International Railroad Discussion > Hello Kitty Shinkansen

I am speechless: http://www.jr-hellokittyshinkansen.jp
and the interior: https://kotaku.com/a-look-inside-the-hello-kitty-bullet-train-1826189480

ORNHOO Wrote:
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> I am speechless:
> http://www.jr-hellokittyshinkansen.jp
> and the interior:
> https://kotaku.com/a-look-inside-the-hello-kitty-b
> ullet-train-1826189480

It will start on the 30th of June for 3 month period between Shin-Osaka and Hakta.
It will make one round-trip. Class 500s Shinkanse had been modified by JR West.

The design will be here: https://response.jp/article/2018/03/14/307243.html

Hope this helps.

Hiroshi



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/18 19:16 by Hiroshi.

Didn't JAL have Hello Kitty themed jets for a while? Somehow I think I remember that.

John

Korigaoka1811 Wrote:
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> Didn't JAL have Hello Kitty themed jets for a
> while? Somehow I think I remember that.
>
> John

Also, EVA Air has one.

Hiroshi

Hahaha that's hilarious. There is a cult like obsession with Hello Kitty on this side of the globe even among adults.

Posted from Android

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?6,4168522

Why the above link? The concept is similar. Wrap the sleek 500 Series Shinkansen with a theme (cult classic anime, "Evangelion") and market it to attract specific type of people to ride the train.

JR West just finished running the Evangelion Shinkansen earlier this month, so they are readying a replacement. I'm surprised it's Hello Kitty, but other than that, their motivation isn't much of a surprise.

Both the Evangelion and Hello Kitty Shinkansens run on the same schedules, Kodama #730 eastbound and Kodama #741 westbound. The seats are easy to get for these trains so they are perfect for attracting people who want to joyride without dealing with the business travelers, tourists, and other passengers who are in a rush to go somewhere.

It's quite possible JR West is trying to make girls interested in trains. I've run into a good number of women railfans in Japan, so why not? There might be insinuation here that Japan is a weird place where extreme counter-culture stuff is promoted, but I don't think that's what's going on here. Our media (and TO members) don't seem to show interest in more mainstream train activities (moving art exhibit, foot bath and sake bar, countless "gourmet lunch" trains that are affordable, and so forth), so if that's what we choose to see, then...