Japan Transportation Guide
Tobu Railway are to introduce a new electric train this June that will run direct through services between the Tobu Skytree Line and Tokyo Metro’s Hibiya Line. These trains are fitted with the very latest electric traction motors which will save 25% of the energy currently used by older Tobu trains.
The new Tobu 70000. Photograph by DAJF
Smoking cars are to be removed from all services on the Sanyo and Tokaido Shinkansen lines by the spring of 2020 – which is just in time for the Tokyo Olympics. Currently, only the Tokaido Shinkansen line (between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka), and the Sanyo Shinkansen line (between Shin-Osaka and Hakata), still have smoking seats on their services.
Clearly a lot has changed since the last Tokyo Olympics in 1964 when passengers could smoke anywhere they liked on a shinkansen. Some 53 years later smoking cars are about to disappear entirely from the Japanese archipelago.
N700A series shinkansen train at Tokyo station
JR East have released plans to utilize wasted food from station shops as a source of biogas fuel. JR East currently have commercial complexes at or near their stations at 160 locations and are expanding shopping facilities within their station premises. Large scale food and drink retail at these facilities has led to extremely high levels of wastage. The new biogas enterprise will recycle this waste to generate energy.
The planned biogas plant in Yokohama
JR East and Tohoku Tourism Promotion Organization are working together to renew 40 tourist information centers in the northeastern Tohoku region of Japan. Tourist information centers in railway stations across 7 prefectures will have their facilities updated in order to improve services for overseas visitors. The centers will also have their signage standardized with the same logo and slogan as part of the “Exploration to the Deep North” campaign. Signage will be in English, Korean, and Chinese (both simplified and traditional) and the centers’ services will be advertised with pictograms.
Exploration to the Deep North – Tohoku promotional campaign
Eizan Electric Railway have released a striking new design for a new tourist train which they will debut next spring.
The bold new design of Eizan’s “Ellipse Train”
The Eizan Railway operates two lines from Demachiyanagi Station in the north east part of Kyoto city: the Eizan Main Line which runs to Yase Hieizanguchi Station at the base of Mount Hiei, and the Kurama Line which runs to the scenic villages of Kibune and Kurama. Both lines terminate at mountains with historically important temples and both lines are known for the beautiful natural scenery along their routes. In 1999 Eizan Railway introduced the popular “Kirara” observation car which has large windows so that passengers can fully enjoy the views along the Kurama Line. [Read more…]
Seibu Railway are launching their new 40000 series S-Train on Saturday March 25th. This new reserved seating through train will run on railway lines operated by four companies: Seibu Railway, Tokyo Metro, Tokyu Corporation, and Yokohama Minatomirai Railway. On weekends and holidays the S-train will run 5 services between Motomachi-Chukagai Station in Yokohama and Hanno and Seibu-Chichibu stations in Saitama. On weekdays the S-train will run 7 services between Tokorozawa Station in Saitama and Toyosu Station in Koto Ward, Tokyo.
The “S” in “S-train” stands for the variety of “scenes” the train will pass through, the comfortable reserved “seats”, and for “seamless” direct travel
A new gourmet restaurant section is to open up at the Ichibangai shopping complex at Tokyo Station’s Yaesu Exit on March 25th. Ichibangai (also called “First Avenue”) is already blessed with many restaurants, cafes and specialist sections such as Tokyo Ramen Street, and the confectionery section Tokyo Okashi Land. The new section is to be called “Nippon Gourmet Kaido” or “Japan Gourmet Street”, and will feature restaurants serving regional specialties from across the Japanese archipelago.
Ichibangai’s new gourmet section opens on March 25th
Almost a year has passed since Kyoto Railway Museum first opened its doors on April 29th 2016. Over that short period the museum has already become one of Kyoto’s top new attractions with its displays of 53 railway vehicles, model railroad dioramas, a train simulator, and steam train rides.
The 1st anniversary of Kyoto Railway Museum’s Grand Opening is on April 29th 2017
To celebrate its 1st anniversary the museum has organized a series of celebratory events which will last from Saturday March 18th until Sunday May 14th. Among the events are several special displays, miniature railroad rides, workshops, a scavenger hunt, and even a superhero show! We have listed the main events below. [Read more…]
JR West have announced plans for two new hotels on the south side of Kyoto Station which will hold a total of 900 rooms. The two new hotels will occupy a prime location just two minutes’ walk from Kyoto Station’s Hachijoguchi Exit.
A designer’s image of the new Via Inn at Kyoto Station
JR West have announced plans to extend use of its ICOCA prepaid card service to all Hokuriku Main Line stations in Fukui Prefecture. The ICOCA card is a convenient rechargeable smart card that you can use in place of a ticket on the JR West railway network as well as on subways, private railways and buses throughout Japan. However, until now it has not been supported at stations in Fukui Prefecture. From the summer of 2018 all 19 stations in Fukui Prefecture between Shin-Hikida Station and Ushinoya Station will begin to support the card. The exact commencement date for this service and other details are to be posted by JR West at a later date.
ICOCA can be used interchangeably with IC cards in other areas such as the SUICA card in eastern Japan
