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New Japan bullet train links Tokyo with ancient Kanazawa
The first train of the new Hokuriku shinkansen or bullet train, bound for Tokyo, runs near Shin-Takaoka Station in Takaoka, Toyama prefecture, March 14, 2015, in this aerial view photo taken by Kyodo. The new bullet train service, linking Tokyo to the old castle town Kanazawa in northwestern Japan and the Hokuriku region, started on Saturday. REUTERS/Kyodo
Operating at speeds of to 260 kilometers (160 miles) per hour, it cuts travel time to Kanazawa, in the central region facing the Sea of Japan (East Sea), by more than an hour to just two hours and 28 minutes.
Japan already operates bullet train lines from northern Aomori through to southwestern Kyushu.
But the coastal Hokuriku region was not connected with the network, and travelers had to switch trains or fly between both sides of the main island of Honshu.
With the final section to Kanazawa now completed more than 40 years after it was planned, the coastal region hopes to attract more tourists and businesses.
Japan launched its first Shinkansen service between Tokyo and Osaka in 1964, the year of the Tokyo Olympics. — Agence France-Presse
