Staff Meal 78

Did you know that many long-distance limited express trains in the past had dining cars attached?

For the fifth-generation proprietor, who experienced the limited express and Blue Train boom as an elementary school student, eating in a dining car was a dream.

Although the fifth-generation proprietor loved trains more than anything, his family always traveled by car during summer holidays and the like, so he had hardly ever taken a trip by rail.

Even so, there was one time he ate in a dining car: aboard the Sakura sleeper limited express, which he took when visiting relatives in Nagasaki.

Since it was a meal in the dining car he had long dreamed of, he remembers being absolutely delighted.

If he remembers correctly, he had Nagasaki champon.

In those days, one of the most typical staff meals eaten by long-distance train crew members and dining-car staff after the dining car had closed was called “Hachikuma Rice.”

Essentially, it was a nutritious one-plate meal that could be prepared quickly: rice, a fried egg, ham, shredded cabbage, and so on served on a Western-style plate and topped with sauce.

It was something like a secret menu item—something passengers dining in the car could not order.

And today’s staff meal was Hachikuma Rice!

That made him very happy.

However, Kitajima-kun, who made it, did not know anything about Hachikuma Rice; apparently, he simply made something easy because there was not much time.

Needless to say, while eating, the fifth-generation proprietor gave a lengthy explanation of Hachikuma Rice.

Now that the meal is over, all aboard! (A shortened form of the railway phrase meaning “proceed on the departure signal.”)

*I found photos from that time in an old album, so I will include them as well. On the outbound journey, the train developed a fault, and the Sakura service was terminated partway through the trip in Hakata. It was disappointing, but on the other hand, I was fortunate enough to be able to board the Kamome limited express from Hakata. Until then, I had only ever seen trains from Kyushu in photographs, so I remember taking pictures with great enthusiasm. They are fond memories.