Japan! The bullet train
On Friday we were scheduled to come back to Tokyo on the RomanceCar, but we decided to see if there were any seats available on the Shinkansen, or bullet train. And there were. So we took it. 🙂 The girls were thrilled, and to be honest, so were we.
The trains have a maximum speed of between 149-186 mph, and while the ride felt fast, it didn’t feel that fast. But then I’ve never gone that fast before, so there wasn’t much to compare it to. While it may not have physically felt that fast, it was evident in the timing of our trip- the trip down took 90 minutes on  an Express train, the bullet train trip back only took 30. 55.4 miles in 30 minutes. That’s fast.
Some pictures for you.
This sign was at the train station in Shinagawa, and it amused me. They must have had a problem with this? Who spits at a train conductor??
Yeah, I thought the train conductors were like heroes in Japan. They were often highly respected in the literature that I’ve read. They even have video games and anime shows praising them. I guess the youth don’t feel the same…. or that warning sign is saying something else.
Also… it’s nice to see a civilized country that believes in high-speed travel.
One day we might get up to speed (pun intended) in America.