Kyushu Shinkansen (Tsubame) Interior looking forward, Kumamoto
4-across Bent wood seats, recessed arm tables,well lit, and white uniforms make this the classiest shinkansen in Japan. At the moment, it only runs from Yatsushiro to Kagoshima, The connecting portion between Yatsushiro and Hakata is expected to be completed by 2012. It's a good thing that the interiors are so nice, because 69% of the length between Shin-Yatsushiro and Kagoshima-chuo is inside tunnels. I miss the dining car on the old Tsubame, though, which it lost when it became the shorter run Relay Tsubame between Hakata and Yatsushiro. It also allows JR Pass use unlike the Nozomi for xenophobes.
2013 update: This now runs all the way between Hakata and Shin-Kagoshima. The old Relay Tsubame cars are now the limited expresses between Hakata and Nagasaki.
Kyushu Shinkansen (Tsubame) Interior looking forward, Kumamoto
4-across Bent wood seats, recessed arm tables,well lit, and white uniforms make this the classiest shinkansen in Japan. At the moment, it only runs from Yatsushiro to Kagoshima, The connecting portion between Yatsushiro and Hakata is expected to be completed by 2012. It's a good thing that the interiors are so nice, because 69% of the length between Shin-Yatsushiro and Kagoshima-chuo is inside tunnels. I miss the dining car on the old Tsubame, though, which it lost when it became the shorter run Relay Tsubame between Hakata and Yatsushiro. It also allows JR Pass use unlike the Nozomi for xenophobes.
2013 update: This now runs all the way between Hakata and Shin-Kagoshima. The old Relay Tsubame cars are now the limited expresses between Hakata and Nagasaki.