Steam train back on track on Kyushu's Hisatsu Line

Steam locomotive Hitoyoshi-go is pictured crossing the iron bridge in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture. (Mainichi)

Impian Monalisa-Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu) put a restored steam locomotive, the Hitoyoshi-go, back on the tracks to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the JR Hisatsu Line.

The line was opened on Nov. 21, 1909, to connect Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures in Japan's southern island of Kyushu. For security reasons, the Japanese government decided to build the railway in and around the mountains, rather than along the coastline, to avoid gunfire from foreign battleships.

The project faced with a series of difficult challenges, however, including the construction of 60 tunnels and 90 bridges, as well as the nation's first railway spiral and switchback to climb up and down the steep slopes. It was also suspended several times due to the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War before the railway was finally completed.

In April this year, JR Kyushu resumed the operation of the Hitoyoshi-go between JR Hisatsu Line's Kumamoto and Hitoyoshi stations. The black steamer 8620, which pulls three passenger cars, allows tourists and railway fans to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the Kuma River in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, as it runs through an old brick tunnels and across an iron bridge dating back to the Meiji Era.