When I went to Kyoto and Osaka, I had the opportunity to ride and see the 103 series. The green train in Kyoto (this was also used by JR East for the Kawagoe Line and the Akabane Line) and the orange train in Osaka (an orange 103 was used for the Musashino Line).
There is also a blue 103 that was used for the Joban line and a yellow 103 for the Chuo-Sobu Line and Nambu Line and a white one that is used on the Sagano Line, Kosei Line and Kusatsu Line.
These 103 trains are so interesting because they look simple, plain and very retro chic considering it’s a ’60s train operating in today’s modern society with trains with advanced technology.
These trains were first introduced back in 1963 by Nippon Kokuyu Tetsdo aka Japanese National Railways (JNR), who was the primary business entity of Japanese railway network from 1949-1987.
To make a long story short, one of the reasons why JNR is not around as they had a Y27 trillion debt by 1987 and the spending costs were a lot more than what they company earned. So, the Diet of Japan created an act to privatize JNR and divide it into seven railway companies and thus the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) was created.
So, what are these 103’s? Well, they are single four-car trains which were built since the ’60s and 3,400 trains featuring different colors through 1984. While many are out of commission, there are still several thousand in service today. Of course, many continue to be refurbished but 63 of the 103’s are still out there in service.
So, this old train shows resilience!
The one I saw in Kyoto is called “Uguisu” (light green) and it’s always packed. If I have any regrets, its the fact that I wish I did more video than photos and captured the details much better.
But with the large crowd and due to timing, I had to get out and heat to my destination.
But yes, if you are in Japan and you get to see some of these classic 103’s around, check it out!
