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Shinkansen zombie outbreak occurring for first-ever haunted bullet train event

Casey Baseel Sep 30, 2024
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Traveling by bullet train in Japan is such a no-brainer that even zombies will do it.

If you’re traveling from Tokyo to Osaka, the Shinkansen is almost always going to be the fastest and most convenient way to get there. Next month, though, it’s also going to be the most terrifying.

Up until now, Shinkansen operator Central Japan Railway has done an admirable job keeping the living dead from establishing a foothold on Japan’s premier high-speed rail route, with not a single zombie outbreak in the Shinkansen’s 60-year history. That streak will be coming to a close soon, though. At 5:18 p.m. on the evening of October 19, a Nozomi super express, bound for Shin Osaka, will pull out of Tokyo Station. Before reaching its destination, though, a section of the bullet train will be overrun by zombies.

JR Central promises that the outbreak will be contained to Cars 15 and 16 of the train. Passengers who are in those two cars, however, can look forward to/dread the zombies invading the space and looking for tasty brains to feed on. JR Central, along with partner Kowagarasetai (the haunted house design company behind Japan’s haunted toilet and drive-in-haunted house) say that more than 10 types of zombies will appear, including zombie conductors…

…”millionaire host players turned into zombies…”

…a zombie high school sports team and cheer squad…

…and even zombified versions of Osaka’s tough-talking middle-aged women, who retain their penchant for flashy fashion even in death.

And while many of the zombies will be there because of their hunger for our delicious human brains, others will be showcasing the full richness that an after-death lifestyle can afford, with zombie dancers…

…a “living dead orchestra…”

…and a zombie magic show.

▼ Zombie clowns are only marginally scarier that regular clowns, it turns out.

The entire zombie experience lasts for roughly two hours of the approximately two-and-a-half-hour Nozomi Shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka.

As the remaining carriages of the train are zombie-free, tickets for this first-ever Shinkansen haunted house are limited to 60 passengers, with 36 regular tickets (33,000 yen [US$235] and 24 premium tickets (50,000 yen) available, with the premium tickets granting access to Car 16 and where extra group photos with the zombies can be taken, although photography is allowed in Car 15 as well. It’s not the cheapest haunted house experience, but transportation from Tokyo to Osaka is included of course, and the tickets are being offered through a lottery system through JR Central’s website (regular tickets here, premium tickets here) between now and October 4.

Source, images: PR Times
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