The Japanese Nozomi 700 Shinkansen high speed “Bullet Train” can cruise at speeds of upto 300 km/hr. I was lucky enough to take a trip on the Nozomi 700 from Shin-Osaka to Tokyo in late 2011.
The sleek “pointy nose” of the Nozomi Shinkansen Bullet Train makes it more aerodynamic
Children are usually fascinated by trains of all kinds, whether they are fast or slow. However as people get older they lose their sense of wonder and tend to view trains as just a way to get from A to B, while grumbling about being 2 minutes late and the seats being dirty.
Travelling on the Japanese rail network addresses all of those issues: they are always on time (usually within a few seconds!), spotlessly clean and offer peak speeds that mean it’s faster to travel inter-city by train then it is to fly.
The Shinkansen (literally “new trunk line”) also commonly referred to as “Bullet Train”, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies
Nozomi is the fastest train service running on the Tōkaidō/Sanyō Shinkansen in Japan. The service stops at only the largest stations, and along the stretch between Shin-Osaka and Hakata, Nozomi services using N700 series equipment reach speeds of 300 km/h (186 mph). The trip between Tokyo and Osaka, a distance of 515 kilometres, takes 2 hours 26 minutes on the fastest Nozomi.
The trains stop at fewer stations than the Hikari trains. On the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, Nozomi trains stop at Tokyo Station, Shinagawa Station, Shin-Yokohama Station, Nagoya Station, Kyoto Station, and Shin-Ōsaka Station. On the Sanyō line, all Nozomi trains stop at Shin-Kobe Station, Okayama Station, Hiroshima Station, Kokura Station, and Hakata Station. Certain Nozomi trains stop at additional stations as well. The Nozomi train service is not covered by the Japan Rail Pass.
The word nozomi in Japanese means “hope” or “wish”.
Ticket for Nozomi Shinkansen Bullet Train – Shin-Osaka to Tokyo high speed train
Japanese people are not very tall, this Shin-Osaka station security guard needs a pedestal to see above the crowds
JR Staff make sure the train leaves right on time
Seats on the Nozomi Shinkansen Bullet Train offer plenty of space to work using a laptop and you can buy snacks from the staff
I was surprised to see public phone availability on the Nozomi Shinkansen Bullet Train
Thanks to the super fast speed we arrived all too soon at Tokyo after a quiet, comfortable journey
Photo & Video Gallery: Japanese High Speed “Bullet” Train Nozomi Shinkansen
Note: I travelled on the Shinkansen as a guest of Panasonic.
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