In the summer, the chances of taking rainy footage decrease suddenly. Meanwhile, I was looking for a "yadachi." It is especially prone to occur in mountainous areas, and if you're lucky, you can record lightning and fog scenery. This time we headed to Tsubojiri Station, a hidden station in Shikoku. This station is difficult to access and has few passengers, so we were able to photograph the miraculous thunderstorms and fog scenery.
- The deciding factor for the filming was "Yudachi" and "Underground Station"
- Railway journey before reaching the station
- The rain fell at an unexpected time
- Encounter with a "second thunderstorm" that surpassed the weather forecast
- Records of experiencing the sudden thunder and the power of nature
- Reflection for the next session and response to new possibilities
- A record of the journey to the iron bridge and the next waterfall
The deciding factor for the filming was "Yudachi" and "Underground Station"
The rainy season is over, and this is the time of year when evening showers are one of the few chances of rain. Having previously failed to photograph evening showers at Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, I checked the weather again and found that the best place to see evening showers was around Tsubojiri Station in Tokushima Prefecture. When I consulted ChatGPT, they suggested that of the two stations that were on the list, Hashikura-ji Temple and Tsubojiri Station, Tsubojiri Station would be a good choice, which was the deciding factor.
Railway journey before reaching the station
I finished work early that day and left Takamatsu Station on the 12:13 train. I changed to an express train at Tadotsu Station and headed to Awa-Ikeda Station. Since very few trains stop at Tsubojiri Station, I passed through there and then changed to a local train to return.
If you pass through your destination station and return, you would normally have to go through the station ticket gates and buy a ticket from your boarding station to your disembarking station again. However, JR Shikoku operates an app called " Shikoku Smart Eki-chan ," which allows you to buy tickets on the train.
This time, I purchased my ticket from Takamatsu Station to Awa-Ikeda Station and my limited express ticket in advance before departing. Then, before arriving at Awa-Ikeda Station, I used the "Shikoku Smart Eki-chan" app to purchase my ticket from Awa-Ikeda Station to Tsubojiri Station on the limited express train. This way, I was able to transfer smoothly on the platform without having to go through the ticket gates at Awa-Ikeda Station.
The rain fell at an unexpected time
From inside the express train heading to Awa Ikeda Station, we saw heavy rain falling around Tsubojiri Station.
When I saw this rain cloud radar, I was almost in the mood to give up, but when I asked ChatGPT, "Is there a possibility that the evening showers will occur twice in the same place?", I replied, "There's a good chance"! I changed my mind and headed straight to Tsubojiri Station.
Encounter with a "second thunderstorm" that surpassed the weather forecast
I was the only one who got off at the unmanned station. The rain had already stopped, but thanks to the rain that fell earlier, a fantastic mist was erected in the mountains around the station. Even with the rain cloud radar, it seems that rain is coming again. It was truly the tranquility just before the natural drama began.
Records of experiencing the sudden thunder and the power of nature
I walked a little from the station and entered the forest, and gradually the sound of thunder began to approach. The thunder echoed countless times, and there were times when I couldn't help but stop. It was scary, but also recorded valuable sounds, making it a very memorable finish as a video.
Reflection for the next session and response to new possibilities
If possible, I would have liked to arrive on a train one earlier than this one. If I did that, I could have produced more dramatic footage. When it comes to filming a natural partner, timing is all about it. Once again, I realized the importance of reading the weather and preparing it.
A record of the journey to the iron bridge and the next waterfall
The goal for this shoot was to get from Tsubojiri Station to the railway bridge to the north, but the lightning was so close that it felt unsafe, so we gave up on filming midway. We only managed to get footage up to an artificial waterfall that we came across by chance. In the future, we plan to introduce "How to get to the waterfall at Tsubojiri Station" as well as drone footage of the waterfall as seen from the train window during the switchbacks, so please look forward to it!
