Friday 9 August 2013

Nostalgic School and Loco on the Suigun Line

Steam locomotive, C12187, is preserved in Hitachi-Daigo Station on the JR East Suigun Line
 
There are more attractive spots besides Fukuroda Waterfall on the JR East Suigun Line. I visited ex-Uwaoka Primary School near Hitachi-Daigo Station.

Uwaoka Primary School was established in 1879 as a local school in the countryside of Ibaraki Prefecture. The current school building was constructed in 1911. Despite the school being abolished in 2001 due to a decreasing number of pupils, the school building has been preserved as it was when the pupils went there.
For example, the desks and chairs are arranged in parallel rows. Pupils' paintings are still displayed on the wall. The teacher's handwriting on the blackboard also still remains. Everything is nostalgic.

Because of its precious facility, ex-Uwaoka Primary School is often chosen as a location for films and dramas set in Japan's old days. I still remember that a famous Japanese drama, "Ohisama" was shot in this ex-primary school in 2011.

In the meantime, I found a nostalgic steam locomotive (SL), C12187 on the way to ex-Uwaoka Primary School. It was displayed in front of Hitachi-Daigo Station. According to the explanation plate, the C12187 was manufactured in 1938 by Nippon Sharyo. After being operated on the railways on Kyushu Island, it was moved to the Suigun Line in 1967. Unfortunately, it was retired from the track in 1971, but has been preserved as an historical exhibit of Daigo Town in Ibaraki Prefecture.

The nostalgic School and the SL... the JR East Suigun Line is attractive for tourists.

Ex-Uwaoka Primary School near Hitachi-Daigo Station on the JR East Suigun Line