Memorable Train Tours

[Friends just call me Ross]

I have been on this Agawa Canyon Tour Train so many times that I have actually lost count.

 

We always take it in the fall to see the color.  It runs from Soo St. Marie, Ontario up into the gorgeous Agawa Canyon, and back.  Leaves around 8 in the morning

and gets back around 5 in the afternoon.  You have lunch in Agawa Canyon, where there are breathtakingly beautiful waterfalls to behold. 

The engines detach and move from the front to the rear of the train, making the rear the front for the ride back.  The seats are on swivels, so you can switch yours

around if you don't like riding backwards.

 

I remember one time, the colors in the U.P. were incredible, so we were expecting a spectacular tour.  

But, across Lake Superior, the leaves had already all fallen off the trees.  

So all we saw were bare branches.  LOLOL

 

Because we always go in the fall, it usually rains.

One especially rainy trip, water droplets had the windows so covered, we didn't have the scenery to entertain us.

 

No problem with my family.  We entertained ourselves. 

 

I had brought some bags of Brach's chocolate covered peanuts along and one of the bags was sitting on my lap.

Everyone would reach into the bag and grab a handful.  

 

Unbeknownst to me, a chocolate covered peanut fell down between my legs and got melted by my butt.  

 

When I stood up, there was a bare-naked peanut on my seat.  

 

My Brother/brother Peter saw it sitting there and said, "Boy! Those nuts go right through you, don't they?"

 

We had a good laugh over that.  But then, I stood up in the aisle and bent over and asked if the chocolate was

visible on the seat of my pants.  

 

Other people in the aisle thought I had bent over to see some point of interest outside the

train and they all bent over, too.  

 

We still laugh about that, to this day. 

 

If you are ever in the Soo St. Marie, Ontario Canada area, I highly recommend taking this amazing tour.

 

[hatcheckgirl]

Train travel in Japan is something of an artform.  And it's not just the Shinkansen (Bullet trains).  That's for another time.

Here I want to mention the Hakone Tozan train, a switchback mountain train wonderful in any season.  I've been on it both summer and winter.  In summer there are thousands of hydrangeas blooming along the line - blue heaven!  In winter, the thick snow cover is like a magic wonderland.  But the best is definitely Autumn - like Ross's train ride above, the autumn leaves are just spectacular.  Spring, of course is just as memorable because of the Sakura, or cherry blossoms.

 

Here is a bit more about it:

This is the only mountain railway in Japan. The train departs from Hakone-Yumoto station (at 96 m above sea level) and takes about 40 minutes to arrive at the final stop, Gora station (at 541 m above sea level). Halfway up the line there are switchbacks, where the driver and the conductor change shifts and the train switch to reversed travel direction. It is a special experience that can be enjoyed only with the Hakone Tozan Train.

https://www.hakone-tozan.co.jp/en/