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trains (Page 39)
See a whole other side of Kyoto in this beautiful, quintessentially Japanese train, coming soon
- Meg Murphy
Nov 3, 2015 - Tweet
With all the sights, sounds, and history Kyoto City has to offer, from the Golden Pavilion to the thousands of torii shrine gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine, most people forget that there is much more to Kyoto outside of the bustling capital city. Kyoto Prefecture actually reaches farther north, with its northernmost cities bordering the ocean on the Sea of Japan side, earning the area the nickname “Umi no Kyoto“, literally meaning “Kyoto of the Sea”.
For travelers looking to explore more than the usual tourist spots, there are trains departing from Kyoto Station which will take you for a scenic ride through the northern part of the prefecture to view other famous sites such as the beautiful Amanohashidate land bridge in Miyazu City. And now, Japan Railway (JR) has teamed up with a well-known designer to make the travel experience much more unique in this old-style Umi no Kyoto-themed train, set for departure soon!
Man flips out on train after being confronted for his rude behavior【Video】
- Jamie Koide
Oct 28, 2015
Public transportation can be a cheap and convenient way to get around, but sometimes that means having to occasionally deal with rude strangers. For minor offenses, usually the best thing to do is ignore the situation and hope you’re not stuck with their unpleasant company your whole commute, but what happens when their behavior is so atrocious you and those around you can’t help but speak up?
In the best-case scenario, voicing your objection might urge them to re-think their actions, but for some, like this rowdy passenger captured on video in Shanghai, China, it may only serve to fuel their disorderly conduct.
Pigeon cuts in line, casually boards train in Japan【Video】
- Oona McGee
Oct 27, 2015
A lot has been written about Japan’s incredible train culture. From carriages dressed up as anime characters to people who band together to rescue a fellow commuter, you don’t even have to get on a train to experience all the action; you can see it all first-hand from the platform itself.
That’s what one commuter found when they stumbled upon this little guy while waiting for the train in Japan. Caught on video, it shows an adventurous pigeon who doesn’t even flinch when the train arrives, instead walking up to the passenger doors, waiting for them to open and then hopping on board to find a seat.
Travel from Kansai Airport to Osaka aboard the Star Wars: The Force Awakens express
- Oona McGee
Oct 22, 2015
The Limited Express Rapi:t that shuttles passengers back and forth between Kansai Airport and Namba Station in Osaka has been offering some fun rides lately. The train’s distinctive deep blue exterior was given a red makeover last year in a Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn promotion and it even received its own superhero earlier this year.
Now passengers are in for another treat with news of the train’s next big adventure: as a jet-black ambassador for the Star Wars: The Force Awakens enterprise. With awesome interior and exterior details, including a wrap that features all the new characters from the upcoming movie, this is bound to be a welcome sight for visitors landing at the airport from November this year.
Japanese boxed lunches pulling into France at authentic bento stand opening in Paris station
- Casey Baseel
Oct 22, 2015
In just about every major train station in Japan, you’ll find a stand selling boxed lunches called ekiben. A combination of the words eki (“station”) and bento (“boxed lunch”), ekiben serve as a tasty, convenient meal for travelers to dine on as they watch the scenery slip by outside their window.
Given that trains are terrestrial transportation, and that Japan is an island nation, until now you’ve generally had to come to Japan in order to get your hands on authentic station bento. That’s changing soon, though, with the opening of an ekiben stand in a rail station in Paris.
Get in the bullet train, Shinji! The Evangelion Shinkansen is here 【Videos】
- Casey Baseel
Oct 20, 2015
Fans of hit anime Evangelion are used to having their patience tested. Almost three years after the Japanese theatrical release of the Evangelion 3.0 feature film, the movie still isn’t available on home video in North America. Meanwhile, the fourth, and reputedly final, chapter of the Rebuild of Evangelion film series remains without a release date.
But if there’s one thing Japan demands punctuality from, it’s the country’s trains. So with the Evangelion Shinkansen scheduled to go into service next month, the anime-themed bullet train is practically complete and recently made its public and video debut.
- Japan
- (anime • bullet train • Evangelion • manga • shinkansen • trains)
Why deer are drawn to train tracks, and how Japan is solving the problem with this simple block
- Master Blaster
Oct 17, 2015
Recently Nippon Steel & Sumikin Metal Products unveiled a new type of deer bait that is not only highly effective, but also works exclusively on deer. It’s called a Yukuru and as you can see in the picture above, it’s pretty much just a regular salt lick but it contains one very important ingredient: iron.
That’s right, deer apparently go crazy for the great taste of the metal. It’s a fact that went widely overlooked until now.
Get ready for the weekend by reading Japanese Twitter users’ funniest train stories
- Preston Phro
Oct 9, 2015
For most people in the country, the trains in Japan are relatively pleasant outside of rush hour, though they’re generally not exactly entertaining. Which is probably a good thing, because an entertaining train would probably be an annoying train! But if you ride them long enough, there’s a good chance you’ll accumulate a few funny stories.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be in Japan to hear the good ones—Twitter users are happy to share them online! Below, we’ve gathered a few of our favorites to give you a good laugh. So hop aboard as we take a look at some of the funniest train-related stories found on Twitter.
Japan’s newest Shinkansen is world’s fastest gallery, packed with contemporary art inside and out
- Casey Baseel
Oct 8, 2015
From an engineering standpoint, Japan’s famed Shinkansen is already a work of art. Recently, though, the country’s bullet trains have been putting a renewed effort into their appearance, taking inspiration from centuries-old tradition and science-fiction anime.
The latest Shinkansen to be unveiled, though, incorporates design cues more modern than tatami reed floors yet not as futuristic as giant robots. Instead, it’s envisioned as a travelling gallery of contemporary art, allowing for what operator East Japan Railways calls “the world’s fastest art appreciation.”
Here’s what happens when the trains shut down in Tokyo during rush hour: Craziness 【Photos】
- Casey Baseel
Oct 2, 2015
Compared to some of the cooler or more elegant-sounding parts of Tokyo, like Jiyugaoka (“Freedom Hill”) or Akihabara (“Field of Autumn Leaves”), the Shinagawa neighborhood has a pretty dull name, meaning essentially “Merchandise River.” Still, you have to admit it’s appropriate. Located near the mouth of the Sumidagawa river, for generations Shinagawa has seen plenty of cargo ships sail past as they ferry goods in and out of Tokyo’s ports.
The name even works in a figurative economic sense, as Shinagawa Station is a major rail hub that thousands of workers pass through every day on their way from their homes in the suburbs to their offices downtown. The facility is designed to keep passengers efficiently flowing in and out, but this morning the “river” got blocked due to a problem with the trains, resulting in perhaps the most crowded scene of rush hour in Japan that we’ve ever seen.
“Miyako” – one of the most beautiful, feels-inducing Japan videos you’ll ever see【Video】
- Oona McGee
Oct 2, 2015
If you’ve ever visited Japan, chances are your first stop in the country has been a big, bustling metropolis like Osaka or Tokyo. While the enormous flat screens, heaving intersections and impressive skyscrapers make for some memorable photo moments, it’s the serene, picturesque country towns that really hold the true essence and beauty of Japan.
For those of us who can’t make a trip out to soak in the serenity of the countryside, there’s a short, three-and-a-half minute film that will transport us there. If you loved Chihiro’s tranquil train ride in the Studio Ghibli movie Spirited Away, you’ll love this touching video, which introduces us to a stationmaster called Miyako, who waves at all her departing passengers—and keeps waving until they disappear into the horizon—showing us just how moving a simple gesture can be.
- Japan
- (countryside • cute girls • Erez Sitzer • Miyako • Rural Japan • rural life • trains • video)
Evangelion Shinkansen service takes off on November 7 with life-sized Eva cockpit on board
- Oona McGee
Oct 1, 2015
As far as joint collaborations go, the Shinkansen Evangelion Project is set to go down in the annals of history, with Japan Rail West joining up with the hit anime franchise to make our wildest dreams a reality, by bringing out a special Eva-themed bullet train to shuttle customers from Osaka to Fukuoka and back on the Sanyō Shinkansen line.
Since the announcement of the project, we’ve been waiting on the edge of our seats for more details, and finally JR West has come through with news of the launch date, along with never-before-seen images of the train’s interior, which includes Eva-themed seats and window blinds, and a designated “cockpit room”.
- Japan
- (anime • bullet train • cool • Evangelion • Neon Genesis Evangelion • shinkansen • trains)
Thomas the Tank Engine’s video visit to Japan is more Japanese than life in Japan
- Casey Baseel
Sep 27, 2015
Being that he’s a train on an island, you wouldn’t expect Thomas the Tank Engine to do much international traveling. However, thanks to a bit of clever storytelling (and Thomas’ absolute lack of compunction about stowing away on freight ships), the beloved locomotive has embarked on a globe-trotting tour in an ongoing video series.
In one of the most recent episodes, Thomas even arrives in Japan, where he takes in the local sites in a whirlwind visit that’s more Japanese than actually living in Japan.
Tokyo trains to ease cellphone restrictions near priority seats — but not during rush hour
- Preston Phro
Sep 23, 2015
If you’ve been on the train in Japan, you’ve likely seen the stickers and signs plastered everywhere around the priority seats asking people to make room for those who need and to turn off cell phones. While you should definitely continue to give your seat to anyone who needs it, starting next month, you’ll no longer have to feel guilty about playing Angry Birds in the priority seating section—unless it’s rush hour.
- Japan
- (cell phones • manners • rules • Smartphones • trains)
How honest is Japanese society? So honest this train station is fine with a non-closable “gate”
- Casey Baseel
Sep 16, 2015
A while back, we talked about how it’s common in Japan for people to place dropped property in a place where it’ll be easy to spot when the owner retraces his steps looking for it. There’s hardly any fear that anyone else will take it, whether the item in question is as cheap as a mitten or something much more valuable.
But such admirable conduct isn’t limited to private citizens’ interactions with one another. A recently tweeted snapshot of a train station ticket gate has been getting laughs in Japan for its unusual design, and while it is kind of funny-looking, it also shows the extremely honest character of Japanese society.
Attack on Toilets now going on inside Osaka train station bathrooms
- Jamie Koide
Sep 14, 2015
Now that the Attack on Titan exhibit has wrapped up in Kyushu, it’s moved on to its next stop, Osaka.
Somewhere along the way, however, the titans and military decided to stage a battle in the middle of Osaka’s central train line, or rather, the train line’s bathrooms. On a mission to remodel some of the not-so-popular toilet facilities located inside five of the stations on the Osaka Loop Line, the bitter enemies are working together for the first time to clean things up.
Crazy crooner crashes Tokyo typhoon report with his passionate ballad and guitar-playing 【Video】
- Casey Baseel
Sep 10, 2015
Japan has spent just about all week getting drenched by a pair of typhoons that have decided to leisurely make their way across the country’s skies. Thankfully, there hasn’t been any significant damage in the Tokyo area, but whenever there’s heavy rainfall, you can expect local news outlets to send a camera crew to check on conditions at one of the capital’s major rail hubs.
Last night, a team sent to Shinjuku Station brought back footage of all the things viewers have come to expect from such reports. The camera’s lens capturing soaked commuters caught without an umbrella and concerned travelers watching the display boards for word about whether their train lines were still running…oh, and also a crazed, sunglass-wearing guitarist who insisted on being heard and in-frame.
Now bullet train geeks can ride the rare, top-secret “Doctor Yellow” train
- Mike
Sep 10, 2015
It’s apparently a pretty rare sight, not unlike the majestic (read: ugly as sin) Northern Bald Ibis, the probably made-up Sasquatch, or the sober RocketNews24 writer, but on certain lengths of Shinkansen bullet train track, one can occasionally catch brief glimpses of a completely yellow bullet train as it whizzes past. Japan Rail (JR) doesn’t make the train’s schedule public, it doesn’t stop at stations, and it only runs a few times a month.
And, until a little later this year, no member of the public was ever allowed to ride. Learn how you can ride the special “Doctor Yellow” bullet train after the jump.
- Japan
- (bullet trains • Nagoya • shinkansen • Tokyo • tours • trains)
Japanese security company claims it’s discovered a new kind of train pervert: Lady sniffers
- Casey Baseel
Aug 29, 2015
One of the most infamous aspects of Japanese society are chikan, the men who surreptitiously grope women on crowded trains. One Japanese security company, though, has tweeted about what it says is a new breed of chikan: men who encroach on a woman’s personal space to sniff her scent.
Japan’s newest hot spring springs forth…from the center of Kobe!
- Casey Baseel
Aug 27, 2015
In movies, there’s never anything good hidden in the earth under a structure. It’s all Native American burial grounds, Egyptian mummies, and other assorted other corpses of non-specific ethnicities.
In real life, though, there are all sorts of desirable things waiting beneath the surface, such as oil and gold. An excavation crew in Kobe was looking for something just as good as those two valuable commodities, though: a hot spring, and they found one right in the heart of the city.
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