High-speed Japanese trains: description, types and reviews

Asia and Europe are complete opposites. It is very difficult for Europeans to understand how Asia builds its life, what it thinks about, what rules it obeys. But still the eastern countries attract tourists with their beauty and originality, besides, many Asian states can boast of a high standard of living and new technologies introduced in everyday life of ordinary people. Japan is especially interesting in this regard. Those who had the pleasure of traveling in the Land of the Rising Sun can never forget the Japanese trains overcoming many kilometers in literally in a matter of minutes.

Japan - a country of high technology and patriarchal traditions

Japan is located in East Asia and occupies almost seven thousand islands. This geographical feature affects the whole way of life of local people. The population of the country, which is 127 million people, lives in large cities. Only less than five percent of all Japanese can afford to live outside the metropolitan area, and this division is rather arbitrary. After all, in Japan it is difficult to find an area that would not be used with benefit for the state. Every millimeter of the earth, the Japanese try to build up various buildings, as a result, only coastal strips that are subject to periodic flooding remain free.

But with this trouble the Japanese have learned to fight, for many years they have been advancing deep into the Pacific and the South China Sea, creating artificial islands. The severe shortage of free land forced Japan to develop a high-tech program for the settlement of water areas, which has proved itself very well over the past decades.

Features of Japanese life force the population to move around the country all the time. Every day, several thousand people travel from suburbia to work in their offices located in Tokyo or Osaka. Avoid the traffic in rush hours and save time helps the Japanese high-speed train.

Shinkansen - high-speed railways

For Russians, traveling by rail is difficult to call comfortable and fast. The average citizen of our country, going on vacation, tries to choose air transport. But in the Land of the Rising Sun, all records of popularity and demand hit Japanese trains. This is a very special type of transport, which can overcome the distance of 600 kilometers in just a couple of hours.

High-speed trains and a railway in Japan are called "Shinkansen". Literally this name can be translated as a "new trunk line". And indeed, during the construction of this highway the Japanese used a lot of new technologies and for the first time moved away from the traditional type of railway, adopted in those days.

Now Shinkansen connects almost all the cities of Japan, the length of the line is more than 27 thousand kilometers. And 75 percent of the railroad track belongs to the largest company in Japan - the Japan Railwais Group.

Japanese high-speed train: the first launch

The need for new railways appeared in Japan before the eighteenth Summer Olympics. The fact is that until this time the railroad was a narrow-gauge railway. This fact did not meet international standards and significantly slowed the development of the industry. Therefore, in 1964, the first Shinkansen line was launched, connecting Tokyo and Osaka. The length of the railway was just over 500 kilometers.

At that time, high-speed trains in Japan broke all records, developing a speed of 220 kilometers per hour. Despite the difficulties in the economy, the Japanese government was able to allocate funds for the development of the railway industry in the country. As a result, Shinkansen became one of the brightest symbols of the Land of the Rising Sun.

Development and features

Initially, high-speed Japanese trains were planned to be used as means for transporting passengers and cargo. But this plan was quickly abandoned, and now Shinkansen only transports passengers. At night , the line is completely closed, maintenance of stations and railroad tracks is carried out until six in the morning.

The new highway began to make profits very quickly, after three years it paid off completely at the expense of the ticket price. Even now they are very high. For example, a trip from Tokyo to Osaka will cost an adult $ 130. But for Japanese this amount is not too serious, they easily give this money for quick and comfortable movement around the country.

Now, most Japanese trains run at speeds of 320 kilometers per hour. To do this, all the old lines have been converted, but the Japanese do not stop there. They are working on creating new lines, at which the maximum speed will exceed 590 kilometers per hour.

Daily high-speed Japanese trains carry up to 400 thousand passengers. Rapid development of the railway industry led to the decline of civil aviation in Japan. Domestic flights are practically not in demand, and air carriers suffer huge losses. Many airlines are trying to attract passengers, reducing the price of flight to the minimum limit.

What does the Shinkansen train look like?

Tourists call Japanese trains "bullets" or "platypuses", which is caused by the appearance of the composition itself. It consists of 16 wagons, the head car has a slightly elongated front part resembling a spout. It is worth noting that the Japanese paid much attention to the appearance of their high-speed trains. Almost all of them are painted in silver color with the addition of green or turquoise paint. Against the background of urban landscapes, this looks very impressive.

On one line, up to ten trains can work simultaneously, the interval of traffic even during peak hours does not exceed five minutes.

Is it convenient to travel on high-speed trains in Japan? Reviews

It is worth noting that the Japanese approached their trains and stationing stations in a thorough manner. As the travelers note, everything is decorated strictly, but very conveniently. In each car there are soft armchairs, in special machines you can buy coffee and other drinks. During the trip, special people offer to buy lunch. And, judging by the reviews of tourists, the menu is very diverse. You can try traditional Japanese dishes, such as sushi, and ordinary sandwiches, known throughout the world.

The only thing that does not make you happy while traveling is the landscape outside the window. Almost the entire route runs through cities and industrial zones. During the journey the landscape does not change, and it is difficult to see something beautiful and traditional for Japan. If you come to the Land of the Rising Sun in the winter, then keep in mind that a beautiful winter and Japanese trains are absolutely incompatible things. You can not enjoy the snow-covered gardens, although their replicated species are one of the business cards of Japan. All the beauty of Japanese gardens is concentrated in urban parks, outside their borders, the eyes of the tourist appear a sad industrial landscape.

The stations where the trains stop are very strict, but it is not difficult to navigate inside. At each station there are many pointers made in different colors. Even intuitively, a tourist can understand where to go and where to buy a ticket for travel.

High-speed Japanese train without censorship

Since practically the entire population of a multi-million country uses the services of high-speed trains, it is not surprising that the life of every Japanese is connected with them. The most famous in the media were the stories of Japanese erotomaniacs, who specially travel by car during peak hours to feel women.

The fact is that during rush hours people are literally tampered with people's cars. At the stations there are even specially trained people. They are equally successful in the metro and railway stations, where at certain hours several thousand people gather at the same time.

Such closeness to each other, not adopted in Japan, became the impetus for the development of a special kind of perversion - feeling. Japanese men are closer to the woman and try to touch her intimate places, and many do it deliberately rude and impudent. This served to the fact that during peak hours railway transport was called "Japanese pleasure train". Such violence lasted several decades and reached its apogee by the beginning of the 2000s. The police, to whom the detained men were brought, nicknamed them "ticks" or "chicans". For a year the police conducts more than two thousand arrests of ticks, most often they are brought to the site by the women themselves. The Japanese stopped being embarrassed by such cases and are actively fighting perverts. Although, according to women, the number of ticks in trains is not less. Moreover, their number is increasing every year.

Wagons "Only for women"

In order to fight the perverts, the Japanese government introduced special female wagons as an experiment. They are launched in the morning and evening hours. On holidays, two cars with a "Women only" sticker are included in one package.

This practice was highly appreciated by Japanese women. They can safely ride in high-speed trains without worrying about ticks. In women's wagons, women with children and disabled people of either sex can travel. Initially, such wagons were introduced on the most popular routes, but now the "Only for Women" wagons can be seen on any railway route of the country.

High-speed trains: routes for several people

In recent years, in Japan, the population is actively moving to megacities, villages are emptying, and some stations are closed. There are cases when Japanese schoolgirls in a train coming from the suburbs were the only category of passengers. Such routes are very unprofitable for railway companies, but they are still not closed until the schoolgirls finish training. Such concern for people is very characteristic of Japan and its government.

Types of high-speed trains

High-speed trains in Japan are divided into several types, they differ in the class of wagons, speed and price of the ticket. The most expensive and comfortable are the "nosomes". These trains are able to reach speeds of more than 300 kilometers per hour. The number of stops on their itinerary is limited, many tourists consider them an express train. Wagons in similar compositions are among the most comfortable in Japan, their design is handled by advanced companies known for their work on Japanese corporations.

The second category includes "hikari". They make a little more stops, tickets for their route will have an understated cost. But the class cars are not too different from the "nozomi", in addition, the travel time increases by only 30 minutes.

"Kodama" are the slowest trains, they stop at all major stations, which significantly increases the time spent on the road. For example, the difference in time along the same route between "nosomes" and "coda" is one and a half hours.

Maglev - the future of Japan's railways

Japanese specialists are constantly working on improving the transport so popular in the country. There are already lines along which trains on a magnetic cushion are launched . True, while this type of public transport is at the experimental stage. But it is worth noting that the experiment has already proved to be very successful. For example, a new Japanese train, launched in the test mode, managed to exceed the speed of 600 kilometers per hour. Several magnetic-pillow trains already run between the major cities of Japan on a regular basis, but their speed does not exceed 500 kilometers per hour.

It is likely that in the future all the country's railways will be transferred to a new mode of operation, and the Japanese trains will again beat all world speed records.

High-speed underwater tunnels

The island location of Japan gave experts the idea of creating submarine tunnels, which will relieve land railways and underground. The project is still under development, but it is already known that it will connect the major cities with the island of Hokkaido, and the length of the line will be 54 kilometers.

Japanese specialists plan to finish all calculations by next year, and in four years to begin construction of a new high-speed highway that will pass under the Tsugaru Strait.

It is not known how the future of Japanese high-speed trains will develop, but one can say with certainty now - they will be the fastest and most comfortable in the world. Otherwise, Japan simply does not know how.