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Monday, May 1, 2017

Know Your Trains: Kinu, Kegon, and Spacia

Edit 16 April 2018: Added information on the new Tobu World Square station.

Edit 3 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

Touhoku main line Spacia
A 100-series Spacia train (before the 2012 refurbishment).
By toshinori baba (投稿者が撮影) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
Nikko (日光, Nikkō) is a town 70 miles (113 km) north of Tokyo that is famous, even regarded as sacred, for its various shrines, temples, and natural features.  It also stands near the town of Kinugawa Onsen (鬼怒川温泉), home to hot spring hotels and unique amusement parks, such as Edo Wonderland.  Both places are served by the Tobu railway company, and in addition to regular services, they run limited-express trains to make the journey to Nikko and Kinugawa faster and more comfortable.

Name Start Station End Station(s) Time* Max. Frequency**
Kinu Asakusa Kinugawa-Onsen 2 hours 1 per 1-2 hours
Kegon Asakusa Nikko 1 hour 50 minutes 1 per 1-2 hours
*Approximate time between start and end stations.
**Departures are based on May 2017 schedules and are subject to change.

These two services are called the "Kinu", to Kinugawa Onsen, and the "Kegon", to Nikko; both are grouped under the "Spacia" brand name.  They both start from Tobu's Asakusa station, and head north along the Skytree (TS) and Nikko (TN) lines.  At Shimo-Imaichi Station, Kegon trains continue on to Tobu-Nikko Station, whereas Kinu trains diverge onto the Kinugawa branch line to Kinugawa-Onsen Station.  One-way fare to either destination is just shy of ¥3,000. Kegon services used to be far less frequent, with only 3 services per day during the morning and late evenings, but departure frequency has increased since 2017.  For the most up-to-date timetables, visit Tobu's web site (English).

Num. Name (English) Name (Japanese) Prefecture Kegon Kinu
TS01 Asakusa 浅草 Tobu Skytree (TS) X X
TS02 Tokyo Skytree とうきょうスカイツリー X O
TS09 Kita-Senju 北千住 X X
TS27 Kasukabe 春日部 X X
TS30 Tobu Dobutsu-Koen* 東武動物公園 I I
Tobu Nikko (TN)
TN11 Tochigi 栃木 X X
TN18 Shin-Kanuma 新鹿沼 X X
TN23 Shimo-Imaichi 下今市 X X
TN25 Tobu-Nikko 東武日光 X I
TN55 Tobu World Square 東武ワールドスクウェア Tobu Kinugawa (TN) I O
TN56 Kinugawa-Onsen 鬼怒川温泉 I X
Legend
X: All trains stop at this station.
O: Some trains stop at this station.
I: No trains stop at this station.
*Tobu Dobutsu-Koen Station is the junction between the Tobu Skytree and Nikko lines.  Kegon and Kinu trains do not stop here.

 Notable stops
  • Asakusa: One of Tokyo's oldest and best-preserved temple districts.
  • Tokyo Skytree: The world's tallest broadcast tower.
  • Kita-Senju: A railway hub in the north of Tokyo.
  • Shimo-Imaichi: Where the Nikko and Kinugawa lines meet.
  • Tobu-Nikko: Famous shrines, temples, and woodland hiking.
  • Tobu World Square: A theme park of world landmark miniatures.  This station was newly opened on 22 July 2017.
  • Kinugawa-Onsen: Hot springs and unique theme parks.
A private compartment on a 100-series Spacia train (before the 2012 refurbishment).
By ​Japanese Wikipedia user L,t,d,express [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0]
Spacia services run using Tobu's 100-series trains, which were introduced in 1990.  In 2012, coinciding with the opening of Tokyo Skytree (also co-sponsored by Tobu Railway), the fleet was renovated with new interiors and exterior colours.  Seats are arranged 2+2 across with a seat pitch of 110 cm (43 inches).  The sixth and final car contains private compartments, each seating up to four passengers.

Service Total Cars Non-Reserved Cars Reserved Cars Green Cars
Kinu
Kegon		 6 0 5
(Cars #1-5)		 1
(Car #6)


An E253-1000-series "Nikko" train, on the JR Utsunomiya line.
By 駅弁 [GFDL or CC BY 3.0]

Name Start Station End Station(s) Time* Max. Frequency**
Nikko Shinjuku Nikko 2 hours 1 per day
Kinugawa Shinjuku Kinugawa-Onsen 2 hours 10 minutes 3 per day

*Approximate time between start and end stations.
**Departures are based on May 2017 schedules and are subject to change.  Additional services may be added for peak travel times.

As an alternative to the Kinu and Kegon, JR East and Tobu also run joint limited-express services from Shinjuku Station.  These are called the "Kinugawa" and "Nikko", obviously named after their termini.  One-way fare on these trains is ¥4,080.  They are slower and more expensive than Tobu's own trains from Asakusa, but they are partially covered by the Japan Rail Pass (users must pay for the section beyond Kurihashi Station), and fully covered by JR East area passes.  A few services use the same train models as the Spacia Kinu and Kegon, and are called "Spacia Kinugawa" or "Spacia Nikko".

Num. Name (English) Name (Japanese) Line Nikko Kinugawa
JA11 Shinjuku 新宿 JR Saikyo (JA) X X
JA12 Ikebukuro 池袋 X X
JU05 Urawa 浦和 X X
JR Utsunomiya (JU)
JU07 Omiya 大宮 X X
TN04 Kurihashi* 栗橋 I I
Tobu Nikko (TN)
TN11 Tochigi 栃木 X X
TN18 Shin-Kanuma 新鹿沼 X X
TN23 Shimo-Imaichi 下今市 X X
TN25 Tobu-Nikko 東武日光 X I
TN55 Tobu World Square 東武ワールドスクウェア Tobu Kinugawa (TN) I O
TN56 Kinugawa-Onsen 池袋 I X
Legend
X: All trains stop at this station.
O: Some trains stop at this station.
I: No trains stop at this station.
*Kurihashi is the junction between the JR Utsunomiya and Tobu Nikko lines.  Nikko and Kinugawa trains do not stop here.

Nikko and Kinugawa trains use JR East's 253-1000-series trains, which were refurbished after being used for the Narita Express.  All seats are regular-class and reserved.  Seat pitch is also 110 cm (43 in), to match the Tobu Spacia trains.

Service Total Cars Non-Reserved Cars Reserved Cars Green Cars
Nikko
Kinugawa		 6 0 6
(Cars #1-6)		 0


Tobu 500 series 505-3 Hanyu Station 20170130
A 500-series train, used on Revaty and other limited-express services by Tobu.
© DAJF / Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons
Since 21 April 2017, the Kinu and Kegon have been supplemented by a new series of limited express services, the "Revaty".  The Revaty Kegon and Revaty Kinu are similar to their Spacia counterparts, with only a couple of additional stops added to their schedules.  Most Revaty Kegon services are coupled with a Revaty Aizu train, which splits off at Shimo-Imaichi onto the Tobu Kinugawa line, and continues north into Fukushima Prefecture on two additional lines: the Yagan Railway Aizu-Kinugawa line, and the Aizu Railway Aizu line.  Revaty services use new 500-series trains, which come in sets of three cars each.  More information: (English)

Name Start Station End Station(s) Time* Max. Frequency**
Revaty Kegon Asakusa Tobu-Nikko 1 hour 55 minutes 1 per 2 hours
Revaty Kinu Asakusa Shin-Fujiwara 2 hours 5 minutes 1 per day
Revaty Aizu Asakusa Aizu-Tajima 3 hours 25 minutes 3 per day
*Approximate time between start and end stations.
**Departures are based on May 2017 schedules and are subject to change.


Tips
  • Nikko offers various travel passes in the Nikko and/or Kinugawa Onsen area which include round-trip travel from Asakusa.  This only covers regular fares; if you wish to use a Spacia train, you must pay the supplement fees.  However, the passes do entitle holders to a 20% discount on these fees; for example, the fee for a weekday ticket from Asakusa to Nikko will cost ¥1,090, down from ¥1,360.  These passes are not valid for the Nikko and Kinugawa limited-express trains to/from Shinjuku.  More information: (English)
  • Another option to get to Nikko from Tokyo is to take the Tohoku Shinkansen (50 minutes, Nasuno or Yamabiko services) to Utsunomiya, and transfer to a local train (45 minutes) on the Nikko Line ⬛ to JR's Nikko station (separate from Tobu's Nikko station).  It is more expensive, at over ¥5,000 for non-reserved tickets, but it is fully covered by the Japan Rail Pass and JR East area passes.
  • Nikko and Kinugawa trains switch between JR and Tobu lines at Kurihashi station.  For those using a Japan Rail Pass, supplement fees are based on fares from Kurihashi to the given destination.  As of October 2019, for trains to/from Nikko and/or Kinugawa-Onsen, the base fare for this section is ¥990, and the supplement seat fare is an additional ¥520.
Trivia
  • The "Kegon" (けごん) service is named after the Kegon Falls (華厳滝, Kegon-taki) in Nikko.  This waterfall can be reached by bus from (JR) Nikko and Tobu-Nikko stations (50 minutes, ¥1,150).
  • Two of the three livery colours introduced as part of the 2012 Spacia refurbishment are based on the lighting of the Tokyo Skytree, which opened in the same year: "iki", or white with blue stripes, and "miyabi", or white with violet stripes.
  • Another colour style was introduced to Spacia trains in 2015.  It is called "Nikko Spacia Moude", and is gold with red and black stripes.
  • The name "Revaty" (リバティ, Ribati) is derived from the English words "liberty" and "variety".
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