In northern Japan, the Tsugaru Railway operates between Tsugaru Goshogawara and Tsugaru Nakazato stations, about 12 miles apart, or a 45 minute ride through a quiet rural landscape. In the winter, the company operates a train with an old-fashioned potbelly stove to heat the passenger cars, to attract tourists from the outside of the prefecture as the number of passengers declines due to the motorization and declining population in the region. Getty Images photographer Tomohiro Ohsumi recently took the trip, photographing the cozy ride on a chilly February day.
A Wintry Ride in a Japanese Potbelly Stove Train
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Read moreA Tsugaru Railways train runs through a snow field on February 2, 2017, in Aomori, Japan. The Tsugaru Railway runs between Tsugaru Goshogawara and Tsugaru Nakazato in Aomori, a northern prefecture in Japan. #
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Read moreA Tsugaru Railways train runs through a stand of trees on February 2, 2017 in Aomori, Japan. #
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Read moreA Tsugaru crew member adds coal to the stove as the train runs through a snow field on February 2, 2017. #
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Read moreA woman and a girl draw on the fogged window during a ride on a Tsugaru Railways train on February 1, 2017. #
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Read morePassengers warm themselves near the stove on February 2, 2017, traveling between Tsugaru Goshogawara and Tsugaru Nakazato. #
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Read moreA driver looks out of the windscreen of a Tsugaru Railways train before departing on February 2, 2017. #
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Read moreA Tsugaru Railways train runs through a snow field on February 1, 2017. #
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Read moreA station building is seen through a train window on February 2, 2017. #
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Read moreA passenger waits for the Tsugaru Railways train on a platform seen through a train window on February 1, 2017, in Aomori, Japan. #
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Read morePassengers purchase tickets for the Tsugaru Railways train at a station on February 2, 2017. #
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Read moreA crew member inspects the train before departing the station on February 2, 2017. #
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Read morePassenger seats line the interior carriage of a Tsugaru Railways train, seen through a window, on February 2, 2017. #
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Read moreCoal is prepared near a stove inside a Tsugaru Railways car on February 2, 2017. #
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Read moreA crew member adds coal to the stove during a trip on February 1, 2017 in Aomori, Japan. #
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Read moreA Tsugaru Railways train runs through a snow field on February 1, 2017. #
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Read moreA passenger looks out the train window during a trip on February 1, 2017. #
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Read moreA Tsugaru Railways train completes a run through a snowy field in northern Japan on February 1, 2017. #
Tomohiro Ohsumi / Getty
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