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Mark Fujishige is a tour leader for InsideJapan. When he’s not taking groups around Japan, he loves hunting down anything limited edition – including trains. Here, he introduces the special Evangelion bullet train.
“Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound” it’s… the Evangelion Shinkansen?
In 2015 the Sanyo Shinkansen (“bullet train”) teamed up with Mr. Hideaki Anno, the Director of Evanglion, and Mr. Ikuto Yamashita, Evangelion’s mechanical designer, for an exciting collaboration. The project celebrates of the 40th anniversary of the completion of the Sanyo Shinkansen and the 20th anniversary of the start of the Evangelion television series. It seems appropriate that the extremely popular series and iconic transport come together on this special occasion.
Before we go any further though, I must be honest with you.
I’m not an Evangelion fan.
I have absolutely nothing against it, but I’m just… more of an Oishinbo kind of guy.
For those who are unfamiliar with either the Evangelion or Oishinbo series, the former is set in post-apocalypse Tokyo, filled with complex, emotional and thought-provoking storylines, while the latter centres around a somewhat lazy newspaper reporter who loves food. Far from giving either series any form of justice, I encourage you to seek them out and make your own judgements. Anyways, back to the topic at hand: for those who know me, my preference will come as no surprise.
Equally as unsurprising would be my moth-to-a-flame attraction to (most) things gentei, or “limited edition”. KitKats, soft-serve ice cream, restaurant lunch specials (you see why I prefer Oishinbo?), and trains – among other things. Yes, trains. I’m no trainspotter by any means, and I cannot tell you what the gauge of the rails are, nor name the models of the carriages and their distinguishing features. I just know that I like them.
Growing up, travelling by train was not an option. They simply didn’t exist where I lived. So when I came to Japan, I was taken by all the different kinds of trains and, to this day, always enjoy riding one. So when I heard that there was going to be a special Evangelion-themed Shinkansen in service for a limited period of time, all my buttons were pushed. I had to see and ride it for myself.
The Evangelion Shinkansen makes one round-trip journey a day from Fukuoka’s Hakata Station to Osaka’s Shin-Osaka Station, when in operation. It operates as a Kodama train, which is the equivalent of the “local,” stopping at each Shinkansen station between Hakata and Shin-Osaka. Cars 1 and 2 have the specially decorated and designed interiors; the rest of the cars do not. Cars 1 and 2 are also free seating cars, so lining up a little early to get the seat of your choice is a good idea.
If you too are interested in riding it for yourself, it seems that your window of opportunity may be open a little longer. Initially, it was scheduled to run from November 2015 through April-May 2017. However, according to the official website, it seems that the period of service might be extended until spring of 2018. Currently, the calendar show the train running until the end of March 2017, then taking a two-month hiatus for maintenance before restarting in late May. More dates may be released soon. As always, best to double check to make sure of the operational dates. You can do this (in English) at the official website: http://www.500type-eva.jp/en/.
Now to try and get a seat on the train that serves Chinese medicine meals. Watch this space!
If you’re planning a trip to Japan and would like to ride the Evangelion bullet train, have a chat with one of our travel consultants and they’ll work it into your plans. Our Manga & Anime Self-Guided Adventure is a great place to start for anyone interested in Japan’s cartoon culture!