I Rode the Craziest Trains in Japan

[@NotJustBikes]

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[@El-Burrito]

Wait where's the link to the Tom Scott video, I feel like I missed it

[@NotJustBikes]

@@El-Burrito there's a card that pops up on KZbin at that point in the video, but here's the link again: Tom Scott - I rode the world's fastest train. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aou7aodmoLyVars

[@matpk]

@@NotJustBikes amazing video much better than anything in Chi Na 🎉

[@steemlenn8797]

They don't have a bar on the SHinkansen because they have something better: *ekiben* A bento you buy at the train station ( *eki* ). If you didn't get one, you missed something. (They often use local specialities. For children (or us train geeks) there might be even one in a train shaped package.) Also: There are 3? sets of special Shinkansen - "Doctor Yellow". As the name says, they are a Pikachu color. Track inspection trains that run unannounced, why it is considered good luck to see one. They will stop running in the near future though because of better tech. So catch them while you still can ;)

[@steemlenn8797]

@@1121494 I know of 2 other foreigners that have made videos about and inside the Maglev - CathyCat (who is admittedly part of EN Japanese TV about trains in one of her jobs) and a German one: Mr. Nippon. So they have to consider which people they let ride on their test train? Who had thought that, considering there is just a 1000 times bigger demand than supply.

[@LARKXHIN]

"There's no first class on the Hello Kitty Shinkansen" Hello Kitty, the great class equalizer.

[@Hans-gb4mv]

There's no first class on any Shinkansen. There's standard class on all, there's Green class on most and then you have Gran class on some.

[@timothystamm3200]

​@Hans-gb4mv Green Class is effectively Japan's equivalent to what any other nation would call first class service. Hell, the private railroads usually just call it premium, don't they.

[@SvalbardSleeperDistrict]

@@Hans-gb4mv You really had to be that person to ruin a joke through semantic pedantics, didn't you?

[@timothystamm3200]

@@rasurin Dude, I know that I was using that for shorthand of the railroads that either have never been or have totally been separated from the railroads that were created out of JNR. Because all of the JR group used to be nationalized, and some of them are still heavily owned by the government, like JR Shukoku, JR Hokkaido, and JR Freight. Even JR Kyushu, and all of the West, Central, and East JR group companies, have significant percentages of shares owned by the Japanese Government.

[@andrefricke9998]

Comrade Kitty ✊️

[@hwkeyser]

My wife has never clicked on one of your videos for me, but you showed her Pikachu train and now we're discussing a Japan vacation.

[@tqks]

GO GO GO!!! theres no better time to go now that the japanese yen is weak at the moment!! i went last summer and it was the happiest month ive ever had.

[@gabemik]

Once she finds out about the Pokemon themed manhole covers all over the country, you're going to need the full 90 day tourist visa limit!

[@serafinacosta7118]

Women have an odd sense of priorities. The one who shall be obeyed.

[@AltairStarlight]

I just went to Japan with my husband and we had an amazing time. Everything was much more affordable than where we live. I highly recommend staying at an onsen hotel with private rooms. If you don't go in the summer.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

I'm pretty sure that was Pichu, but who cares?

[@alasdaresineaeris2772]

NJB just casually went through like 5 videos worth of content for the average travel vlogger, what a chad move

[@oichilli7309]

One vidoe per train

[@LouisChang-le7xo]

he IS the chad

[@ChannelHypermach]

tbf he just skipped the boarding, the scenery timelapses and did not include pricing for some trains, but yes still chad move.

[@MrNicePotato]

@@ChannelHypermach That's the thing. He could have milked every train as a separate video saying repetitive stuff and lazy editing. But he didn't do any of that to make it go straight to the point.

[@mackaythomson1083]

hearing about shinkansen travelling faster than planes at 6 minute intervals is absolutely bonkers as somebody who has to wait 30 minutes for a train going 50km/h to get to work

[@jdmspotter]

and at peak times, even the shinkansen is packed (standing room only).

[@illiiilli24601]

Shinkansen is faster door to door for many trips, but its top speed (or average speed between station to station /airport to airport) is no where near crusing speed for any modern airliner. (285 on the tokaido, 300 Sanyo etc, 320 (360 in testing) on the Tohoku etc). The Chuo one, still in testing, (505 kph design speed) is comparable, but yeah.

[@debadityasaha1684]

@illiiilli24601 but high-speed train will always be superior to planes under 700KM as if you count the time between point A to point B

[@pavelandreev4727]

My country is barely 500 km long, last week they announced the arrival of new trains that will go from the capital to the seaside (Sofia to Burgas), about 350km in ONLY 6 hours...

[@Moonstone-Redux]

@@jdmspotter I thought Shinkansen is seating only?

[@BogFiets]

Really need some miffy trains here in the Netherlands

[@amcaesar]

I’m sold!

[@zeppie_]

I'll be honest I've seen more Miffy merchandise in Tokyo than I ever have in the Netherlands. We need to step our game up!

[@Paul_C]

No, we don't. I rather hope they finally extend the network beyond the green core. Or we call 'the Randstad'.

[@marcogeurts9881]

​@@zeppie_yes a Miffy or Nijntje train would be amazing

[@hamtier]

@@Paul_C you'll have to be more specific. imo the network is fine going from east netherlands to west netherlands. but i rarely travel south or north so i have no idea how that line is nowadays

[@emilycerto2996]

god, the stark contrast in that shot of soul-crushing traffic at the end really did crush my soul after seeing all the creative & innovative trains

[@walawala-fo7ds]

Japan has soul crushing work culture so your soul is simply crushed differently 😂

[@SSGoatanks]

The US desperately needs national HSR - no more transportation monopolies from greedy cars and airlines.

[@critiqueofthegothgf]

it honestly really hurts to see. it feels as if I've had an entire life taken away from me for the sake of the profit of oil and car companies

[@BladeoftheImmortal2005]

@@critiqueofthegothgf that's because you did.

[@8ballandroid]

Its the repubs and the car and oil lobbyists to blame

[@晴れ雨のち-w3m]

Thank you to coming to Japan. I live in Japan and I think that the craziest train is commuter trains in Tokyo morning.

[@Sacto1654]

At least you're lucky that the Tokyo area train companies have completely rebuilt their stations to accommodate way longer trains and now provide alternate means to go from one region to another and cut down on the overcrowding (in most cases). A notorious example was the JR East Saikyo Line from Omiya to Ikebukuro, Shinjuku and Shibuya; even with 16-car trains, overcrowding was still a problem for many years. The opening of the _F Liner_ service that had run-through service from Tōbu and Seibu lines to the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line helped substantially relieve the overcrowding on the Saikyo Line.

[@MHX11]

agreed XD still punctual though!! truly impressive

[@kisaragi-hiu]

lol

[@Expertsword]

I too love the feeling of being turned into canned fish.

[@seafog]

That’s exactly why we need more proper bike lanes in Tokyo!! (And maybe trees along the streets for shade in the summer) The number of cyclists here is huge and yet I’ve yet to see proper bike lanes. Right now most ppl only bike to their nearest metro station and within their neighbourhood. If more ppl started commuting by bike, the morning commute trains would be a lot less jam packed, less smelly, less groping, overall less stressful and more friendly to ppl who need it like elderlies, disabled etc.

[@docopoper]

As someone in Ireland, this is making me so jealous. I wish we had focused on trains rather than cars.

[@_bats_]

Yeah, seeing maps of how extensive the rail network used to be here compared to how grim it is now is just sad.

[@artificial_S]

Including buses

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

@@_bats_same all over North America

[@TalesOfWar]

@@_bats_ Same in the UK. We closed so much of our rail network in the 60's with the infamous "Beeching Axe". The minister who commissioned it owned a road building company, then later had to flee the country due to "tax irregularities". They built a crap load of motorways and other roads during this time which he personally benefitted from. Good old Tory corruption!

[@BogFiets]

I moved to the Netherlands from Ireland! It’s far, far better here. Ireland has atrocious public transport and actively hates kids riding bikes :-(

[@Kromaatikse]

FWIW, Japanese salarymen wouldn't get on the Hello Kitty train by accident - because the Kodama service is among the slowest Shinkansen services, stopping at every station. Business travellers prefer the Nozomi and Hikari services, which go directly between the major cities without stopping at the smaller towns, and they have business-class accommodation to suit. If you're on a Kodama, at several of the stations en route you'll be shunted into a platform to the side, while one of the faster services blasts past on the straight track.

[@AK-jt9gx]

It was fun to think about though. Thanks for the context

[@PickledTripod]

Kodama services are still fast enough that they may be the fastest depending on when you're travelling and where. I ended up on the Hello Kitty Shinkansen last year without planning for it because it just happened to be the best option to get from Fukuoka to Hiroshima early in the morning.

[@asantaraliner]

It used to be an Evangelion Shinkansen between 2015 and 2018.

[@machinismus]

@@asantaraliner I hope it comes back! I’d love to ride it.

[@makotohanazawa6560]

id say its still possible tho. i remember riding the kodama for 2stops to drop at a major station to transfer to a nozomi train just so i didnt have to sit at the station for 15 minutes for the fast ones

[@undercoverduck]

"Getting off on the wrong station that also happens to be underserviced" is genuinely a recurring (benign) nightmare for me. Now I can have that nightmare with the added terror of not knowing the native language ❤

[@HoshikawaHikari]

Last time that happened by sister brought my family to ride horses

[@lainiwakura1776]

Japan is very English friendly now, they have train announcements in both Japanese and English and electronic signs will switch between the two languages, regular signs will have it in both languages, but this is also more likely for cities and tourist areas that foreigners flock to. If you go to the country side and rural areas, it will be all Japanese, but the locals are friendly and a translation app will always be your friend.

[@Hans-gb4mv]

@@lainiwakura1776 Japanese trains and stations have had announcements in English since the early 50's. The bigger problem is that in smaller cities and towns, you are less likely to run into people that actually know English. Getting that taxi might have required the usage of a translator app on a phone just to get the message across.

[@fruity4820]

I avoid this by working one station away from where I am living. I only have the nightmares of getting on the wrong train and missing my station. Both of which pale in comparison to the nightmares I get from driving, which are getting killed in a car accident, killing someone in a car accident, costing my parents a fortune because I got the car destroyed in a car accident...

[@N0Xa880iUL]

​@@fruity4820Totally

[@Pedantic2025]

"There *was* a Hello Kitty themed smoking room but it was closed in March 2024" I never thought I would hear all those words in that exact order. 😂

[@lewisclark1122]

I hope it was called the Hello Ciggie room.

[@sylvainmichaud2262]

Only _Not Just Bikes_ can make the most educating but very entertaining video with what would normally be a B roll on any travel channel.

[@vokasimid5330]

Well said

[@itsenkaybee]

The missed opportunity of not calling that train "Pika-choochoo"

[@Hans-gb4mv]

And now we need Thomas and friends to pull the Pikachoochoo train for even more happy kids :D

[@Skasaha_]

Some of the joyful trains are steam trains actually! On one of the lines the Pikachu railcar runs on, there's SL Ginga, a C58 locomotive that runs with a 4-car retrofitted DMU as its coaches.

[@OscarWildYT]

Well, that would be a funny name for a spanish or latin tourist 🤣

[@harukahoshizora]

Avid star fan here! I actually went on the space 1375 train last winter with my family, the person who was talking to us actually spoke some English and gave us key astronomy terms. (Although my family includes a fluent Japanese speaking person and the rest can understand at a high level, so mileage will vary) When we got off the station it was a little cloudy, but the guide took us up into the park on the hill you can see the video, he went off for about 10 minutes to turn off the main lights in the park. It was very dark, the only lights you could see were the ones at the station, but if you turned the opposite direction you couldn't see them. Personally, winter constellations are much more interesting. Even though it was little cloudy we were able to see a little of the Milky Way strip in the sky. Definitely not the darkest place to see stars but definitely a cool experience! I'm not sure why your experience was so different, maybe because it was so cloudy they didn't see the point? My only complaints were how cold it was outside (I was not ready for that and was shivering the whole time) and that on the way back they didn't dim the lights in the train and I was so tired at that point...

[@iliketoeatchocolate623]

I like how even your username points to you liking stars! "Faraway starry sky" if I read it correctly.

[@MHX11]

10:40 fun fact: all hiking trails in Switzerland are planned to have all trail heads located at bus and train stations :)

[@tristanridley1601]

*Sigh* That's what civilization looks like, eh?

[@MHX11]

​@@tristanridley1601it's so amazing, the whole country is like this

[@funtonite]

There are a lot of trails here in Japan that start from bus stops and train stations. The Seibu Chichibu Line and the JR Ome Line are a couple examples of lines that run in some narrow valleys between mountains. A lot (maybe most, can't say exactly how many) of the stations have big maps detailing the hiking routes accessible from the station and there's signage directing you through the streets in the town to get to the trailhead, depending on how wide the valley is at that point.

[@LeafHuntress]

@@MHX11 Cannot claim the whole country is like this, but in the Netherlands we do have NS-wandelingen, iow Dutch Railways hikes, so people can & do take the train to get to a trail.

[@tristanridley1601]

I feel like in Japan they mostly made hiking trails to the train station, and in Switzerland it's mostly the other way around. Tell me if I'm wrong. I'd be glad for either. Lol

[@yoiko3378]

I am really happy that you mentioned about the earthquake and tsunami in Kesennuma happened in 2011. As a local, i wish more ppl come to Tohoku area and feel our energy and see how hard we rebuilt our hometown. Pokémon has been contributing, encouraging people and economy here.Thank you for visiting Kesennuma.

[@KannikCat]

Wow, clearly I was not adventurous enough in my Japan rail travels! I'd say I stuck to the 'boring' regular (fast, on time, frequent, go everywhere, delight to ride, whydon'twehavethiseverywhere?) trains, but it didn't even occur to me to look for anything out of the ordinary. I guess I was too stuck in my VIA Rail expectations... :P I just love the idea of fun trains! Where the transportation isn't just an empty space while getting to another thing or place, but instead totally IS part of the experience. Going to have to keep these in mind for my next visit. Thanks! :)

[@Hans-gb4mv]

If you want to learn more about all those trains in Japan, go look at NHK World, they have a series called Railway Journal and they often feature special trains. And it's not just trains. Look up Mōka station to see how they also make stations fun. Do note that if you are going to visit the station and museum that the train line going to it is a private rail line and only accepts cash.

[@viniciusdesouzamaia]

Underrated comment. The fact that there is available space on trains makes it possible to create these wacky, fun or functional traits that are just unthinkable on the cramped business jet.

[@BotchFrivarg]

@10:40 "because fundamentally trains should be available for all kinds of trips, not just commuting" sums up in a way the main gripe I've had about the Dutch rail network, almost all passengers trains are focuses on commuters not on any other reasons you might want to take a train (this is especially noticeable on any train going to Schiphol, not enough storage for all the massive luggage people try to bring)

[@literallyjustgrass]

All the concerts i've had to leave early and all the times i've had to say no to drinks afterwards at said concerts just because "my last train leaves at 22:30" 😭

[@lainiwakura1776]

@@Volkbrecht Cars are good for somethings, trains for others (like if you go to Costco, it's much better to have a car in that instance instead of figuring out how you're going get all those bulk items home on a train).

[@lainiwakura1776]

@@literallyjustgrass Even Japan has last trains, people staying out all night at the club have to wait until 4 or 5 am for the first trains to start running, since they tend to stop in the 11pm hour closer to midnight.

[@samuelconnolly347]

@@literallyjustgrass I live in the UK and I've spent multiple nights at Gatwick Airport after going out in London. If I want to go for to concert, I typically have to either leave early, spend a fortune on a taxi or sleep at the airport (which is as far south as I can get when it's late). I usually go for the latter option, then take the first train in the morning, but it's not exactly ideal.

[@Hans-gb4mv]

For the past year, most of the weekends have had the rail service suspended in my town. And politicians keep saying we need to leave the car at home and take public transportation. Well, I would, if there was some public transport!

[@sylvainmichaud2262]

If only our countries would love their train as much as Japan. People stuck in traffic, including kids, don't know what they're missing.

[@seafog]

I clicked so fast as a Tokyo resident who is always jealous of bicycle lanes in the Netherlands you feature on your videos. I've not heard of most of the trains mentioned here, and now I have a better appreciation for them. Pokémon trains sound perfectly normal in Japan but I really enjoyed seeing it from your pov and finding how ridiculous it actually is. This video also made me realise that being able to travel by train to so many parts of the country is quite impressive too, esp for how prone Japan is to natural disasters and the whole country is mostly covered in mountains. In Europe, a lot of the mountainous or slightly less populated areas are only covered by coaches/buses probably because building roads are easier than building railway tracks. I remembered about the train that was supposed to pass through the mountainous part of Spain (Cantabria) but the project got delayed because they dug the tunnel too narrow so the trains didn't fit 😂

[@Zenas521]

The Spaniards forgot the saying: "Measure twice, cut once".

[@lainiwakura1776]

A Pikachu train is not ridiculous, it kawaii af! I love how the different prefectures have Pokemon specific manhole covers too! I wanna see this for myself someday.

[@alantremonti1381]

Awww, this is cute.

[@deadby15]

I wish we could bring bikes on more trains in Japan. Currently, you need a foldable bike or a special carry bag.

[@makotohanazawa6560]

​@@deadby15i wish japan had better bike infra😢 doesnt seem like its ever gonna happen

[@lemontreemedia2252]

I went to Japan but I was very little and my mom told me that I used to always say 電車 instead of train until I turned 5. I had a train obsession as a toddler.

[@azminek7154]

Who didn't? Though for me it was driven by motion sickness. I had motion sickness on everything that didn't run on rails. So trains and trams were the coolest things I could imagine to travel with.

[@cipher01]

I was literally the same with motion sickness as a kid.

[@viniciusdesouzamaia]

I still have it now and I'm 35

[@AK.16]

I remember the Yamagata Shinkansen having a literal HOT FOOT SPA in one of their trains.

[@Sacto1654]

Sadly, that train set was retired and scrapped a few years ago. 🙁

[@-Bloomia-]

Yeah, that's the Toreiyu Tsubasa set. Both that and the Genbi (Modern Art) sets used to run on that line, but both were scrapped a while ago.

[@rayvanwayenburg998]

When you travel to some of the smaller towns the staff and locals will wave the train off at the station or even just beside the track. It's truly moving and a beautiful reflection of the nature of Japanese. Japan truly has a love affair with trains.

[@Mr.Goldbar]

Japan is the best example of a country that embraces cars yet doesn't require you to own one. The public transport there is world class, yet it has the best car culture in the world (look up Albo and Dustin Williams for content relating to the JDM car scene). Tokyo has insane multi level highways within the city (like the Wangan loop) but at that doesn't stop it from having great public transport. And there are these tiny efficient Kei cars that are so small and they're not sold in other countries, they also used to give you tax benefits if you own one

[@AE86FTS]

Kei cars are proof that Japan did car regulations better than North America, as they are small, efficient vehicles that meet the spirit of the standards rather than giant SUVs which exist to avoid regulation. My only criticism is that Japan is one of the countries that taxes by engine displacement, which is misguided as you can have a bigger engine while still producing less emissions and having better mpg

[@Mr.Goldbar]

@@rasurin well... That's the price of having low polulated areas. Want public transport? Move to a big city, I've learned it the hard way as a young adult in a relatively posh suburb

[@Mr.Goldbar]

@@rasurin with that said I definitely agree on the speed limits, I'd go further and say all of them are arbitrary with no single exception

[@meneldal]

@@rasurin The speed limits are mostly a joke, drivers usually don't follow them, even highway buses that you'd think would be more regulated. Unless you're the only car around, everyone will do 100-120 on the highway, almost never 80.

[@runswithraptors]

Because it's culturally homogeneous. In the USA at least public transit is for poor people who are oftentimes not the same ethnicity of those in power 🤷

[@mr11402]

19:34 "you really can't ride this train and not be happy" followed by someone screaming LOL

[@alantremonti1381]

--IIEEYYEEAAAAAAAAUUGGHH--

[@Diablodave363isawsum]

That is too good xD

[@illuminoeye_gaming]

bro got hit with thunderbolt

[@Carguyforlife]

Cool to see you reference Tom Scott's video. I enjoyed that one, glad to see the maglev trains haven't been completely abandoned.

[@illiiilli24601]

They've been heavily delayed, partially from NIMBYs in Shizuoka prefecture

[@Hans-gb4mv]

@@illiiilli24601 well, they didn't get a station. Although it looks like that situation will get resolved somewhere this year. Let's hope they can also find a solution for the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen.

[@GoGeog]

Akkxually, maglevs aren’t trains technically. It’s not a train because it doesn’t use steel wheels on steel rails to runs

[@grey5626]

@@GoGeog 銀河鉄道999 has intergalactic trains without rails. The rails are only used for terrestrial travel, landings and take offs (similar to space elevators). TL;DR: Japan has very different ideas about what constitutes trains than your limited Earthling conceptions of railroads.

[@samuelconnolly347]

I'm so glad Japan exists. Absolutely agree with your assessment that trains shouldn't just be utilitarian. Of course, ruthless efficiency is great when it's all about commuting, but travelling should also be about the journey. Trains that prioritise comfort or have some other reason to exist (e.g. getting your photo taken with Hello Kitty) are great too. Absolutely love the bike train. This is a real challenge in so many places - being forced to drive if you want to get out into the countryside. It results in the beautiful countryside people come to see being covered in car parks... As you've pointed out multiple times on this channel, trains are by far and away the most efficient way of moving lots of people around. The Shinkansen is a really good-looking train as well. Like, that's the sleek look of the futuristic sci fi (even though it's old at this point!).

[@hansk9285]

The Netherlands definitely needs a Nijntje/Miffy train like the Hello Kitty one 😂

[@andrefricke9998]

I've been to Japan a couple of times and always loved riding trains there! One time, I took an Anpanman (a very popular character in Japan) themed train by chance from Okayama to Marugame and it was packed with happy kids and their parents or grandparents 😁

[@OverweightSorcery]

People in Japan are so lucky to have such advanced transportation. Here where I live we still use trains from 80's. You can imagine how slow trains are around here

[@_bats_]

I just adore Japanese trains. My first ever experience was the train from Osaka Airport to Kyoto - when it pulled into the station (which is the terminus), we had to wait a couple of minutes while they cleaned the train cars for the people heading to Kyoto. Then, right before we were all set to board, I watched in awe as all of the train seats reverse directions automatically so that we would all be facing forward as we headed off. Such a cool, thoughtful little touch. But, the best train I've taken so far in Japan was a small little train in Kamakura. There's a famous stop there called Kamakurakoko-Mae that was featured in some famous anime show about basketball or something, but the real pleasure was just taking this cozy little train along the beautiful coast. When it was going through more urban areas it often felt like we were chugging along through people's backyards. I've never felt so much like trains were an integral part of the community than in Japan.

[@khidorahian]

The anime is called Slam Dunk and it seems it's been featured in numerous other shows too

[@illiiilli24601]

Man when I went to the Slam Dunk level crossing (the one next to Kamakurakoukou-mae) it was full of Chinese tourists, and a traffic cop had to stand by to direct them off of the road. (I know most were Chinese tourists because I can speak Chinese. I guess they probably thought the same of me.)

[@Ernest0220]

That's the Enoshima-Dentetsu, or Enoden. I just rode this train yesterday to visit the Enoshima and the beaches of Shichirigahama. And you are right, I was amazed by how good the railway is integrated with the neighborhood. Every train is well used by both tourists and locals.

[@_bats_]

@@Ernest0220 that's the one! I just had this sort of weird revelation while on that train about how much better life would be if trains like that served communities everywhere.

[@stefanoparlatore7141]

@@_bats_it used to be in Europe but with the Great Depression, WW2 and mass motorisation they killed most of the lines. There used to be so many trams where I live, but they dismantled all the lines between the 30s and the 50s. They built a new line (trashelor) in 2007 and they are building another one now.

[@lonecycle4849]

Recently took the trains from Fuji to Narita and it is just wild. The Shinkansen was incredible and the fact that we have nothing like this in the States connecting at least the major cities is damn near criminal.

[@CaitofFate]

8:40 that is pretty convincing, was glad to hear your re-enaction of your reaction lol

[@VexSG]

20:50 i think this really sums up my point perfectly on the argument for better public transport and active travel. Better bus, tram, metro, train and cycling/walking infrastructure doesn't force you out of your car, but it gives you the option to go by whichever way suits your needs. If anything, it gives you more freedom than only having to go by car if you want to go to the local supermarket or into your city.

[@dopaminecloud]

It also literally takes more cars off the roads so your traffic clears up if more people are using public transit. If you love driving that much, it's STILL better for you.

[@shefetz]

dude, your videos bring me to tears every time. wtf.

[@TomSinister03110]

It was really nice to see a whole video where you were able to just share your joy and enthusiasm. You delivery and filming were amazing as always.

[@weirdtemple1217]

I think Japan's infrastructure is the best in the world imo. They have so many trains that will literally take you almost everywhere in the country. Also considering that Japan makes a lot of cars, Toyota being the most sold worldwide, especially in the US/Canada that are car centric.

[@trainzguy2472]

Aww, too bad you didn't ride the Romancecar! That train has a really unique seating arrangement where the engineer sits in a fighter pilot-style cockpit above the passenger compartment, giving the first few rows of seats a panoramic view of the tracks ahead. It's an express train, too, so it's quite a thrilling ride!

[@tsurutom]

"And even with all those trains running on the network, their average annual delay, including those caused by earthquakes and typhoons, is less than 1 minute." *sad German noises*

[@whyamiwastingmytimeonthis]

That’s the thing I don’t understand. Y’all are known for punctuality - why are your trains late so often😳

[@torfiningvarson8812]

@@whyamiwastingmytimeonthis Compared to most countries with notoriously punctual trains, Germany's train network is comparatively underfunded. Also, VERY car-centric politics, which isn't that surprising - Germany's politics are chronically beholden to corporate lobbies (which includes names like Mercedes, VW, BMW, Audi...), while the country's major railway company is beholden to the government (which owns a majority of it), so it's easy to cut corners there in favor of road infrastructure.

[@LouisChang-le7xo]

deafening american noises

[@viniciusdesouzamaia]

When you have car brain, you end up with bad train. Same problem albeit at smaller scale in Sweden.

[@lzh4950]

@@viniciusdesouzamaia I guess Malaysia also had notably better road than long-distance rail infrastructure as one of its previous leaders had setup 2 local car companies (Proton & _Perodua_ ) & maybe wanted to encourage people to buy more of their cars

[@tooki3698]

A couple of corrections/tips: * The 幹 in Shinkansen means trunk (like a tree trunk), not main. * Kodama is a level of service, not a line. Kodama Shinkansen stop at every station, where as the higher speed trains like the Nozomi, Mizuho, and Hayabusa only stop at the main ones. * If you get off at the wrong station, you can just wait for the next train and ride it to your destination as long as you ride on an unreserved car. The only thing you lose if you miss your train or get off at the wrong station is your seat reservation (if you had one in the first place). It looks like you got off at Kurikoma Kougen, so you might end up waiting an hour, but even then it probably wouldn't have saved you much time to take a taxi because the taxi is way slower (not to mention more expensive). * There is almost literally no reason anyone should ever take the Shinkansen between Osaka and Kyoto. Even with an unreserved seat, it's 3x more expensive than a regular train, and it necessitates going through stations that you normally wouldn't need to go through, which means it could easily take longer than just taking a regular train. In fact, for a lot of trips it's cheaper, quicker, and easier to not use JR at all and to just use private rail companies (Hankyu or Keihan) that go more directly between major destinations.

[@fyang1429]

幹線 means ”main line” Same meaning as in Chinese

[@steemlenn8797]

In English trunk line is main line. With branch lines going off.

[@tooki3698]

@@fyang1429 If you're breaking the word down, character by character, as he was, 幹 literally means trunk, stem, or shaft; as in the trunk of a tree or the shaft of an arrow. 幹 does not not mean main, though it can relate to that meaning in so far as it can imply the central or core aspect of something.

[@sidneyadnopoz3427]

​@@tooki3698translation and transliteration.

[@tooki3698]

​@@sidneyadnopoz3427 Transliteration is this process of changing from one writing system to another based on pronunciation. The phrase you're looking for is "literal translation." The transliteration of 新幹線 is ”Shinkansen." The literal translation of 新幹線 is "New Trunk Line," which is also a perfectly fine non-literal translation. "New Main Line" is acceptable as well, but it is less literal, and "Bullet Train" would be the best common translation even though it has no direct relation with any of the component kanji. The problem comes when you break it down by character, as he was doing, because the character 幹 does not translate to "main."

[@veerasudhama9528]

Really enjoyed every second of the video, Japan is a must visit place

[@pavelandreev4727]

You're a lucky man, thank you for bringing us along on your trips! All those beautiful trains, especially the bike and stars ones, made me wanna cry!

[@kumatoni5245]

The most fun I had on a train Japan was the Shizutetsu Beer Train. For a flat fee, you'd get a ticket to and from the destination, and it would include table service all-you-can-drink local beer, with a view of Mt Fuji.

[@gabip5977]

5:47 that sway of the train the other sinkansen passes at high speed is awesome. Everyone turns their head immidietly, such great power

[@Zinervawyrm]

Other countries: Have statues of historical and sometimes questionable figures. Japan: Behold! The statue of the goodest boi, Hachiko! And over here, the Pirate King! Also, we have a Pikachu-chu!

[@beefueater4586]

Also Japan: Wanna see an irl giant robot?

[@illuminoeye_gaming]

also japan: has a shrine commemorating WW2 war criminals yeah, i dont want to dampen the mood but Japan isn't perfect either. for every luffy there's a gorosei

[@Zinervawyrm]

@@illuminoeye_gaming Yeah, but unless you visit Disney World, you aren't exactly going to find fun statues of Mickey Mouse in the middle of Central Avenue..

[@illuminoeye_gaming]

@@Zinervawyrm fair enough, at least japan does both and not just one

[@Alina_Schmidt]

⁠This video by cecilily gives the context to make that make perfect sence: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5O8iIR_mqaId80feature=shared

[@tay-lore]

Given all of the engineering redundancies on the Shinkansen, they'll likely have a perfectly safe operation record forever, with standard proper maintenance.

[@timothystamm3200]

Which they do because, why wouldn't you? Looks at Germany and the North American Class 1 Freight Railroads.

[@sonoda944]

Japan is sometimes perfect example of "why fix shit if it already works"

[@hedgehog3180]

This isn't really unusual for high speed rail networks, there have only been 5 deadly accidents involving high speed rail in the entire world and 3 were in China. The French, Italian, Swedish, Morrocan, Spanish and Russian systems can all also boast of having a perfect safety record. High speed rail makes the safety of all other forms of transport look like a joke by comparison, even as it catches up to air in terms of total annual passengers.

[@Reanimator999]

The thing about "crazy" trains in Japan is that they're primarily designed to boost tourism oin their service area. In rural places, private Japanese rail companies have either shut down or cut down the train services due to low demand and shrinking population. Also many common Japanese people cannot afford Shinkansen as the same as air travel due to their surprisingly "high" cost. Sometimes it's cheaper to fly than riding Shinkansen for long distance domestic travel in Japan. Among tight-wad small and mid-size Japanese businesses, they do their domestic business travel with cheap overnight busses rather than Shinkansen as it is hard to write off as business expense.

[@walawala-fo7ds]

Thanks for the insight. So many westerners assume high speed rail will be cheaper than driving or flying. There is a lot of don't ask don't tell in urbanist KZbin that is borderline dishonest

[@michaeltsui3435]

@@walawala-fo7ds Its probably still cheaper - just subsidized by other means.

[@hedgehog3180]

@@walawala-fo7ds I mean that's because it usually is. Japan in this case is really the odd one out and it's probably a result of JR having a near monopoly while being a private company. However in Europe high speed rail is almost always cheaper than flying while also being faster.

[@garfieldandfriends1]

22:28 Surprise Pikachu train mentioned 😂

[@rocketgarden8389]

Amazing video. I loved all the trains and now I want to go to Japan. Also, that transition i to the sponsor was amazing 🤩

[@luenriqu]

This video is one of the bests in its kind... huge congrats!!

[@mrxman581]

This is so fantastic! I have to go to Japan and ride some of these wonderful trains. Thank you so much for this. It was eye opening from an Angeleno in California.

[@starrwulfe]

Also- thank you for riding through Kesenuma on the pikachu train. I covered the inaugural run back in 2012 after the 311 quake. The whole Tohoku area needs for everyone to know it’s still in recovery mode and would appreciate the visits and stays in the region.

[@nathanielbyrne1132]

I love how much dedication has gone into designing the interior of these trains. Japan is on another level, also... you know what we need... Capyabaras swimming in lemons!

[@EnnuinerDog]

Canada: we can't build HSR in our most populous region because it is too frivolous and expensive Japan: here's a Hello Kitty themed Shinkansen

[@TheDreamRiver]

I always check to see if I can catch a special/themed/decorated train whenever I travel to Japan. I haven’t done a trip that focus on special/themed/decorated trains though. Your video got me excited. What an adventure. Wow.

[@BB_Sebring]

5:00 This was also the case on the now defunct Evangelion Shinkansen (same model of train, but with Eva characters and theming). I believe this was done so that people disinterested in the train's theme wouldn't have to deal with it and could enjoy a muted experience or just a normal car instead. Meanwhile us foreigners actively seek out these trains

[@hedgehog3180]

Evangelion also just has an absurd media to merchandise ratio.

[@archie4oz]

It's not just the same model, it's actually the same train.

[@GarfieldRex]

I'm truly envious of these trains 😭😭 we don't even have a single line here in Colombia. After visiting Italy and being on the high speed trains, normal teains and metro lines, I have not stopped thinking about trains.

[@Kamodomon]

Wild to see trains adapt to the different types of needs people have. Just awesome to see.

[@apacheglider]

no more "hello kitty train smoking room" ? XD I laughed so hard

[@what-four-heavenly-kings]

発音が綺麗でリスニング教材に最適

[@57thorns]

I just love the fact that Shinkansen never really got a name, the project designation kind of just stuck.

[@arkynkueh]

Actually each line has its own name, eg Tokyo to Osaka is the Tokaido Shinkansen.

[@RainbowGin]

This was an awesome video. I like to say Im a big fan of trains but I had no idea that these fun trains where a thing! Thank you so much!

[@kansaibeyond]

As someone who lived in Japan for a long time and is kinda a train nerd, you did a great job covering some of the trains and the details during your short trip. It's great to see someone not just talk about the trains but also its purpose and usage.

[@jannecapelle_art]

oh god. is there some way i can beam this video directly into the heads of the german DB execs...??? its kind of crazy how our national stereotype is still often "punctuality" 😭😭 at this point, we're happy if the train isnt straight up not coming at all...

[@Sacto1654]

The problem with Deutsche Bahn's high-speed trains is that they have to get and off dedicated high-speed lines, not run on exclusively dedicated high speed lines like the Shinkansen. That tends to cause a lot of delays. But somehow, the French SNCF avoided the problem keeping the running on conventional tracks before getting on the high-speed line as little as possible.

[@zeugundso]

well, look at how much the german goverment traditionally spent on rail infrastructure... for the last decades it was only around 55€ per capita per year, and only in the last couple of years it more than doubled to around 120€. Still a far cry from the 450€ Switzerland spends per capita but at least its no longer astmathic

[@anirudh_s17]

that was my first thought lol

[@SomePotato]

Don't blame DB, blame the government. DB is 100% state-owned and funding has been abysmal ever since this faux-privatization started in the 90s..

[@Alina_Schmidt]

@@zeugundso ​​⁠ Yes, but I‘d say germany has to go above the 450€ of switzerland for quite a while. Just to make up for the damage from underinvesting for years. Accumulative damage. The amount of money the deutsche Bahn asked for wasn‘t even thaaat much, but was still cut.

[@robertnobles8189]

10:48 missed the opportunity to drop “Not just bikes” casually into the script.😅

[@alastairhewitt380]

I love how when you were playing pokemon as a kid it felt like you were transported to some faraway fairytale and when you grow up you realise that is literally just how japan is haha

[@odorikakeru]

3:30 There used to be a bar service on some of the older Shinkansen trains, but they were closed long ago, and the last train that had them equipped was retired a couple of years ago. So even the evidence that they used to be there is now mostly gone.

[@Sacto1654]

In Japan, due to its very high population density in many parts of the country, they had to build out their train networks just to get people around. If you look at the Kantō Plain (Tokyo area) or the Keihanshin region (Osaka/Kyoto/Nara/Kobe), you really do need a massive train and subway network because of the large numbers of people in the area. A reason why Japan decided to build the Shinkansen was that the conventional train line between Tokyo and Osaka was already running at capacity by the early 1950's. It did help that JNR built the original Tokaidō Shinkansen line using tunnels already built for a planned high speed rail project that was partially constructed during World War II.

[@alexisnadal1486]

Also right after Tokaido Shinkansen was build, the prediction of its capacity issue in Tokaido Shinkansen started the maglev Chuo line project. Tokaido Shinkansen with 1964 technology has been max capacity for a long, long time.

[@Sacto1654]

@@alexisnadal1486 The issue by the 1980's: Shinkansen trains with its top speed of 210 km/h were not fast enough to accommodate more ridership. Hence the introduction of the 270 km/h speed 300 Series train set in 1992, which has lead to today's N700S train sets on the Tokaidō and San'yō Shinkansen with speeds to up 300 km/h.

[@TheBaldr]

The larger and less populated a country becomes, the less economical sense trains make. It is cheaper to fly between Osaka and Tokyo. Even if they finish the Shinkansen all the way to Sapporo, it is about less than a fourth of the price to fly from Osaka to New Chitose then take a Shinkansen. The Tokaido Shinkansen is the old HSR in the world and well established. Imagine the cost of having to build a new High Speed Rail in a large country, it will require Government money and less than 10% of the population can afford tickets. Pretty much stealing from the poor to give to the rich.

[@alexisnadal1486]

@@TheBaldr I assume you don’t know much about the rail road network of Japan and how it works. Hokkaido Shinkansen’s main reason isn’t the connection between Tokyo and Sapporo. More to do with between Sendai (Miyagi; the most populous city in Tohoku) and Hakodate then Sapporo within three and 1/2 hours or less, businesses between these cities will be changed dramatically. Also airplanes will never be able to match the capabilities of trains. Tokaido Shinkansen moves more than 1,200 passengers every five mins in a rush hour. That is equivalent of taking off more than 3 and 1/2 airplanes every five mins which is physically impossible. There are so many places in the world need high speed train network and local extension of public transportation systems in larger countries. US is the most desperate one. Imagine you can commute between New York and Washington DC in less than 90 mins or New York to Philadelphia in less than 60 mins while you are doing some work done or having breakfast or even sleeping until your destination… How much stress, time, and resources (petro) will be reduced by just not flying or driving.

[@MarianneExJohnson]

5:53 that futuristic looking train actually kinda reminds me of the Dutch "Mat 46" trains, which were introduced in 1949. The last of them were retired in 1983, but I remember seeing them occasionally when I was a kid. Everything old is new again!

[@muco903]

Thanks for your great video. I have ridden these kinds of trains such as watching drift-ice train, enjoying footbath train, eating fresh fruit cake train, visiting mysterious unreachable stations train... and I really love them. These specialty trains also have the important aspect of supporting regional railroads, which are chronically in the red.

[@JBabyLeather]

This is one if my favorite videos of yours because trains can be fun. And that pikachu train is everything!

[@Bremberry]

"Regarding the end of payphone service: payphone service has ended." Thanks for clearing that up, I guess.

[@Santiago-lb5md]

1:41 Yes, they have. There has been two derailments in JR East jurisdiction in the last 30 years, both caused by earthquakes, thankfully there haven't been any fatalities tho

[@jonathanwine4235]

19:30 aren’t you usually the goofy guy with a tripod filming trains? 😂

[@muaddib7705]

Love being this early to an NJB video. Great video! As always!

[@TheNicestPig]

I have always been grateful for our railway workers and employees. I think there are not many countries in the world where you can take a day trip during the weekend with friends from my fairly remote prefecture to Tokyo and back with little planning, traffic, or any hassle.

[@michaelhuang2477]

The trains in Japan are well thought of and well organized. Coming back from my trip to Tokyo, I miss the transportation system of Tokyo. We need this kind of infrastructure and investment in our cities

[@gayahithwen]

The state of US railways are incredibly frustrating. Like, in the 19th century, they could see it was the way of the future, they spent the 1860s building the Transcontinental Railway... and then, in the 20th century, they just abandoned it all and started investing in car infrastructure instead. And then they started actively decommissioning railroads, so places aren't even connected by rail any more. A while back, I tried to look up how long it would take to travel from the PNW to Texas by train (specifically, Seattle-Dallas), and the answer was something like "five days, fourteen train changes". Meanwhile, just googling a similar distance in Europe (I picked Barcelona-Berlin) can be done in less than 20 hours with two train changes, and that's crossing multiple international boarders. Looking at the highspeed network in China, I picked Huaihua-Beijing for a similar distance, and it's

[@Yoshi92]

Excellent video. Hope you gonna do more Japan videos. Gonna watch em all! 💯

[@DownieLive]

Ahhhh you beat me to it! I’m jealous! 👏🏼 Maybe we should ride a train TOGETHER sometime??

[@NotJustBikes]

lol! That would be a good time for sure. We need a Nebula train car.

[@blankname5177]

1:06 The one piece is real! I didn't know NJB is a one piece fan. Love to see it!

[@ootb-builds]

I'm very happy to watch this video of your featuring some JP trains. Call me corny, but it brings me tears in my eyes as sadly, I don't see myself being able to experience that kind of thing for my own as I don't see myself being able to visit Japan anytime soon due to shitty life problems and circumstances :(

[@kaihatkeinenaccount]

"Trains that make people happy." That is very good phrasing.

[@raycheshire5581]

Informative and entertaining. Thank you! Brutally honest guidelines too.

[@amistrophy]

8:04 Adam nothing when he hears the japanese put self contained LUXURY PODS on a TRAIN:

[@Zalis116]

Stupid train tech onii-sans, always trying to reinvent the autonomous pod.

[@riku3716]

"They are designed ss self contained pods." Adam something: PODS!!?

[@beskamir5977]

Give it a few more years and tech bros will stumble their way upon the brilliant idea of putting pods in a train. It'll really be quite profound. lmao.

[@MissingRaptor]

As someone who gets motion sickness travelling backwards, I love the side facing and swivelling seats! They're an excellent solution for my issues. Too bad the trains here don't have them

[@chrisseas6725]

Great video! Can't wait for my trip to Japan! Any plans for a trip to Ireland soon? Would love you to experience the majesty of Irish PT

[@IvoGrissom]

Was not expecting to hear "Hello Kitty Theatre" today, much less in a video about trains.

[@jyeo5556]

Thank you for showing us the luxury compartments and premium diamond green cars!

[@nfboogaard]

I rode a japanese train where the passengers reverse all the seat's backs because the train reversed direction 😊

[@Halfpipesaur]

Do passengers have to manually reverse the seats? In the trains I rode on the seats would automatically turn 180 degrees, once the train reached the terminal.

[@nfboogaard]

@@Halfpipesaur manually 😊

[@Moonstone-Redux]

@@Halfpipesaur Depends on the train. The Odakyu Romancecar VSE 50000 that goes between Hakone-yumoto and Shinjuku uses automatically turning seats (I have a video on my channel) though I remembered that the Tobu SPACIA (not to be confused with the newer SPACIA X) that goes between Tobu Asakusa and Tobu Nikko or Kinugawa-onsen has manual seats that can be spun around by the passenger so that passengers can face one another.

[@handlingitwell]

The people filming at 19:33 were most likely "電車オタク" or "train nerds" who sometimes go a little crazy over filming trains all over Japan.

[@kugastravel5180]

Welcome to Japan~

[@Hans-gb4mv]

It's one of the reasons why I love going to Japan. I've done a few of the special trains already and yes, some are indeed available at no extra cost, just some additional travel time to allow you to see more of the countryside of Japan.

[@nestorclinefeld9323]

This is amazing. Thanks for the great content!

[@Alephcat]

I'm amazed you managed to resist calling it the Pika Choo Choo

[@mogeleo]

Japan does have something similar to the Norwegian ski train that you mentioned in the video. During the winter, JR East operates a Shinkansen that goes directly from Tokyo to the ski resort in Yuzawa: the entrance to the ski range is literally right outside the turnstiles.

[@LeonidJP92]

Japan just being Japan.

[@Marconius6]

The Shinkansen runs so frequently you can actually just wait for the next one if you missed one or it's too crowded or something. If you don't reserve a seat (which you usually don't have to for some cars) you can pretty much just board any train during the day.