The second day of the last “Man who takes pictures of Tadami Line only for 3 days” finally came around noon when I took pictures at the Managawa Bridge.
It was lunchtime and there was more than an hour before the next train, so we headed to Tadami station for a lunch break.
I thought it would be a good idea not to visit Tadami Station on the Tadami Line since I had come all the way here.
There is a stationary train. The 9425D for Tadami, which I took a picture of at the Managawa Bridge, has arrived at the station and is getting ready to depart as the 9430D for Aizuwakamatsu.
While I was wandering around the station, a small up train bound for Tadami arrived from the Niigata side. This is lucky (I had missed this scheduled arrival).
12:36 South of Tadami Station, Tadami-bound (left direction) 9468D
The ridges of the mountains, which were hidden by clouds when we were at Lake Tagokura an hour ago, were becoming visible at this time. It was difficult to adjust the contrast because the face of the train was in the shade, but it was a nice shot because I did not expect it.
This 9648D has just arrived at Tadami station, the last stop, and passengers are getting off.
In the left foreground are local handmade scarecrows welcoming the passengers. It is a very heartwarming sight.
After this, we took a short rest in front of Tadami Station and had a quick lunch before heading for Tadamigawa 8th bridge (between Aizu-Shiozawa and Aizu-Gamo).
13:47 Tadamigawa 8th bridge, Aizu-Wakamatsu bound(right direction) 9430D
The 8th bridge is not a bridge that crosses the Tadami River, but an unusual bridge that crosses the left bank vertically. I was not lucky enough to be able to take a water mirror shot because the river surface was wavy, but the light rays at this moment were not bad with the shining fresh greenery in the background. I used a telephoto lens to take this photo from the nearby Yoriiwa Bridge, but I felt that the DA50-135mm lens lacked a little more leg length at the telephoto end…well, I don’t want to be extravagant.
The road on the Yoseiwa Bridge is not very wide, and there is no space for a tripod or even for the photographer to stand. I was forced to stand at the edge of the roadway with my camera in the midst of a fair amount of traffic, slowing down to nod to passing cars, which made for a rather uncomfortable and thankless shoot.
After that, I took some distant shots of Aizu-Yokota Station on the way to the next destination,
My next target was Tadamigawa 7th bridge (between Aizu-Yokota and Aizu- Oshio). This bridge was washed away by the flood damage last year, and it was one of the places where the reconstruction work was very difficult.
14:59 Tadamigawa 7th bridge, Aizu-Wakamatsu bound(right direction) 430D
Although it is possible to get a wide view of the bridge from the Shikisai Bridge, a road bridge that runs parallel to the bridge here, I chose this photo location to view the bridge vertically from the south. Both of these locations have parking spaces nearby, which is nice.
I also took another “close-up” picture with the GF10 + 35-100mm in a vertical composition, so I’ve included it here.
I took this shot with the small GF10 as an added bonus, but it’s not bad either, right? (Completely self-absorbed).
By the way, this bridge was an upper truss bridge before it was washed away, but when it was rebuilt, the shape was changed for various design reasons, and it became a lower truss bridge, which makes it easier to take pictures like this. As a photographer, I am grateful for the change, but I have mixed feelings.
Thinking about it, I have been taking similar pictures of the Tadami Line running through such a mountain village since yesterday, and strangely enough, no matter how many times or how many places I take pictures, I never lose interest and never get bored (laugh).
Well, for the last photo shoot of the day (Day 2), I decided to go far north to the end of Aizu-Yanagizu Station to take pictures of the Yanaizu Town rural scenery (between Aizu-Sakamoto and Aizu-Yanagizu). The Tadami Line rattles by as the sun is setting and the light shining on the fields gradually turns reddish.
16:28 Yanaizu Town rural scenery, Aizu-Wakamatsu bound(left direction) 430D
In Oku-Aizu, rice planting is in progress at this time of the year, and I wanted to take a picture of the train going through the paddy fields filled with water somehow. I felt that I was able to capture a true Japanese landscape, and I was very pleased with myself.
By the way, the train in this photo, numbered 430D, is the same as the one in the previous photo taken at the Seventh Bridge. In other words, I followed and overtook the train that ran away in the up direction after taking the photo at the 7th bridge by car, then went ahead and waited at the side of a rice field in Yanaizu to take another photo, which was possible because the Tadami Line runs slowly.
That’s all for the second day.
I have already written three articles on this day alone, but now I can finally move on to the third and final day of the tour. Those of you who have been watching may be getting a bit bored, but please forgive me as I still have a lot of energetic zenkai stories to tell. Viva Tadami Line!
