Fastest Train in Japan: What is SHINKANSEN?

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Have you tried to take a Shinkansen (新幹線) or bullet train in Japan?

 

It is the fastest train in Japan and very convenient to travel around.

Some use it for personal trips, while others use it for business trips.

 

Today I’m going to talk about Shinkansen.

 

 

History of Shinkansen

 

Japanese started to use trains in 1872 between Shinbashi and Yokohama station. Japanese engineers tried to make faster trains but their dream didn’t come true until late 1900s due to the World War Ⅱ.

 

The very first Shinkansen finally appeared in 1964 between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka station.

As of 2016, new railways are under construction and expanding routes.

 

 

 

Types of Shinkansen

 

Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen (東海道・山陽新幹線)

Nozomi: Fastest among Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen. There are also Hikari and

Kodama.

 

Sanyo/Kyushu Shinkansen (山陽・九州新幹線)

Mizuho: Connects Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima Chuo station. Other two kinds are called Sakura and Tsubame.

 

Tohoku/ Hokkaido Shinkansen (東北・北海道新幹線)

Hayabusa: Fastest. Connects Tokyo, Sendai (Miyagi prefecture) and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto station (Hokkaido).

 

Hayate: Connects Tokyo, Morioka (Iwate prefecture), Omiya (Saitama prefecture), Shin-Aomori (Aomori prefecture) and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto station (Hokkaido).

Nasuno: Connects Tokyo and Nasu-Shiobara (Tochigi prefecture) and Kooriyama station (Gunma prefecture)．There is also Yamabiko.

 

 

There are also Tsubasa, Komachi, Toki, Kagayaki, Hakutaka, Asama and Tsurugi.

 

Facts about Shinkansen

Here are 3 facts that make Shinkansen cool and awesome.

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Safe

Shinkansen is very safe as there has been no fatal accident.

It’s been over 50 years since Shinkansen became available for public. Engineers and operators will continue working on safety.

 

Reliable

Shinkansen is always on time to the seconds.

If it departures 10 seconds behind the schedule, it will make up and adjust that 10 seconds while heading to next stop.

It’s so accurate that lots of people use everyday. Statistics show that over 340 million people used Shinkansen in 2014.

 

 

Stable and Quiet

If you have ever taken Shinkansen, you might not feel that fast.

Shinkansen runs up to 320km/h yet it’s very quiet and stable. It rarely shakes. Compared to regular trains, it’s quieter and very comfortable.

All the seats have a small table just like air plane, so you can enjoy food while traveling by Shinkansen.

 

To find out how to get tickets for Shinkanse, go to Tickets for Shinkansen

 

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 - Leisure