Shortly after Christmas Tess and I took a trip to Sendai. One reason we wanted to go was less about Sendai and more about the mode of transportation you can use. The new E5 Series Shinkansen, which runs the northern route from Tokyo to Aomori Prefecture at the far tip of Honshu.
We had to change trains at Omiya station, to catch our E5 Hayabusa. This is the newest Shinkansen, and only went into regular service last March, just a few days before the earthquake disrupted the northbound trainlines.
This new trainset is one of the sleekest yet, and has a top design speed of 320 km/h (299 mph), but currently only runs at 300 km/h (186 mph). This is still fast enough to cover 321 kilometers between Omiya and Sendai in a mere 71 minutes.
I have always said that the Shinkansen is the only way to travel. For pure speed and comfort, it is just pure bliss on tracks. And the new trains are even better!
4 comments:
Looks like a great way to travel - for time saving - but can you actually see anything out the windows but a blurred landscape?
You should try the new maglev trains in China. 430 km/h and smoothe as can be.
Yeah, but it's China w/ the Chinese. This is Cool Japan instead. Sorry hu.
I actually managed to take a pretty decent photo out the window with my iphone, but yeah the scenery flows by with some rapidity!
I did ride the maglev from Shanghai airport into the city, it was great! They are going to build a maglev from Tokyo to Nagoya by the 2020s, but it will be underground up to 80% of its route! More like the worlds longest subway.
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