Shirayuki Express, which took 12 hours to connect Kanazawa and Aomori

Up until about 40 years ago (2025), there was an express train that ran from Kanazawa Station in Ishikawa Prefecture to Aomori Station in Aomori Prefecture, taking over 12 hours. This
train was called the "Shirayuki" express.
It had unique features that would be unthinkable for a current JR train, such as the length of its route and the fact that it was never converted into an electric train even though the necessary facilities were available.

The express train "Shirayuki" ran over 770km

Shirayuki express train began operation in 1963, during the Japan National Railways era before JR was established.
Initially, there was one train per day going down from Kanazawa Station to Akita Station, and one train going up from Aomori Station to Kanazawa Station.

According to the timetable from October 1964, the year after service began, the outbound train departed Kanazawa Station at 6:45 AM.
The main stops along the way were Takaoka, Toyama, Itoigawa, Naoetsu, Kashiwazaki, Nagaoka, Niitsu, Niigata, Shibata, Sakamachi, Tsuruoka, Sakata, and Ugo-Honjo.
It continued along the Japan Sea coast, including the Hokuriku Main Line (at the time; it is no longer JR's Hokuriku Main Line), Shinetsu Main Line, Uetsu Main Line, Hakushin Line, and Ou Main Line (hereafter collectively referred to as the "Japan Sea Longitudinal Line"), before arriving at Akita Station at 5:05 PM.

The upbound train departed Aomori Station at 6:25.
The upbound Shirayuki was coupled with another express train called
Akebono The main stops on the way to Akita Station were Hirosaki, Odate, Takanosu, and Higashi-Noshiro.
After separating from the Akebono at Akita Station, the main stops were the same as the downbound Shirayuki. The train
arrived at its final destination, Kanazawa Station, at 8:36 PM.
The route was over 770 km , the journey a long 14 hours and 11 minutes .

In 1965, the outbound train was extended to Aomori, and both the up and down trains now run between Kanazawa Station and Aomori Station.
At that time, the Seikan Ferry departed and arrived at Aomori Station, and passengers could board a ferry from Aomori Station to Hakodate Station in Hokkaido.
However, the transfer wait time between the Shirayuki and the Seikan Ferry was long, at around two hours for both up and down trains.
In later years, the connection between the Shirayuki and the Seikan Ferry was completely discontinued, which suggests that this train was not designed to meet the demand from people crossing from Aomori Station to Hokkaido or from Hokkaido.

Additionally, the limited express "Shiratori" train, which connects Osaka Station and Aomori Station on the Japan Sea Longitudinal Line, had already begun operation in 1961.
It is believed that the "Shiratori" was primarily responsible for passenger transport directly connecting the Hokuriku and Tohoku regions.

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It takes 16 hours to Aomori from Osaka! Shiratori is the longest daytime express train in Japan

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There used to be a limited express train called Shiratori, a JNR, that runs over 1,000km along the Sea of ​​Japan coast from Osaka Station to Aomori Station. When it first appeared in 1961, it took 15 hours and 45 minutes to travel from Osaka Station to Aomori Station. However, despite being a long-term train, Shiratori is not a sleeper express train. It was a daytime express train that you could sit in your seat and board. This time we will introduce the Shiratori, which was the longest-distance train in Japan on conventional lines (lines other than bullet trains). The introduction of "swan" The word "express" is a term that has become a norm among people who use railways on a daily basis...

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For these reasons, few passengers used the Shirayuki train for the entire section between Kanazawa Station and Aomori Station. Many
passengers only used a portion of the route, such as from Kanazawa Station to Niigata Station, or from Niigata Station to Akita Station or Aomori Station, and it seems that many passengers changed seats on the train at major stations.

Although it could be replaced by a train, it continues to operate as a diesel railcar

Since the Shirayuki began operation in 1963, it has used Kiha 58 series diesel railcars.
At the time, even major trunk lines of the Japanese National Railways still had many non-electrified lines that lacked the facilities for electric trains, and diesel railcars that ran on diesel fuel were widely used.
The Kiha 58 series was one of the most produced diesel railcars of that type.

Electrification of the Japan Sea Longitudinal Line was underway to enable electric trains to run on it, and the entire line was completed in 1972.
So, in October 1972, the limited express "Hakucho" was quickly changed from its Kiha 82 series diesel railcars to the 485 series electric trains.
The 485 series was also one of the many vehicles produced among the JNR limited express trains.

On the other hand, the Shirayuki was retained as a diesel railcar.
There are two possible reasons why it remained a diesel railcar even though it was now possible to operate it as an electric train.
One is that there were probably not enough express electric trains available to convert the Shirayuki to an electric train.
In particular, the area where the Shirayuki operated had three electrification systems: 60Hz AC, DC, and 50Hz AC, from the west side. In order to convert it to an electric train, it would have been necessary to prepare expensive electric trains that were compatible with all three types of electrification
(naturally, the 485 series electric trains used for the Shiratori limited express were compatible with all three types).

Another reason is that Shirayuki is already operated in conjunction with other diesel express trains, and the diesel railcars used for Shirayuki are also used for other purposes, so it would not have been possible to convert Shirayuki alone into an electric train

Whatever the reason, the Shirayuki continued to operate as a diesel railcar until it was discontinued in 1982.
Its route length of over 770 km was probably the longest in Japanese history for
a diesel express train that ran only on electrified lines . The Shirayuki became famous not only as a train that ran over long distances and for long hours, but also as a diesel railcar that ran only under overhead wires.

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there is an even longer
express that only ran on electrified lines " This is the "Naga" limited express, which ran from Osaka Station to Nishi-Kagoshima Station (now Kagoshima-Chuo Station) via the Kagoshima Main Line.
Even after electrification was completed in 1970, it continued to operate with Kiha 82 series diesel railcars until it was replaced by 485 series electric railcars in 1973, and its operating distance exceeded 900 km.

The train that ran alongside Shirayuki

As mentioned earlier, there were Shirayuki trains that were coupled to each other at certain sections along the way

To reiterate, as of October 1964 (probably from the beginning of service in 1963), the express "Akebono" was coupled to the "Shirayuki" bound for Kanazawa from its starting point at Aomori Station to Akita Station.
After being detached from the "Shirayuki" at Akita Station, the train continued to Sendai Station via the Ou Main Line, Yokokuro Line (renamed the Kitakami Line in 1966), and Tohoku Main Line.
After the outbound "Shirayuki" was extended to Aomori, the "Akebono" was also coupled to the outbound train.
Also, the timetable for October 1968, when the timetable was revised to reflect the "Yon-San-To", shows that the "Akebono" was renamed "Kitakami" (although the operating route remained the same).

In the March 1972 timetable, a new express train called "Hakuba" was added to the "Shirayuki" between Kanazawa Station and Itoigawa Station in Niigata Prefecture
(the express "Hakuba" and the limited express "Shiratori" ran on some sections of the Japan Sea Longitudinal Line, so I wonder if this was to avoid confusion).
From Itoigawa Station, the train entered the Oito Line and ran to Matsumoto Station in Nagano Prefecture.
As the train's name suggests, it stopped at Hakuba Station in Hakuba Village, Nagano Prefecture, a famous ski resort and summer resort.

The Kitakami Line was not electrified, and some sections of the Oito Line were not electrified either (as is the case today), so the Kitakami and Hakuba trains could not be operated by electric trains.
For this reason, it is believed that diesel railcars continued to be used for the Shirayuki trains that run in conjunction with these trains.

The last time the Shirayuki appeared in the timetable I have is in the June 1982 issue.
The outbound train departed Kanazawa at 9:49 and arrived in Aomori at 10:18 PM .
The inbound train departed Aomori at 6:50 AM and arrived in Kanazawa at 7:17 PM .
The journey time was shorter than when the train first began operation, but it still took more than 12 hours to ride the entire route.

The express "Shirayuki" was discontinued after being upgraded to the limited express "Shiratori."

In the November 1982 timetable revision, limited express and rapid trains running on the Japan Sea Longitudinal Line were reorganized in response to the full-scale opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen and the Joetsu Shinkansen.
The Shirayuki was extended to run between Fukui Station and Aomori Station and upgraded to the limited express Shiratori , bringing to an end the history of trains named Shirayuki as an express.
The Hakuba train, which it was coupled with, was also discontinued at the same time.
The Kitakami was downgraded to a rapid service and its operating area was changed, so it no longer runs on the Japan Sea Longitudinal Line.

The Shiratori No. 1 and No. 4 services between Fukui Station and Aomori Station, which were established at this time, could not transfer to the Seikan Ferry at Aomori Station, just as they had in the express era. Perhaps
because of the low number of passengers, the service was shortened to run between Fukui Station and Niigata Station in the timetable revision in March 1985, just over two years later, and the service was renamed Hokuetsu.

Shirayuki revived twice

The express "Shirayuki" from the JNR era was discontinued in 1982, but trains named "Shirayuki" have appeared twice since the launch of JR.
The first time was in 1997, when the rapid "Shirakami" service connecting Akita Station and Aomori Station via the Ou Main Line was renamed the rapid "Shirayuki" and reappeared.
However, in 2002 the rapid "Shirayuki" was changed to an unnamed rapid service, and the name "Shirayuki" disappeared again.

Then, in March 2015, the limited express "Shirayuki" began operating from Arai Station or Joetsu Myoko Station in Niigata Prefecture to Niigata Station via Naoetsu Station, marking its second revival.
This limited express train is still in operation today, connecting Niigata Station with Joetsu Myoko Station, where Hokuriku Shinkansen trains stop, and providing a means of transportation between Niigata City and the Hokuriku region.

These "Shirayuki" trains have much shorter operating routes than the "Shirayuki" trains from the JNR era, and even though they share the same nickname, it seems there is no direct connection.
However, the Rapid "Shirayuki" runs the entire section between Akita Station and Aomori Station, and the Limited Express "Shirayuki" runs the majority of its section between Naoetsu Station and Niigata Station, which overlaps with the operating route of the Express "Shirayuki."

Also, during the JNR era, the successor to the "Shirayuki" was the limited express "Hakucho" and then the limited express "Hokuetsu," and the "Shirayuki" was introduced as a replacement for the "Hokuetsu" which was discontinued with the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen between Nagano Station and Kanazawa Station in 2015. Therefore, it is possible that the current "Shirayuki" is the successor to the "Shirayuki" from the JNR era.
Therefore, it is possible that the name was chosen in honour of the former express "Shirayuki.
" And personally, I think the nickname "Shirayuki" is a good fit for a train that runs along the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan.

Yuto Ono

A former railway engineer and current freelance writer who has loved trains since childhood. His dream is to make railway travel his job.