Stop at the world’s largest outdoor bathroom on a day trip along scenic Kominato Railway Jan. 2 04:19 am JST Jan. 2 | 06:18 am JST TOKYO
The Kominato Line in Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture, which has been operating since 1917, is one of Japan s most famous local railway lines. It uses vintage-style diesel cars all manufactured in the 1960s and 70s, and the trains have one carriage, at most two, with the exception of the Satoyama Torokko, a replica of a steam locomotive which consists of four carriages.
For a relatively short distance of 39.1 kilometers, the Kominato Line runs through 18 quaint stations, many of them unmanned and quite old. In fact, the Kominato Line and many of its stations have been named a Registered Tangible Cultural Property and have also won a Good Design Award in 2017.