Japan's "bullet train" turns 50 Shinkansen

High-speed rail network helped transport Asian country to the top tier of world economies after World War Two.

It was 50 years ago that Japan first introduced the world to the bullet train, also known as Shinkansen.

And to showcase just how far they have come since then, Japanese rail officials waved off their fastest service, the Nozomi One, which hums along at around 300 kilometres an hour.

The country's high-speed rail network helped transport Japan to the top tier of world economies.


I've ridden the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya and Osaka.
Going South and West

Tōkaidō Sanyō and Kyushu Shinkansen

Nozomi (のぞみ) (fast, Tokaido and Sanyo)
Hikari (ひかり) (semi-fast,Tokaido and Sanyo)
Hikari Rail Star (ひかりレールスター) (semi fast, Sanyo)
Kodama (こだま) (local,Tokaido and Sanyo)
Sakura (さくら) (semi-fast, Sanyo and Kyushu)
Mizuho (みずほ) (fast, Sanyo and Kyushu)
Tsubame (つばめ) (local, Kyushu)



Going north the they are the
Hayabusa (はやぶさ) (fast, Tohoku, using only E5 series trains)
Hayate (はやて) (fast, Tohoku)
Yamabiko / Max Yamabiko (やまびこ) (semi-fast, Tohoku)
Nasuno / Max Nasuno (なすの) (local, Tohoku)
Aoba (あおば) (discontinued)
Komachi (こまち) (Akita)
Tsubasa (つばさ) (Yamagata)

Jōetsu Shinkansen

Toki / Max Toki (とき)
Tanigawa / Max Tanigawa (たにがわ)
Asahi / Max Asahi (あさひ) (discontinued)

Hokuriku Shinkansen (Nagano Shinkansen)

Asama / Max Asama (あさま)