Joban Line Coloring Pages

The Joban Line Connecting Tokyo and Tohoku

The Joban Line is a JR train line that runs from Nippori Station in Tokyo, through Ibaraki and Fukushima, all the way to Iwanuma Station in Miyagi.
Trains set off from Ueno Station and Shinagawa Station, heading for Matsudo and Kashiwa in Chiba, as well as Mito and Hitachi in Ibaraki.
The name "Joban" comes from taking one character each from the old province names Hitachi and Iwaki.
Many different trains run here, from commuter trains carrying people to work and school, to limited express trains traveling far away.

The E531 Series with Blue Stripes

The first coloring page shows the Joban Line's E531 series.
It has a silver stainless-steel body with cool blue stripes.
On the front, the top half is a big piece of black glass, and blue stripes stretch diagonally at the bottom left and right edges.
The E531 series travels long distances, all the way from the Ueno area to Ibaraki and Fukushima.
In the first coloring page, you can see its long train cars reaching way back into the distance.

The Joban Line Rapid Train with Green Stripes

The second coloring page shows the Joban Line Rapid E231 series coming around a curve.
This one has emerald green stripes on its front and sides.
Below the front stripe, there is one round light on each side.
The Joban Line Rapid runs from Ueno Station, through Matsudo and Kashiwa in Chiba, up to Toride Station in Ibaraki.
Over the tracks, you can see many poles standing in a row to hold up the power lines.

The White Limited Express Hitachi

The third coloring page shows the E657 series, which runs as the limited express "Hitachi" and "Tokiwa".
It looks super cool with its pure white body, long rounded face, and big single black window.
It has lights that look like eyes right under the left and right sides of the window.
The Limited Express Hitachi runs from Shinagawa Station and Ueno Station toward Iwaki in Ibaraki, and all the way to Sendai Station in Miyagi.

Tracks Connected Once Again

Because of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, trains on the Joban Line could not run in parts of Fukushima for a long time.
On March 14, 2020, the last closed section opened again, connecting the entire line for the first time in about 9 years.
From that day on, the Limited Express Hitachi started running all the way to Sendai Station again.

For the silver body, use just a little gray

The bodies of the Series E531 and Series E231 are stainless steel silver.
Don't color the whole thing dark gray. Lightly add light gray and leave a little bit of the white paper showing. That makes it look shiny and silver!
If you make the bottom edge of the body and around the doors a little darker, it will look cool and 3D.

Tell the trains apart by their stripe colors

Color the stripes on the first Series E531 blue. Color the stripes on the second Series E231 emerald green.
Even on the same Joban Line, you can tell where a train is going by the colors of its stripes!
For the big front window, try not to color it all black. Color it dark blue or dark gray to make it look real.
If you color the lights yellow or white, they will look bright and shiny!

For the white limited express, add soft shadows

The third train, the Series E657, is pure white.
Leave the white paper as it is. Just put a little light gray or light purple near the bottom and at the edges of the round front. That will make its round shape pop right out!
The area around the side windows is dark glass, so color it dark gray.
If you color the tracks brown or dark brown and the stones gray, the white train will really stand out!

Don't press too hard on the front window

For the front window, rather than coloring it heavily with just one color, try making the top dark and the bottom light. It will look just like glass reflecting the light!
If you trace the windshield wipers thinly with dark gray, they will look nice and sharp.

Running on "AC" Power Past Toride Station

There are two types of electricity used to run trains: DC and AC.
Most trains around Tokyo use DC power. But on the Joban Line, the track past Toride Station in Ibaraki Prefecture uses AC power instead.
This is because there is a Geomagnetic Observatory in Kakioka, Ishioka City, Ibaraki Prefecture, that studies the Earth's magnetic force.
If DC trains run nearby, it gets in the way of their tests.
That is why trains like the E531 series and E657 series that run past Toride Station are built to use both DC and AC power!

It Connects to the Yamanote Line and Keihin-Tohoku Line

You can transfer from the Joban Line to the Yamanote Line or the Keihin-Tohoku Line at Ueno Station and Nippori Station.
Line up coloring pages of different trains and compare the stripe colors!
Blue, green, and white... Just the Joban Line alone has trains in three different colors!

Count the Doors

Commuter trains have 4 doors on each side of one train car.
Having lots of doors lets many people get on and off all at once. This keeps the stop time at stations nice and short!
Try counting the doors on your train coloring page, too!