Revered by rail enthusiasts as the most beautiful train ever built, the Shinkansen 0 Series were the first generation “bullet trains” built to run on Japan's Tōkaidō Shinkansen high-speed line.
Revered by rail enthusiasts as the most beautiful train ever built, the Shinkansen 0 Series were the first generation “bullet trains” built to run on Japan's Tōkaidō Shinkansen high-speed line. On October 1st 1964, it began service - just in time for the first Tokyo Olympics.
Previously, the conventional Limited Express service took six hours and 40 minutes from Tokyo to Osaka - but with the launch of the Shinkansen 0 series, the journey took just four hours. By 1965, they got it down to a speedy 3 hours and ten minutes.
Back then, the Shinkansen trains were white with a blue stripe running along the windows and bottom. Today, Japan’s bullet trains come in a range of designs - there’s even a Hello Kitty Shinkansen - because of course there is.
