Before the expressway and later the Shinkansen connected Kumamoto and Kagoshima through a series of tunnels passing through the central part of the island, the only way to traverse north-south was by a road and railroad which skirted the coast. As a vital link to the small towns on its route, it’s kept running by a third sector railway company administered by Kumamoto and Kagoshima Prefectures along with other municipalities along the line. Of its 28 stations, only 10 are manned. Its name is the Hisatsu Orange Railway: “Hisatsu” as it connects “Higo” and “Satsuma” and “orange” due to the abundance of citrus cultivation along its route.
I’d never taken it and was excited to accompany a young student of mine snorkeling in Minamata when I realized the extent of the damage remaining from the Hitoyoshi-Yatsushiro floods. This will take years to repair. In the meantime, the residents of those small towns will have to hump it over the mountains to reach the central Kyushu expressway, or perhaps travel by boat. I’ll try to see if I can beat a path, but the residents there must be experiencing great hardship. - William