Japan Rail Pass Now - Japan Travel Guide

Bullet Train & History
Japan’s major cities are connected by a network of high speed trains known as Shinkansen. The network operated by Japan Railways (JR) has
been progressively developed on the main islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Hokkaido since the 1960s. It provides a stark example of cutting
edge Japanese technology, connecting the bustling capital city of Tokyo with cities extending as far as Aomori in the north and Kagoshima in
the south.
Shinkansen trains currently transport a staggering 150 million passengers per year. Riding on one is an essential part of the tourist experience
when visiting Japan. These trains can travel up to 320 kilometres per hour. To put that speed into perspective, if we had Shinkansen trains in
Australia they’d be able to travel between Sydney and Melbourne in under three hours!
Incredibly, for most of their journey, Shinkansen trains don’t make contact with the track. Instead, they hover 10 centimetres above the track
as they are propelled through the air by electrically-charged magnets on either side of the line.
Besides their incredible speed, they have a great reputation for:
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Consistently departing and arriving on time;
Comfort (there’s plenty of room with their reversible seating arrangements);
Quiet and efficient operation;
Cleanliness;
Safety (they have one of the best safety records in the world!)
Foreign tourists can also take advantage of great savings, comfortable and convenient travel with the Japan Rail Pass.
The Network
The Shinkansen network has multiple rail lines:
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Tokaido (the most popular line that links Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka: the stretch between Tokyo and Kyoto provides spectacular
views of the iconic Mt Fuji)
Sanyo (linking Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka)
Kyushu (linking Fukuoka and Kagoshima)
Tohoku (linking Tokyo, Sendai, Morioka and Aomori)
Joetsu (linking Tokyo and Niigata)
Hokuriku (linking Tokyo and Kanazawa)
Hokkaido (linking Aomori and Hakodate)
223 - Japan Travel Guide