Kosaka, Akita Pref. –
Accommodation services using a retired “blue train” or sleeper train, preserved at a railway-themed landmark in a city in Akita Prefecture, will restart on Saturday after a five-year suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kosaka Railroad Railpark, in Kosaka, has raised funds through a crowdfunding initiative to partially cover the costs of repairing sleeping cars of the blue Akebono train.
“(The Akebono) is here with abundant memories and thoughts from countless passengers,” said Jiro Suzuki, the facility’s 60-year-old manager. “I want our guests to experience the atmosphere (of the sleeping cars) that you cannot experience in the current train cars.”
