This week we are covering the SL Yamaguchi, which began operating during Golden Week. Now then... departing! [SL Yamaguchi Departs] "Have a nice trip!" On the 3rd of this month, the SL Yamaguchi resumed operation for the first time in about two years. On its first day, it was seen off by many people as it departed for Tsuwano Station. This time we are covering the passenger car being pulled by the steam locomotive. Although it was built in 2017, the interior is a reproduction of a passenger car manufactured in the early Showa period, with a retro finish. Morikawa-san, who was involved in the construction, showed us around car number 5. [Nogawa Announcer, Morikawa Yasuto, JR West Shimonoseki General Rolling Stock Center Shin-Yamaguchi Branch] "Let's take a look inside. Can you first tell me about the features of this carriage?" "You can see that it has a very high ceiling. The model carriage was the Oha No. 31, and one of its features was the high ceiling. It has a convex shape to give a sense of openness, or rather, to make the passengers feel that it's spacious because of the height." "While enjoying the atmosphere of a hundred years ago, we have the latest technology of today, and where we are now is well air-conditioned and comfortable. If you look at the seats, the mohair cushioning on the seating area is green. Is the colour of these seats based on the model carriage?" "That's right. The green colour was used for the seats in what would be called third class carriages in the old passenger carriages, where ordinary passengers sat. It has a shape that follows that." "When I touched it just now, I thought that this is quite a right angle." "That's right. When we were making it, we were like, 'Is this wood really okay to use?' We had a bit of discussion about it, and then we decided that as the journey to Tsuwano was about two hours and ten minutes, it would be fine to use a wooden backrest for that long." "Excuse me. Ah, it does make you sit up straight. Of course it's wood, so there's a bit of a stiff feeling to it, but combined with the hard seats, it means it's difficult to move even if your body shakes. And the luggage rack is made of real mesh." "That's what we were a bit disappointed about." "What was a shame?" "In the old passenger cars, this was actually mesh. It was woven with thread. The standards for making cars have become very strict these days. We tried to find a similar material, but we couldn't find one. So we were forced to use wire mesh." Cars two to four were built based on the Oha35, which is a little newer than the Oha31, and have a slightly different atmosphere from car five. [Nogawa Announcer, Morikawa Yasuto, JR West Shimonoseki General Rolling Stock Center Shin-Yamaguchi Branch] "What's distinctive is this round circular roof and the blue color of the backrest." "It feels a little mysterious, doesn't it? It's the same with car 5, but even though you think it's very retro, there's an outlet here. A lot of thought has gone into making the journey comfortable." "Also, I think you'll notice at a glance that the source of that sound is missing. The speaker is actually buried inside this light." "Inside it, you mean?" "Yes, it's quite unprecedented." "It's a little surprising that there's a speaker built in here." Finally, we come to car 1, the Green Car, which is difficult to get tickets for. [Nogawa Announcer and Morikawa Yasuto, JR West Shimonoseki General Rolling Stock Center Shin-Yamaguchi Branch] "Hohohoho. It really is an incredible space. The noble colour of 'brown' with the brand new linen gives it a feeling of cleanliness. You can tell from the moment you board that you've entered a special space." "It has a slightly different atmosphere to the carriages you've seen up until now." "It's clearly different." "I think you can see that." "The carriage we used as a model is the Myte 49, and when we thought about how to make the seats equivalent to those in a green car by modern standards, we modified the green car seats of the Thunderbirds that run around Kanazawa and other trains in that area to make them look like old-style passenger cars." "So, not only is the width of each seat ample, but the spaces between them are also spacious, and there is no table, there is a foldable table. There is very little leg room - my legs are short so even if I stretched them out I couldn't reach them. However, this Green Car seat takes up this much space and is a luxurious seat, so you could say this is the platinum of platinum tickets." "The seats in this Green Car are the first to go, so although it is really first come, first served, it is actually quite diffic