is a

limited express A limited express is a type of express train or express bus service that stops at fewer locations compared to other express services on the same or similar routes. Japan The term "limited express" is a common translation of the Japanese ...

train service operated by

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

in Japan. It operates between

Hakata is a ward of the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Many of Fukuoka Prefecture and Fukuoka City's principal government, commercial, retail and entertainment establishments are located in the district. Hakata-ku is also the location o ...

and

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

on the

Kagoshima Main Line The is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) between Mojiko Station, Mojikō in Kitakyushu, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, Kagoshima City, at the southern end of Kyushu. Until March 13, 2004, it ...

and the

Nagasaki Main Line The , or simply known as the Nagasaki Line, is a railway line owned by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) connecting Tosu Station in Saga Prefecture to Nagasaki Station in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. There is a separate branch of this line ...

. ''Kamome'' means

seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

. As of 23 September 2022, the name was inherited by the new Shinkansen service to Nagasaki, at which point the remaining limited express services between Takeo-Onsen and Hakata were renamed ''Relay Kamome''.

History

The ''Kamome'' name (written as "") was first used from 1 July 1937 on limited express trains operating between Tokyo and

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

. This service continued until February 1943. The name (written as "") was subsequently revived from 15 March 1953 for use on limited express services operating between

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

and

. This service was discontinued in March 1975 with the completion of the

Sanyō Shinkansen is a former Japanese electronics manufacturer founded in 1947 by Toshio Iue, the brother-in-law of Kōnosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial, now known as Panasonic. Iue left Matsushita Electric to start his own bus ...

to Hakata. On 1 July 1976, with the electrification of the Nagasaki Main Line, services resumed (initially between

Kokura is an ancient Jōkamachi, castle town and the center of modern Kitakyushu, Japan. Kokura is also the name of the Kokura Station, penultimate station on the southbound San'yō Shinkansen line, which is owned by JR West. Ferries connect Kokura ...

and

, later between Hakata and Nagasaki) using 485 series EMUs. The service in its current form commenced on 23 September 2022, with the opening of the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen section between Takeo-Onsen and

. With the Shinkansen now being the primary route to Nagasaki, ''Kamome'' services were reallocated to Shinkansen services on the newly-built Shinkansen line. This also resulted in ''Kamome'' services bypassing Hizen-Kashima, a major station on the Nagasaki Main Line but not on the Shinkansen, to be served by the newly-introduced ''Kasasagi'' limited express departing from either Hizen-Kashima or . ''Kasasagi'' is named after the

Eurasian magpie The Eurasian magpie or common magpie (''Pica pica'') is a resident breeding bird throughout the northern part of the Eurasian continent. It is one of several birds in the crow family (corvids) designated magpies, and belongs to the Holarctic r ...

, which is the prefectural bird of Saga.

Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen

On 28 October 2020, JR Kyushu announced it would utilize a 6-car version of the N700S series for the isolated section of

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond lon ...

from Nagasaki, named the

Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail line on the northwest part of Kyushu Island that is operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). The line is informally known as the Nagasaki Shinkansen. The section of the line between and ...

, with a cross platform interchange to a relay service called ''Relay Kamome'' at to connect to Hakata. JR Kyushu also announced it would continue to use the name ''Kamome'', which has been in use since 1961, for the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen service. Most of the new ''Kamome'' Shinkansen services stop at every station between Takeo-Onsen and

, with some services bypassing Ureshino-Onsen, with a few services only stopping at Isahaya. Between Takeo-Onsen and Hakata, the so-called ''Relay Kamome'' will continue as a non-Shinkansen train service for the foreseeable future until the Shinkansen is eventually extended to Hakata. Some '' Midori'' and ''

Huis Ten Bosch Huis ten Bosch (, ; ) is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Huis ten Bosch was th ...

'' services will also operate as an additional Relay Kamome at Takeo-Onsen styled as either ''Midori (Relay Kamome)'' or ''Huis Ten Bosch (Relay Kamome).''

Rolling stock

Current rolling stock

Relay Kamome & Kasasagi

* 787 series EMUs *

885 series The is a tilting AC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated on limited express services by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) in Japan. The type is part of Hitachi's ''A-train'' family of multiple units. Operations The 885 series is ...

tilting EMUs (branded ''Shiroi Kamome'' and ''Shiroi Sonic'', since 2000) * 783 series EMUs (''Kasasagi'' only, initially branded ''Hyper Saloon'', since 1988)

Kamome

N700S Series Shinkansen The is a Japanese Shinkansen High-speed rail, high-speed train with Tilting train, tilting capability operated by Central Japan Railway Company, JR Central and West Japan Railway Company, JR West on the Tokaido Shinkansen, Tokaido and San'yō Sh ...

(since 2022)

Former rolling stock

485 series The (and the earlier 481 and 483 series variants) was a Japanese limited express electric multiple unit (EMU) type introduced in 1964 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and later operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), West Jap ...

EMUs

Station stops

Relay Kamome / Kasasagi

Stations in parentheses are not served by all trains. Some trains depart from or in the city of

Kitakyushu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuk ...

. * - - - - () - - - - () - () - () - - () - - - ( Yoshinogari-Kōen) - - () - /

Special stops

* Balloon Saga: Some trains heading towards Nagasaki stop here during the Saga International Balloon Fiesta.

Kamome

Legend:

References

* JR Timetable, December 2008 * {{JR Kyushu trains Kyushu Railway Company Nagasaki Main Line Named passenger trains of Japan Named Shinkansen trains Railway services introduced in 1937 1937 establishments in Japan