Image courtesy of YouTube
The setting is the JR Geibi Line, which connects Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures. This local line offers scenery that changes with the seasons, retro station buildings, and the pristine landscape of rural areas, but it is also attracting attention as one of the most unprofitable lines in the country and is in the midst of a debate about its continued existence or closure.
We followed a couple who sell tickets at Onuka Station, an unmanned station deep in the mountains where there are days when the number of passengers is “0,” for three years. In the towns along the line, which are experiencing depopulation, the couple’s alma mater is also facing a crisis of closure due to under-enrollment. What will become of local lines, and what will the future hold for rural areas? What did we learn from these three years filled with laughter and tears…? Narrator: Mika Watanabe Announcer Production: Hiroshima Home Television
