Japan – Shinkansen Bullet Train Tokyo/Osaka/Hiroshima

Riding a Shinkansen bullet train – a lifetime dream 

To say it has ben a lifelong dream of mine to ride a Japanese bullet train would be an understatement. Since I was a kid and had read up on them, I was fascinated by them – maybe that’s why I still today love a good old train journey.

I had always wanted to fly on Concorde but the huge price and really no reason to fly intercontinental in my youth stopped me from attempting it. By the time it was feasible, in the sense that I earned enough money to save for the flight, the service suddenly was withdrawn and I lamented my delay.

I similarly wanted to see the Berlin Wall but had to be content of seeing its remnants several years after it came down.

Luckily, I did get to see Hong Kong before the Chinese retook it – see the theme that is emerging here? Others on my list – the Giza Pyramids and Angkor Wat have now been accomplished but there are many more still left and the bullet train was one of them.

This time I was determined to, at some point in my life, ride one of those beautiful bullet trains.

Well, now I was off to Japan and the bullet train was uppermost in my mind.

So, thinking of Japan, was I excited about going up the tallest tower in the world in Tokyo? – Yes.

Was I excited about seeing the world-famous hundreds of Tori gates in Kyoto? – Yes.

Was I excited about going on my first Shinkansen bullet train? – no …?

I was more than that. I was SUPER-EXCITED, ecstatic, over-the-moon and all the other superlatives I can think of. I actually had goose bumps as the train I was about to get on glided itself into Tokyo station, ready for me to board!!!

Right, let’s get back to the blog in question!

The Japanese railway system of ultra high-speed Shinkansen trains has an interesting history and development, something I never knew until I delved into it further

Shinkansen means “main line” in Japanese – doesn’t sound so sexy in English, does it? But that’s the term used in Japan to name these electric, super-fast, exclusive, separate track trains and actually the lines they run on too.

We affectionally call them “bullet trains” in English and it’s not just because of their speed. That name was originally given to them in Japanese also, in the 1930s, when they were in the planning stage.

It was coined in reference to the shape of the original first trains designed – their front was bullet shaped. It was dropped for the present Shinkansen name, although today on the timetables and announcements in Japan they call them “Superexpress” in English.

A little history on the Shinkansen train system

Why did Japan have such an interest in developing this train system?

Well, Japan had lots of train lines in the 1930-40s but due to its mountainous terrain and great distance between cities, these lines were built using basic technology of the time. They followed the natural geography and thus were very twisting and indirect. Fast trains could never pick up any kind of speed on this type of line.

WW2 put a halt on the planned fast rain network projects, almost before they got off the ground, but by the 1950s, many of these lines were reaching capacity. The worst was the Tokyo to Osaka line.

The fastest train of the day in 1959 took six hours and 40 mins to do that journey between Japan’s two largest cities.

The abandoned projects were revived in the late 1950s and building started. The new Shinkansen train in 1963 took four hours and was in use in time for the first Tokyo Olympic Games. An upgrade reduced it to three hours and 10 mins in 1965 – the train now rivalled the plane and car and this fast train line was a massive success.

It carried 100 million people in its first 3 years and 1 billion within 12 years!

Today you can actually do that route in 2 hours 20 mins – nearly a third of the original 1959 time.

The original “bullet” shaped trains (again from whence their name came) ran at 210 kmh. Today’s latest versions run at 285 kph. Test runs on a new Tokyo to Nagoya maglev line under construction, should take their speed up to 603 kph. A phenomenal speed and it will be a new world land speed record.

Remember Shinkansen trains run on separate tracks to other trains. Every route was rebuilt to avoid any interruptions from other trains – they even have their own mountain tunnels and raised flyovers and separate sections at the main line stations. Click here for the J R website.

JR Rail Pass

So back to my journey.

My JR Rail Pas entitled me to use the Shinkansen trains and I was going to use them for my Shinkansen trips Tokyo- Hiroshima and Hiroshima – Osaka.

I got all my Osaka-Kyoto trips by normal train included for free. It also included all my hotel (in South Tokyo) to central Tokyo train trips and many train journeys  around the city in the pass. It even got me from Osaka to Kansai Airport for free too.

The 7 day pass at £217 saved me over £100 for all my train trips around Japan. A Shinkansen Tokyo to Hiroshima one-way ticket costs £120 alone.

My Tokyo post – click here for link – goes into great depth about the pass and explains it all so click on it if you are interested in the pass.

Shinkansen tickets must be bought in advance or if you have a Pass you go to a booking office to book your numbered seat in advance. I did this on arrival at Tokyo 4 days in advance and was so glad I did. My carriage was full and booking is usually required as it prevents overcrowding.

Start of my journey

I arrived really early for my ride – there was no way anything was going to delay me getting here.

I wandered the huge modern Tokyo station (actually built behind its preserved older exterior) and waited for my train to come up on the board. In my anticipation to get here so early, I was way ahead of any platform announcement for my train.

My excitement grew as I browsed the shops to kill time and wondered if I should buy one of the quite expensive Japanese bento boxes for a meal onboard as many locals do …. I resisted, I was assured there was food/snacks/drinks on board anyhow.

The noticeboard was really good as the announcements flickered between Japanese and English so I could not miss the train with this system.

My train was announced on the board and I went to my designated platform.

Military precion organisational standards

Train stations in Japan are very busy and everyone seemed to know exactly where to go for whatever train they wanted. I seemed to be the anomaly, constantly looking out for signage and info to ensure I wasn’t getting lost or on the wrong platform!

I waited at my platform for my first Shinkansen “bullet train” ride.

I noticed the platform is marked out where those boarding must stand – very organised! I had also read that the trains have a set number of seconds/minutes to get everyone off and the others onboard. It is done by meticulous, almost military precision, with guards ensuring adherence to the format. This may seem harsh but the trains are famous for running exactly on time to the second – there must be no delays.

There is a story about how a train was once 30 seconds late in leaving – an extremely rare occurrence. The train driver and guards associated with the delay were reprimanded and one even resigned in disgrace at his actions. Such dedication!

Watch and learn

The attendants in their pristine uniforms lined up in a certain place ready to swiftly enter the train.

The cleaners lined up in a set position next to the edge behind a protected barrier ready to militarily enter the train to clean it completely in 2 minutes (it was a train arriving from the north and this was the cleaning stop).

Passengers lined up in an orderly queue, bags and children in hand to embark quickly …… it was an amazing sight.

I videoed my Shinkansen bullet train coming into the station and still love the silent glide and swift stop it made.

The platform edges have long protective barriers so no-one can fall onto the tracks. When a train arrives and stops these effortlessly side back into larger stands that allow access only at the door entrances.

One gate opens and the cleaners quickly enter along with the crew. No-one else is allowed onboard. Two minutes later, they emerge with bags of rubbish (hard to believe anyone even litters here as Japan is so, so litter free and clean) and take away all their equipment.

The attendants then swiftly enter and the guard whistles and indicates the passengers to follow …. quick steps …. and a few seconds later everyone is onboard.

No-one overcrowds any entrance as everyone has a numbered seat and carriage, indicated on your ticket or reservation. The carriage number is indicated on the floor on the platform edge. This is where the sliding gate will open and you enter your numbered carriage from here only – brilliant – so organised.

You stand in a line parallel to the number so anyone leaving can get of unhindered. You are not allowed on until the last person at the door has left.

Everyone stands solemnly waiting and files in when ready. The train was thus boarded in seconds.

Inside a Shinkansen bullet train

I found my seat and was amazed at the interior,

There was such a lot of space. There was ample storage for suitcases in big sections. The seats were clearly numbered. I found mine and just as I had reserved, I had a window seat.

The seats were huge – I am 1.85 metres tall (6 feet 1 inch) and I’ve never sat in such a wide and huge legroom seat on a train. Hugely bigger than a plane seat. They had at-seat electrical sockets, a large fold-down service tray, overhead signs to tell you the stations coming up, plush fabric with thick comfy seats and big picture windows.

The legroom was such that if the service tray was up, the window seat person could exit the row, without disturbing the aisle seat passenger.

Leaving Tokyo

I settled down and waited for the off. It came suddenly and I hadn’t realised it. I only realised we were moving because the outside started to pass by – no lurch or even a small knock to indicate movement. A silent imperceptible start.

The outside buildings of modern Tokyo started to glide by and I realised how close many of the buildings are to the track.

As we picked up speed the noise and vibration were non-existent. It felt so calm that it felt like the earth was moving past our window but we were at standstill.

It was only at the fasted speed period that I could feel any motion, and that was minimal. No swaying from side to side when you walked through the carriages at all

Services on board

The attendants commenced their passage through the carriage. The ticket inspector politely requested my ticket, checked it and gave a little bow/nod in respect as he handed it back freshly stamped.

The food attendants entered the carriage, stopped and gave a polite bow to everyone. Such respect. They then passed down the carriage in their meticulous uniforms asking for orders and dispensing as they went. At the end of the carriage, they turn around and bow to everyone in respect and leave. I was experiencing Japanese politeness at its best!

Views through the window

The only slightly annoying aspect about the railway’s construction is that much is built on viaducts or flyovers to keep the level flat. This means that there is often a high concrete wall alongside the track – obviously entirely needed for its design and safety.

It means, however, that you often have the bottom quarter of any view as a concrete ledge which can intrude on the beautiful countryside scenes you are admiring. If not a concrete wall, then often there is a metal fence and cables, so it can take the edge off the beauty of the panorama.

My pics here certainly show that!

Villages give way to flat land scenes and I have to admit that after a while the scenery is actually quite samey. There is always green fields in the foreground. There is invariably some form of village in the middle as this area of Japan has a high population. There are always mountains as a backdrop.

Remember the vast majority of Japanese cities are built on the littoral line of the coast as there are high mountains everywhere inland. The only real flatlands are on the coastal areas.

Thus, the pics are fairly similar and after a while my attention faded from looking out the window as scenes became too similar to the previous one.

Every now and again the line passes over a semi-estuary or wide river and these were beautiful to behold with their backdrop of heavily forested hills.

The line does follow the coast mostly as building it more inland would have taken it away from any populations that would want to use the trains. There also would have unsurmountable building challenges from the mountains.

Tea plantations

At one point we passed by tea plantation, very uniformly planted but something I was not expecting. Why I didn’t expect it, I don’t know, as Japan is famous for its tea drinking ceremonies.

View of Mt Fuji

I deliberately chose my seat to be on the right-hand side of the carriage as we journeyed towards Hiroshima. This was because I had heard that you get a view of the famous Mt Fuji as it passes by in the distance.

This was made apparent as suddenly people from the other side of the carriage got out of their seats to look out my side of the carriage’s windows. I got a couple of shots of the Mount but it was low cloud in the distance and so only the top half was faintly visible, as in the pics.

They were nearly all tourists doing this (like me) and a lady started a conversation with me about the view. She was from Norway (and of course spoke excellent English). We got on really well and had long chats about our travels and lives.

She was with a large group of Norwegians travelling with a Japanese guide and was here for 2 weeks on a multi-city trip.

I was glad of the conversation as after 4 days of solo travel in a country where the language is physically and verbally so different to mine it was good to chat to someone. She left before my Hiroshima stop as she was off to Kyoto (where I would be visiting on another part of my trip here).

As we approached Hiroshima fields were clearly organised into irrigated large plots of what looked like wheat and then green vegetables. The land was clearly intensely farmed and every meter was used for growing crops where possible. Big water channels were used to enhance growing conditions and the land took on a slightly more man-made look.

I was now arriving at Hiroshima and my journey was coming to an end. This was the end of what was to be my first Shinkansen trip and a great introduction to my next one when I travelled from Hiroshima to Osaka.

Arrival in Hiroshima

I emerged from my carriage swiftly, as I was seeing everyone else get prepared for a swift exit as required and I wasn’t going to hold this train up!

As I walked along the platform, I saw on the other side two trains parked.  Many of the Shinkansen trains are different in their designs and one design is endearingly called “the duck” due to its elongated duck bill shaped front.

These two looked like they were about to kiss each other however and I just had to get a shot of that. I also loved the “go faster” stripes on their sides. Cute, eh?!

If you get the chance to take a Shinkansen bullet train, I fully recommend you jump at the chance.

The experience of seeing the precision of cleaning teams and embarkation and train organisation should not be missed. The politeness and respect given by attendants is a sight to behold. Finally, the possibility of riding on one of the fastest and most comfortable intercity trains in the world is something that just has to be experienced to be believed.

Nov 2017

Below are some related posts on nearby places to visit. Click on the pic to view.