50 years of Shinkansen

picture from wikipedia

The first Shinkansen, also known as ‘bullet-train’ celebrated its 50th birthday in October. The Tōkaidō line opened a few days before the 1964 Olympic games in Tōkyō, and its construction took 5 years. This oldest line runs between Tōkyō and Ōsaka, and it’s the first high speed train in the world. It is 515 kms long - today, the shinkansen network between major cities in Japan add up to 2388 kms, and there are continuous plans of expansion.

Started at the ‘slow’ pace of 200 km/h, the fastest train now is about 320 km/h. The journey on a bullet train between Tōkyō and Nagoya takes 1 hour 28 minutes, but with the new line which will operate with maglev technology, speed can reach up to 500 km/h, which means the journey time between these two cities will last only 40 minutes!

Since opening in 1964, shinkansen delays are under one minute, and there have been no fatalities - with over 10 billion passengers in 50 years. Including the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami catastrophe in the Tohoku region where a few shinkansen were operating at that time. The safest, the fastest and the most punctual transportation in Japan! (Or maybe in the whole world?!) Efficient and comfortable - spacious, forward-facing seats and relatively silent cars. It is quite expensive, operated by Japan Railways (JR), but if you’re a tourist, purchase a Japan Railpass before entering the country and you’ll have a big discount on using the shinkansen! Keep an eye out, because you may need a supplementary ticket or to reserve a seat.

Most of the lines run on Honshū and there’s a line on Kyūshū. However, if you’re willing to wait until spring 2016, you’ll be able to use the bullet trains to visit Hokkaidō, as well. It’ll use the Seikan tunnel, which is very exciting and I might just have to write a post about it in the future!

What shall be the next topic?

Sources: Japanese Embassy UK and japan-guide.com

Onsen

image by photoeverywhere

Before we start on the topic of onsen, I apologise for the delay in my posts. I’ve been having some technical difficulties with my laptop recently. It’s temporarily resolved for now, but updates might be infrequent, and I’m sorry about that.

Onsen means hot spring in Japanese. There are thousands of hot springs in Japan and most of them has establishments built around them: bathhouses, resorts, ryokans, etc. Japanese people have a way of appreciating nature, and most of these buildings complement the natural pools. There are indoor and outdoor pools, and the waters have different qualities, depending on the minerals in them. They have healing powers and there is a very developed bath culture in Japan. A soak in the onsen is for relaxing purposes.

There are a few things to keep in mind if you want to visit one:

• Onsen are not for cleansing. Before you enter the pool, there’ll be an area where you can wash yourself off. Carefully wash all the soap off, too. Make sure your hair is out of the water - so tie it up if it’s long. You can bring a little tower with you, but don’t let it fall into the pool. Some people fold it and keep it on the top of their head while relaxing in the water :)
• Undress in the changing room. Yes, you go in naked. There are separate pools for men and women, but there are some mixed pools. Good to know which one you’re entering! You can ask if they have a private or a family pool, as well.
• They won’ t let you in if you have tatoos. Period.
• Enter the pool gradually, because the temperature is high. For this matter, come out before you feel faint.

If you want immersion in traditional Japanese experience, go to a ryokan which has onsen. Ryokan are hotels built in traditional Japanese style and offer many things, for example, beautifully arranged traditional Japanese style dinner.

Have you ever been to a ryokan? Would you want to try it out?

(And what topic should the next post cover? I’d love you input!)