Day 12 : Trains, trains, and more trains…

Hello,

Today was the best day of the whole trip… A 12 hour travel day, which included five trains!

If you didn’t already know, the Japanese train system is very advanced. It blows my mind everyday.  To start off our epic train journey, we took the subway. A fact about the subway is that in large cities, during rush hour, they have official pushers who push all the business commuters into the train – that sounds awful. I couldn’t imagine having to be so tightly packed like sardines. In Japan trains are the main form of transportation, and about 8.9 million people use the trains everyday. That’s more than the population of Chicago. That is crazy that almost all of Japan’s population uses train travel! Think of what the USA would be like if it had such efficient public transport. After 2 stops on the very full subway, we got off. Our next train was a limited express all the way back down to Hakodate.

Here you can see two different types of train cars! Regular and than a long distance train in green.

In Japan all trains have a “ranking” on how fast or how many stops they make. These are the categories: Maglev train, Shinkansen (superexpress), Rapid, Limited Express, and Local. The differences are sometimes obvious but sometimes not. Like the Maglev train, which is the SUPER high speed train suspended over the tracks. It moves with magnets and has yet to go commercial. Although by 2025 Japan will open a line that goes from Tokyo to Osaka in under an hour! The Maglevs in testing go about 270 to 310 miles per hour. That is amazing considering that the Shinkansen now, a train that runs like a regular train but goes about 200 miles an hour, can get you there in about an hour and half. One thing I love about the bullet train is that it is so easily accessible to everyone. Every time I’ve ridden on there is a large variety of locals and tourists.

All types of people on the limited express

After the super fast, super cool Shinkansen, the next ranking is a rapid. Rapid trains look just like the regular train, though, they only stop at major stations. This could be very helpful, but if you are trying to go to a small station and accidentally get on a rapid, that would suck. After rapid there’s limited express. It took me a while to figure out what was going on with these. These are regular trains that have no standing room and normally go long distances. They stop at all major stations and some smaller ones. I’m still not sure how they pick which stations, but I’m sure there is a method to the madness. Lastly, the slowest train or subway with the most stops is the local. This train stops at all the stations. This can be very helpful if you know exactly where you are going and where the closest station is. 

Bullet trains look a little like spaceships.

My strategy for train riding has been to get as close as you can and if there’s a short train transfer, you might be better off walking. That was not the case today. After the limited express for Hakodate the big group shuffled onto our longest train. A five hour bullet train from Hakodate to Tokyo. For those of you who have been following the blog semi regularly, you may remember that this is the train that goes under the ocean for about 30 miles. There is a tunnel connecting the upper island to the main island and this is the train that goes through it. While in the train the tunnel is all dark, like most of the Shinkansen track. But later learning  about the tunnel is really cool. 

Meeting of the minds, a few conductors in charge of one train all talking at a station

To build this tunnel they first dig an area where they want the track to go. After that they place pre-made sections of a steel floor down, then attach the top of the tunnel. Then they pump out the water and lay the tracks. This tunnel, also know as the Seikan tunnel, took about 14 million workers, 25 years, and 6.7 billion dollars to complete. The tunnel is about 24km long. All the science and technology behind it is amazing, I couldn’t imagine trying to design such a thing. Good thing I go to a school 1/3 full with engineers who could. 

Inside the Seikan Tunnel

After the longest 5 hours of my life, we all got on another bullet train. Tokyo to Nagoya. Nagoya is famous for being an industrial hub. They also have a large entertainment district, with many shops, pachinko parlors, and museums. It is located in the center of the main island (Hancho) and has a population of 2.4 million. Lastly and finally, the two hour train ride was over and we had to hop on a quick subway to the hotel. Overall I think everyone enjoyed a chill day since we have been so go go go the past week.

Meghna Saldana

Plant Genetics, Breeding, and Biotechnologies 

A picture of me at the 9th station on Mount Fuji!