Free ride all day on Wakasa Railway on December 6 – The 90th anniversary of its opening

Wakasa Railway, which operates the local railway Wakasa Line in Tottori Prefecture, will hold the Thanksgiving Festival on December 6, 2020 (Sunday), commemorating the 90th anniversary of the opening of the entire line. On the day, the fare for all sections will be free of charge.

Wakasa Railway's sightseeing train "Yazu" type WT3000, crossing the Hatto River between Yazukoko-mae Station and Inaba-Funaoka Station — Wakasa Railway’s sightseeing train “Yazu” type WT3000, crossing the Hatto River between Yazukoko-mae Station and Inaba-Funaoka Station

On December 6 (Sunday), the fare for the Wakasa Railway will be free for all passengers, and you can freely get on and off between Koge Station and Wakasa Station. The “1 day free ticket” will be distributed at Koge Station and Wakasa Station as a boarding certificate (up to 1 per person). If you transfer to the Wakasa Railway from the JR Line at Koge Station, you can receive the “1 day free ticket” from the crew on the Wakasa Railway.

The “Wakasa Line 90th Anniversary Ticket” will be sold at 3 places (Yazu Town Tourist Association, Wakasa Town Tourist Information Center and Wakasa Cafe “retro”) on the day of the event. The price is 1,140 yen with limited to 200 pieces, and sales will end as soon as they are sold out.

An event where you can get on the currently suspended “SL Torokko” for free will also be held only at Thanksgiving. You can experience riding a trolley vehicle towed by the steam locomotive C12, which is exhibited and preserved in the SL Square inside Wakasa Station. Held twice in the morning and afternoon, each has a capacity of 90 people on a first-come, first-served basis.

They will also hold original coffee tasting and selling events. Wakasa Railway’s original drip coffee roasted with bamboo charcoal from Yazu Town will be sold at “Platto Pia Yazu” in Koge Station, and the original “Wakasa Blend” by Wakasa Cafe “Retro” in Wakasa Station will be sold there. Both sales hours are from 10:00 to 14:00, and tastings are available for the first 100 people.

The wooden station building of Wakasa Station on the Wakasa Railway

In addition, Wakasa Railway is calling on those to wear a mask to prevent infection with COVID-19.

The entire line between Koge Station and Wakasa Station was opened as Wakasa Line of the former Japan National Railway on December 1, 1930. Due to the JNR division and privatization on April 1, 1987, it became a JR West line, but on October 14, 1987, the third sector Wakasa Railway, which was funded by Tottori Prefecture, took over the business.