The Bullet Train - Shinkansen

 

Shinkansen was the first high volume high speed train, the first line was opened 1964 and ran between Tokyo and Osaka. The original Bullet Train needed four hours (including a number of stops) for 515 kilometers between Tokyo and Osaka.

 

Today, there are many high speed trains around the world. But the first modern high speed train network was the Japanese Shinkansen.

 

Shinkansen uses standard gauge, the older railways in Japan used the 1067 mm narrow gauge. But the narrow gauge is not suitable for high-speed trains, instead a completely new standard gauge network was built. The bullet trains have their own dedicated standard gauge network. Today the network is 2459 kilometers, covering most major cities in Japan.

 

Shinkansen tickets are generally expensive but by buying a Japanese Rail Pass you can travel cheaper. Note that you must buy the Rail Pass outside Japan, it can not be bought in Japan. The Rail Pass is not valid on the fastest class of Bullet Trains, the Nozomi Shinkansen trains. Try to use the Hikari service, which is faster than the Kodama trains.

 

Most tourists start their visits in Tokyo. Tokyo is a fascinating city with a lot of interesting things to see and to do. If you have some basic skills in Japanese, your holiday will be much easier.

 

It is possible to travel around on Japanese trains without knowing any Japanese, all major stations have signs both in Japanese and English. The Bullet Trains have announcements in both Japanese and (good) English. But that is pretty much it, knowing the Japanese numbers and some basic Japanese phrases will be very handy. Outside the international hotels it is not easy to find someone who speaks English.

 

The main railway station in Tokyo is supposed to be modeled after the railway station in Amsterdam. But it is not easy to detect any similarities. It is probably just a myth.

 

If you have a bought a Rail Pass, you may want to travel as much as possible. The journey between Kyoto and Tokyo is very popular, both cities have a lot of interesting stuff for tourists. And you pass Mount Fuji as well. The Hikari trains make the journey between Tokyo and Kyoto in roughly three hours. The slower Kodama service takes around four hours.

 

Travelling on the Bullet Train is a pleasure, the trains are fast and the ride is smooth. The trains are virtually always on time and very clean. Even the bathrooms are more or less spotless. Additionally, even without travelling on the Nozomi trains, you have a lot of daily departure between the main cities. The only drawback with the Shinkansen is the price, apart from that it is pretty much the perfect train service.