Japan Transportation Guide
A new shinkansen station is to be built in the city of Otaru in Hokkaido and is scheduled to open by the end of 2030. It will be Japan’s northernmost shinkansen station.
An early design image of Shin-Otaru Shinkansen Station
JR West have revealed design details of the new #273 series trains that will run on the limited express Yakumo service from spring 2024. The limited express Yakumo links the Sanyo and San’in regions of western Japan, running from Okayama Station in Okayama Prefecture to Yonago Station in Tottori Prefecture and Matsue Station and Izumoshi Station in Shimane Prefecture. The new #273 trains will replace the #381 series trains that have been operating on this route since 1982.
An artist’s impression of the new limited express Yakumo
Dorchester Collection are to open a new ultra-luxury hotel in Japan’s tallest skyscraper. The Torch Tower building, which is scheduled to open by Tokyo Station in 2027, will be 390 meters tall when complete and is destined to be a new iconic landmark on the Tokyo skyline.
The new Dorchester Collection hotel will open in Torch Tower, Tokyo
In September 2022, JR Kyushu debuted a brand new sightseeing train called “Two Stars 4047”. The new train runs between Takeo-Onsen Station and Nagasaki Station following the coastline and offers a more leisurely tour of western Kyushu than the high-speed Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen that connects these destinations by an inland route.
The Two Stars 4047
A new branch of the Japanese discount chain store, Don Quijote, opened near Kyoto Station at the end of October this year. Because of its location, the new Don Quijote Kyoto Karasuma Shichijo Store is expected to attract business travelers and tourists as well as young people.
The new Don Quijote store near Kyoto Station
Hakata Hotels have rebranded Tokyo’s Hotel Emit Shibuya and reopened it on November 1st, 2022, as the OneFive Tokyo Shibuya Hotel.
OneFive Tokyo Shibuya
OneFive Tokyo Shibuya now offers comfortable and affordable accommodation in a trendy area just ten minutes on foot from Shibuya Station. [Read more…]
JR West has announced the construction of a futuristic eco-friendly railway station close to Osaka Station
An artist’s impression of the new Umekita (Osaka) Underground Station building
Earlier this year the Time out media group announced the opening of a new Time Out Market Osaka. The new market will be opened in the Umekita area by Osaka Station in 2025.
Kintetsu Railway have announced plans to introduce a new general use commuter train in the autumn of 2024. Kintetsu is a major railway company in central and western Japan linking destinations in Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, and Ise. However, there are currently around 450 commuter trains on Kintetsu lines that have been in use since the 1970s. The new trains are being introduced to replace these older models with an initial ten train sets of four cars each to be introduced next year. These will be the first general use trains to be introduced by Kintetsu in 21 years.
The new Kintetsu commuter train
JR Kyushu has announced the long-awaited debut of its new Shinkansen “Kamome” service between Nagasaki and Takeo Onsen on September 23rd this year. This new six-car bullet train will run on the Kyushu Shinkansen’s newly expanded western route.
A promotional poster for the new Kamome Shinksansen
