and Haramuko Station. The contrast between the emerald-green river and white granite is striking, and it is said to be one of the most scenic views along the line.

This rare day-use hot spring is located inside the station and directly connected to the platform at Mizunuma Station on the Watarase Keikoku Railway. It features a large bath with an open-air bath and sauna, as well as a spacious outdoor bath overlooking the ridgeline of Mount Kojin right in front of you. It is a relaxing place to ease your travel fatigue during a train trip. After bathing, take a break in the tatami room or on the wooden deck.

The former train car on Platform 2 at Godo Station is a restaurant that feels just like a dining car. It uses a car from the 1720 series Deluxe Romance Car “Kegon,” a limited express train that once ran on the Tobu Railway Nikko Line from the 1960s to around 1991, with its interior kept largely intact. In the almost-original interior, you can try ekiben-style boxed meals such as Yamato pork bento and torokko bento (1,300 yen with miso soup for dining in, 1,200 yen for takeout), as well as dishes like the maitake mushroom rice set meal for 1,400 yen and Watetsu curry for 1,000 yen.

The appeal of the Ozatoro Observation Train’s window views lies in the grand natural scenery and peaceful satoyama landscapes stretching along the line from Aizuwakamatsu City through Shimogo Town to Minamiaizu Town. The gorge scenery, formed by spring and summer greens, autumn foliage typically at its best from mid-October to early November, and the Aga River’s mountain stream, is especially beautiful. The train makes brief stops at scenic spots such as the 60 m-high Fukasawa Bridge, the Third Okawa Bridge, and the Fifth Okawa Bridge overlooking To-no-Hetsuri, so passengers can take in the gorge views along the Agano River at leisure.

To-no-Hetsuri means “a cliff lined with towers.” It is one of the Aga River’s leading scenic spots, known for the shapes of its unusual rock formations. The view of white rock towers, formed over about 1 million years through repeated erosion and weathering, together with the green mountain stream, leaves a strong impression once you see it.

Get off at To-no-Hetsuri Station, and it is about a 5-minute walk to the promenade where you can view the gorge up close. Many visitors enjoy both the train-window scenery and a walk around the area. It is beautiful during the fresh green season, the autumn foliage season, and also when wisteria blooms from early to mid-May in a typical year.
The section from Yunokami Onsen Station through To-no-Hetsuri Station to Aizu-Tajima Station continues through an area of distinctive rock formations around To-no-Hetsuri and deep, steep gorges, and you can see their characteristic rock faces from the train window.

Yunokami Onsen Station, with its thatched roof, and Ashinomaki Onsen Station, known for its cat stationmaster, are two famous stations that Aizu Railway is proud of. Beside the tracks at both stations, fields, villages, and mountain hot spring areas spread out, offering a peaceful rural atmosphere different from the gorge-view sections.

Yunokami Onsen Station, the nearest station to Ouchi-juku, is known for its thatched roof inspired by the townscape of Ouchi-juku. The waiting room inside the station building has an irori sunken hearth, and you can spend time relaxing over tea while waiting for your train. There are many hot spring inns in the area, and you can also soothe your tired feet in Oyako Jizo no Yu, the footbath next to the station building.
Yunokami Onsen Station is also known for cherry blossoms, and during the blooming season you can see the scenery of the thatched-roof station building together with the blossoms.

Ashinomaki Onsen Station is irresistible for cat lovers, as you are welcomed by the adorable cat stationmaster, Sakura. The small wooden station building blends with the mountain scenery, creating a travel atmosphere full of charm.

The starting point, Akasawa Forest Railway Memorial Museum, introduces Kiso’s forestry and the Kiso Forest Railway, which once played a central role in transporting timber. You can learn about how the Kiso Forest Railway not only carried wood but also supported transportation in the mountainous Kiso area. A highlight is the actual rolling stock that once served on the Kiso Forest Railway. Valuable vehicles on display include the American-made Baldwin No. 1 steam locomotive, a special car for distinguished guests, a mobile barber car, and motor cars.

The open-feeling torokko train runs through a deep forest lined with the Kiso Five Sacred Trees. In the section where Kiso hinoki trees more than 300 years old stand, you can see trees so close from the windowless passenger cars that they almost seem within reach. From the pale yellow-green of fresh leaves to the deep greens of summer, feel the scent of hinoki and the dappled sunlight on your skin. In fall, the foliage in the sections lined with deciduous trees is also beautiful, with the reds of maruba and enkianthus and the yellows of kuromoji and mizunara oak filling the train windows.

Akasawa Natural Recreational Forest is also known as the birthplace of forest bathing in Japan, where you can spend time away from everyday life in a quiet forest filled with clear air. After getting off the train, it is also worth trying a more immersive forest-bathing walk on one of the park’s seven walking routes. Many routes are covered with hinoki wood chips, making the paths gentle on the feet. The Komadori Course, about 2.7 km one way and about 70 minutes on foot, is packed with Akasawa’s representative sights, including the site where a sacred tree was felled, large hinoki and sawara cypress trees, and Donkumo-buchi, a rest spot by the stream. The Fureai no Michi route, about 2.8 km round-trip and about 1 hour on foot, is a barrier-free course with bridges and paved walking paths, making it easy to use with wheelchairs or strollers.

Cherry trees are planted along the line, and from late March to early April, some sections are colored by the vivid contrast of pink cherry blossoms and yellow rapeseed flowers. From early to mid-August, about 140,000 sunflowers bloom across the Ishigami area between Yoro-Keikoku Station and Kazusa-Okubo Station. Enjoy them together with satoyama scenery such as rice fields, the Yoro River, cuttings, and small tunnels.

Kominato Railway’s Yoro-Keikoku Station is the final stop of the Boso Satoyama Torokko. Accessible by bus, Yoro Valley is a scenic area located almost in the center of the Boso Peninsula and is known as the “inner retreat of Boso.” This green area around the upper reaches of the Yoro River attracts many visitors from spring through fall. Highlights include Awamata Falls, the symbol of Yoro Valley, which flows gracefully for about 100 m, and walking trails where you can enjoy nature along the stream. The valley is also famous for having the latest autumn foliage season in the Kanto region.

Goi Station, the starting station of Kominato Railway, is shared with JR lines. Just down the stairs from the east exit on the right is Kominato Waiting Room, a waiting room and cafe operated by Kominato Railway. Wi-Fi and PC power outlets are available free of charge, and you can use the space as you like, from a short break while waiting for your train to a relaxed cafe stop. From the window seats, you can also watch Kominato Railway’s diesel railcars and torokko trains come and go.

The cafe menu is also extensive, ranging from light meals such as Boso game meat hot dogs to carefully prepared coffee and parfaits. The most popular item is the Anzen Daiichi Curry, made with vegetables from Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture. Kominato Railway merchandise is also sold here.