Waiting for a train at Yatsushiro Station, the stationmaster came down to announ…

Waiting for a train at Yatsushiro Station, the stationmaster came down to announce in person that a special train was about to pass, the はやとの風 (Hayato no Kaze) - “hayato” refers to people who live in southern Kyushu. Apparently, it was a practice run for a new driver (only locomotive - no passenger cars; the Fukuoka-Kagoshima line is all electrified, but the Kumamoto-Oita line uses diesel engines). I asked if I could give driving it a try, but the answer was predictable. It was a cool train. There are many cool trains on the Fukuoka-Kagoshima line - they’re rather expensive, but perhaps worth it for train buffs. Information is available at local stations. Cool photos at the link: https://www.tabirai.net/sightseeing/article/feature33/