Tag - trains

 
 

TRAINS

Passengers wait to board a shinkansen at Kyoto Station.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 14, 2023
Nozomi shinkansen to halt nonreserved seats during peak periods
The restriction will apply between Dec. 28 this year and Jan. 4 as well as the Golden Week and Bon holiday periods.
Staff put up posters about the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line at JR Fukui Station on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023
Hokuriku Shinkansen to link Kanazawa with Tsuruga from next March
The fastest travel time between Tokyo and Fukui will be two hours and 51 minutes — down 36 minutes from the time required on the current shortest route.
Shin-Osaka Station is crowded with travelers as services resume on Thursday morning.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 17, 2023
Shinkansen lines resume, but travelers may still face long delays
Central Japan Railway is urging people to refrain from using the train service until stations become less crowded.
Children hold baseball bats made with aluminum from scrapped bullet trains on Thursday in Tokyo.
BASEBALL
Aug 17, 2023
Bats made from scrapped bullet train metal to go on sale in October
The bats are scheduled to go on sale on Railway Day and come in three designs.
Travelers wait for the resumption of shinkansen services at Tokyo Station on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2023
Scores injured as Typhoon Lan passes through Japan
At least 64 people in eight prefectures in central to western Japan were reported to have sustained injuries, and 34 houses were damaged by the storm.
Passengers queue to board a shinkansen bullet train at Tokyo Station in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2023
Typhoon Lan set to crash Japan holiday week
Typhoon Lan is expected to make landfall Tuesday in central Japan, with warnings of heavy rain and flooding during the annual Bon summer holidays.
Onboard snack carts on shinkansen services between Tokyo and Osaka will end on Oct. 31, Central Japan Railway has said.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2023
End of the line for snack carts on Tokyo-Osaka shinkansen
End of popular service comes amid a looming labor shortage and the trend of more people buying food before boarding.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 8, 2023
Golden Week express train passengers at 94% of pre-pandemic level
All six Japan Railways Group companies saw their figures increase from the previous year, sending the total to the seventh-highest level since the start of the data in 1990.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 4, 2023
Golden Week travel sees boost amid easing of COVID protection measures
A government decision to reclassify the potentially lethal virus from next Monday, paving the way for the full normalization of social and economic activities, has added to the holiday mood.
Japan Times
Cartoons / ZERO GRAVITY
Jan 28, 2023
Roger Dahl on bullet train hairstyles
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2023
Yamagata pins hopes on shinkansen tunnel, but faces roadblocks
Looming over the move are the harsh conditions of Itaya Pass straddling Yamagata and Fukushima prefectures, which is battered by heavy snow in winter.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 11, 2022
How California’s bullet train went off the rails
The state has accelerated the pace of construction on starter rails, but at the current spending rate of $1.8 million a day, the train could not be completed in this century.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / Longform
Oct 10, 2022
Empire of steel: Where Japan’s railways stand after 150 years of evolution
Much has changed since the country's first railway line between Tokyo and Yokohama laid the foundation for a world-renowned network of trains to be created.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 13, 2022
Coal, lumber and food under threat from potential U.S. rail strike
Freight railroads and labor unions worked through the weekend to try to avoid a strike that could cost the U.S. economy more than $2 billion a day.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2022
Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen line to open on Sept. 23
The 66-kilometer line is the shortest of all shinkansen lines in the nation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2022
In Japan's 'random travel' trend, Lady Luck chooses the destination
In addition to the thrill of leaving plans up to chance, railways and airlines are providing the incentive of affordability.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 10, 2022
Forget about Brad Pitt in his latest movie; the bullet train is the real star
A new movie finally gives top billing to Japan's most famous train. But it comes during troubled times for the fabled Shinkansen.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2022
JR Kyushu to suspend 120 train services due to staff COVID cases
From Wednesday through Aug. 5, a total of 100 Sonic limited express trains running from Hakata to Oita stations, and 20 Kamome trains that run from Hakata to Nagasaki will be suspended.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 27, 2022
Former JR Central boss Yoshiyuki Kasai, a leader of rail privatization, dies at 81
Kasai was one of the three key figures along with the former presidents of JR East and JR West who led the reform of Japan's railway system and breakup of the state-owned operator in 1987.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 17, 2022
Government to ask shinkansen operators to speed up work boosting quake resistance
The move comes after Tohoku Shinkansen services were suspended for about a month due to a magnitude 7.4 quake hitting the country's northeast in March.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on