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As someone who lives in Kyushu, this is one of the rare times I can contribute something!! The JR Kyushu company is an interesting one. I feel they tend to ope

As someone who lives in Kyushu, this is one of the rare times I can contribute something!! The JR Kyushu company is an interesting one. I feel they tend to operate very different than the other JR companies in Japan. One of those differences is the staggering amount of novelty/theme trains they have. Kyushu historically was a place for the wealthy and powerful (residing often in Tokyo or Osaka) to vacation, so I suppose it makes some sort of sense. But it is very charming to see them all today. Even their regular trains are quite odd. I take the Sonic train often from Fukuoka to Beppu—and depending on which model you get, its either a retro 70s interior, adorned with wood grain paneling, dark green hues, and a vibe so thick you can practically smell the cigarette smoke coming off the thing...or the later model which feels forever trapped in some late 90s Y2K 'space age new millennium aesthetic' that is just plain awesome. The more laid-back Kyushu vibe also enhances the whole thing. If you take a late night express train, you'll often find groups of salarymen hanging in the areas between cars, drinking beers and chatting as if they were at the bar after work. It's a real nice thing. A few other fun facts: - JR Kyushu wasn't profitable (considering the original JNR split in the 80s) until they got into the real estate game (accounting for like 60% of their operations today). They actually own the Seattle Best Coffee franchise here in Japan, which I think went defunct in America some time ago. - The top of JR Kyushu's flagship station (Hakata) has a Shinto shrine (dedicated to the rail) and a wonderful garden atop it. - They also operated a ferry service to Korea (as it is rather close to Fukuoka) up until 2024—when (covered up) leakage problems on the ferry caused a national controversy. - They are responsible for the bizarre Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen (bullet train) line, which is a poorly thought out, half finished project that currently takes you from Nagasaki to...a small hot spring town that's barely out of Nagasaki.

socalgal2 6mo ago
I feel like the Japanese found the goose that lays the golden eggs (private trains with real-estate/hotels/supermarkets/shopping-centers). The parts form a virtuous cycle where better trains = more people come to use those other things, and those other things make more people take their trains. As such, the government doesn't have to fund the train systems and so they're not chronically underfunded like they are in so many countries. And yet, no one will copy them. There's always some excuse. LA is going down the excuse route and adding train lines with no chance of ever supporting themsevles. They are all designed as a handout to the people who are too poor to buy a car, rather than viable alternative to cars, and the fact that they aren't connected to all of those extra things means they'll also never be as compelling to use.
- anomaly_ 6mo ago
  it also helped that the government stuck the equivalent $1T+ debt for building the highspeed system onto an off balance sheet entity before privatising the JR companies. so investors picked up the (barely) cashflow profitable lines without construction debt.
  - socalgal2 6mo ago
    I wish this mis-information would die JR was converted into 7 companies. Most of other 93 existing train companies were not paid for by government. Take Tokyo - The Keio lines, the Odakyu lines, the Tokyu lines, the Tobu lines, the Keikyu lines, the Seibu lines, etc... are all private and have been private since they started. As for JR, most of the debt was paid back, at least by JR East and JR West.
- danielhep 6mo ago
  Transit lines in many countries do support themselves by increasing productivity and tax revenue near the stations. It is not as direct as in Japan, where the train company itself captures the value created by its stations, but it’s effectively the same thing. Most places in the world with effective public transit systems are more like LA than Japan in how they are funded and operated.
  - socalgal2 6mo ago
    The problem is they are almost always at the whim of politians. Take London. https://www.google.com/search?q=is+the+london+tube+under+funded https://www.google.com/search?q=is+the+london+tube+under+fun... https://www.google.com/search?q=is+rome+subway+underfunded https://www.google.com/search?q=is+rome+subway+underfunded https://www.google.com/search?q=is+barcelona+subway+underfunded https://www.google.com/search?q=is+barcelona+subway+underfun... So you can claim, and I agree, that it's supposedly an investment. Unfortunately, putting it in the hands of politicians to fund often means funds are taken away for other things. Where as, the private Japanese train companies fund themselves and it works.
- lmm 6mo ago

socalgal2 6mo ago

I feel like the Japanese found the goose that lays the golden eggs (private trains with real-estate/hotels/supermarkets/shopping-centers). The parts form a virtuous cycle where better trains = more people come to use those other things, and those other things make more people take their trains. As such, the government doesn't have to fund the train systems and so they're not chronically underfunded like they are in so many countries. And yet, no one will copy them. There's always some excuse. LA is going down the excuse route and adding train lines with no chance of ever supporting themsevles. They are all designed as a handout to the people who are too poor to buy a car, rather than viable alternative to cars, and the fact that they aren't connected to all of those extra things means they'll also never be as compelling to use.

anomaly_ 6mo ago
it also helped that the government stuck the equivalent $1T+ debt for building the highspeed system onto an off balance sheet entity before privatising the JR companies. so investors picked up the (barely) cashflow profitable lines without construction debt.
- socalgal2 6mo ago
  I wish this mis-information would die JR was converted into 7 companies. Most of other 93 existing train companies were not paid for by government. Take Tokyo - The Keio lines, the Odakyu lines, the Tokyu lines, the Tobu lines, the Keikyu lines, the Seibu lines, etc... are all private and have been private since they started. As for JR, most of the debt was paid back, at least by JR East and JR West.
danielhep 6mo ago
Transit lines in many countries do support themselves by increasing productivity and tax revenue near the stations. It is not as direct as in Japan, where the train company itself captures the value created by its stations, but it’s effectively the same thing. Most places in the world with effective public transit systems are more like LA than Japan in how they are funded and operated.
- socalgal2 6mo ago
  The problem is they are almost always at the whim of politians. Take London. https://www.google.com/search?q=is+the+london+tube+under+funded https://www.google.com/search?q=is+the+london+tube+under+fun... https://www.google.com/search?q=is+rome+subway+underfunded https://www.google.com/search?q=is+rome+subway+underfunded https://www.google.com/search?q=is+barcelona+subway+underfunded https://www.google.com/search?q=is+barcelona+subway+underfun... So you can claim, and I agree, that it's supposedly an investment. Unfortunately, putting it in the hands of politicians to fund often means funds are taken away for other things. Where as, the private Japanese train companies fund themselves and it works.
lmm 6mo ago