One of my favorite aspects of Japan is definitely the train culture here, and it’s always fun to take a trip somewhere by rail, whether it’s to Tokyo for shopping or business or picking some random, lonely station in the mountains of Gunma and traveling there just because. There’s a lot of pressure in Japanese society, and all too often people choose to check out of life early by jumping in front of a train as it pulls into the station — these “human injury accidents” (as they’re euphemistically called) can get so common in Tokyo that you’ll sometimes allow extra time before appointments, just in case the train you need to ride is delayed because of a suicide. This situation will hopefully be improved soon, thanks to the installation of tall safety gates at stations in Tokyo which only open when the train is stopped and ready to take passengers. The pride and joy of Japan’s rail system are the shinkansen or “bullet trains” which zip along at up to 300 km/hr. The newest of these is the brand new Super Komachi “Japan Red” train in Akita in Northern Japan. It’s a beautiful train, and is being heavily promoted in part to attract train aficionados to the area to spend much-needed tourist dollars.
Train culture is important in Japan. This the official Shinkansen of Char from Gundam.
