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Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
What to do if you forget your camera or other belongings on the shinkansen
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 'Ahhh, that was fun!' said our Japanese-language reporter Natsuno Futon, sitting down at her desk the morning after coming back from a research trip for her upcoming project. As she fired up her PC and got ready to start putting the article together, she grabbed her backpack and reached in to pull out her camera, so that she could transfer the photos she'd taken while in the field. And it was only then that she realized she'd lost her camera. Yes, Natsuno's fancy new mirrorless camera, which she'd just bought the other day and was so excited to get to use, was gone, and since its list of features doesn't include an autonomous free-roaming mode, that means that she'd left it someplace. Thinking back, she clearly remembered using during her shinkansen ride home, but couldn't recall touching it again after that, meaning the most likely scenario was that she'd forgotten to stick it back in her backpack before she got off the bullet train. Now that she was pretty sure what had happened, the next step was to figure out how to get her camera back. Generally, there are two places you want to report your lost property to: the police, and whoever manages the facility or location where you think you lost it. For the police, Japan's National Police Agency website has a list of links to prefectural police lost and found departments, in English here and Japanese here. There's also additional information about the process, in English, on their website here and here. Since Natsuno had gotten off the shinkansen at Tokyo Station, she filled out a report with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, following the link from the NPA page and providing information about what she'd lost and where/when she thought she'd lost it. Next, Natsuno needed to contact Japan Railway Company, the shinkansen operator. However, here's something important to remember: while most JR lines in the Tokyo area are operated by JR East/East Japan Railway Company, the Tokaido Shinkansen, the shinkansen line which connects Tokyo with Kyoto and Osaka, is an exception. The whole Tokaido Shinkansen is administered by JR Central/Central Japan Railway Company (also known as JR Tokai), so they're who you need to contact about lost property on that part of the bullet train network, and their lost property forms can be found in English here and in Japanese here. Meanwhile JR East's English guidance page for passengers with lost items can be found here, JR West's here, and JR Hokkaido's here. JR Kyushu doesn't appear to have an English lost and found page, but its Japanese-language page is here and directs users to its Line chat. Natsuno filled out and submitted her report to JR Central, and about three hours later, she got a politely worded email response regretfully informing her that, at the present time, her camera had not been found. However, it did leave a sliver of hope, telling her that they would continue looking for it and contact her if it turned up. As Natsuno kept her fingers firmly crossed, she took solace remembering the time she'd found a child's bag that had been dropped on the sidewalk in front of an elementary school, and turned it in to office. She thought back about the time she'd turned in a 100-yen coin someone had left behind at a coin locker, apparently not realizing they'd get their money back when they returned the key. She even reminisced about the time she'd found someone's grocery shopping list wedged between two books on a library shelf, and had turned that in to the staff. After doing so many good deeds herself, surely Natsuno had built up enough karma to be rewarded the same way, right? And sure enough, later that day Natsuno got a second email from JR Central, this one telling her that the camera had been found. JR Central can mail recovered property back to owners, with the owner responsible for paying shipping fees on delivery. They also have a lost and found office at Tokyo Station, though, located outside the ticket gates of the Yaesu-chuo entrance, so Natsuno opted to pick it up there. You'll need to bring some form of photo ID with you, and you'll also need to provide a six-digit confirmation code that JR Central will provide you with when they contact you to tell you they've found your stuff. After waiting for the staff at the counter to reunite someone else with a bag that they'd left on the shinkansen, it was Natsuno's turn. After showing her ID, giving her confirmation code, and filling out and signing some paperwork, Natsuno and her camera (still inside its spiffy carrying case) were at last together again. So while it's never a good thing to realize you got off the shinkansen with fewer items than you got on with, don't panic if it happens to you. Photos ©SoraNews24 Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Shinkansen bullet trains adding semi-private booths on most popular travel route【Pics】 -- Tokaido Shinkansen ending in-train food/drink sales for all non-first-class-passenger cars -- Nozomi Shinkansen bullet train abolishes low-priced unreserved tickets during peak travel seasons External Link © SoraNews24
Asahi Shimbun
5 days ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Same circuit board used in two bullet train decouplings
The decoupled Hayabusa and Komachi bullet trains in Tokyo's Arakawa Ward on March 6 (Yasumasa Kikuchi) East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) has revealed that two recent decouplings of Tohoku Shinkansen mid-journey involved different Komachi trains that used the same electrical circuit board, which may have triggered the malfunctions. Following the first decoupling in September, JR East determined that a small metal fragment left over from the manufacturing process may have caused a false unlocking signal by entering the coupler's control switch. In response, company engineers inspected all 96 train units capable of coupled operations and cleared any metal fragments. They also removed parts behind the control switch for modifications to prevent a recurrence. One of these modified parts--a circuit board from the first train malfunction--was later installed in the train that experienced the second decoupling in March. The circuit board in question has been removed and is now undergoing a thorough investigation to determine whether it was responsible for both decoupling mishaps. In the second incident, officials confirmed that the lever designed to unlock the coupler repeatedly failed. However, the exact cause for the malfunction remains unknown. The recent discovery involving the circuit board has prompted JR East to re-examine whether the first incident was actually triggered by a loose metal fragment. In addition to its own investigation, the company is cooperating with a probe by the Japan Transport Safety Board, which has classified the incidents as serious. Along with safety concerns, the malfunctions inconvenienced hundreds of thousands of passengers as hundreds of trains were canceled. Shortly after the suspension of operations that followed the second incident, JR East resumed coupled train operations using temporary preventive measures. It installed additional metal components designed to physically prevent the coupler from disengaging trains, even in the event of an electrical signal malfunction. JR East President Yoichi Kise has announced plans to introduce a permanent double-locking mechanism in the safety system to prevent mid-operation decoupling.
SoraNews24
5 days ago
- SoraNews24
What to do if you forget your camera or other belongings on the Shinkansen
We get an unexpected lesson in bullet train property retrieval procedures. 'Ahhh, that was fun!' said our Japanese-language reporter Natsuno Futon, sitting down at her desk the morning after coming back from a research trip for her upcoming project. As she fired up her PC and got ready to start putting the article together, she grabbed her backpack and reached in to pull out her camera, so that she could transfer the photos she'd taken while in the field. And it was only then that she realized she'd lost her camera. Yes, Natsuno's fancy new mirrorless camera, which she'd just bought the other day and was so excited to get to use, was gone, and since its list of features doesn't include an autonomous free-roaming mode, that means that she'd left it someplace. Thinking back, she clearly remembered using during her Shinkansen ride home, but couldn't recall touching it again after that, meaning the most likely scenario was that she'd forgotten to stick it back in her backpack before she got off the bullet train. Now that she was pretty sure what had happened, the next step was to figure out how to get her camera back. Generally, there are two places you want to report your lost property to: the police, and whoever manages the facility or location where you think you lost it. For the police, Japan's National Police Agency website has a list of links to prefectural police lost and found departments, in English here and Japanese here. There's also additional information about the process, in English, on their website here and here. Since Natsuno had gotten off the Shinkansen at Tokyo Station, she filled out a report with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, following the link from the NPA page and providing information about what she'd lost and where/when she thought she'd lost it. Next, Natsuno needed to contact JR/Japan Railway Company, the Shinkansen operator. However, here's something important to remember: while most JR lines in the Tokyo area are operated by JR East/East Japan Railway Company, the Tokkaido Shinkansen, the Shinkansen line which connects Tokyo with Kyoto and Osaka, is an exception. The whole Tokkaido Shinkansen is administered by JR Central/Central Japan Railway Company (also known as JR Tokai), so they're who you need to contact about lost property on that part of the bullet train network, and their lost property forms can be found in English here and in Japanese here. Meanwhile JR East's English guidance page for passengers with lost items can be found here, JR West's here, and JR Hokkaido's here. JR Kyushu doesn't appear to have an English lost and found page, but its Japanese-language page is here and directs users to its Line chat. Natsuno filled out and submitted her report to JR Central, and about three hours later, she got a politely worded email response regretfully informing her that, at the present time, her camera had not been found. However, it did leave a sliver of hope, telling her that they would continue looking for it and contact her if it turned up. As Natsuno kept her fingers firmly crossed, she took solace remembering the time she'd found a child's bag that had been dropped on the sidewalk in front of an elementary school, and turned it in to office. She thought back about the time she'd turned in a 100-yen coin someone had left behind at a coin locker, apparently not realizing they'd get their money back when they returned the key. She even reminisced about the time she'd found someone's grocery shopping list wedged between two books on a library shelf, and had turned that in to the staff. After doing so many good deeds herself, surely Natsuno had built up enough karma to be rewarded the same way, right? And sure enough, later that day Natsuno got a second email from JR Central, this one telling her that the camera had been found! JR Central can mail recovered property back to owners, with the owner responsible for paying shipping fees on delivery. They also have a lost and found office at Tokyo Station, though, located outside the ticket gates of the Yaesu-chuo entrance, so Natsuno opted to pick it up there. You'll need to bring some form of photo ID with you, and you'll also need to provide a six-digit confirmation code that JR Central will provide you with when they contact you to tell you they've found your stuff. After waiting for the staff at the counter to reunite someone else with a bag that they'd left on the Shinkansen, it was Natsuno's turn. After showing her ID, giving her confirmation code, and filling out and signing some paperwork, Natsuno and her camera (still inside its spiffy carrying case) were at last together again! So while it's never a good thing to realize you got off the Shinkansen with fewer items than you got on with, don't panic if it happens to you. Photos ©SoraNews24 Screenshot: National Police Agency ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Japan Today
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Today
Japan's bullet train upholstery chairs bring shinkansen style to your living room
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 Yes, the shinkansen is very, very fast. That's why they call it the 'bullet train,' after all. It's not just the speed that makes the shinkansen a joy to be on, though, but also the relaxing atmosphere, the smoothness of the ride, the soothing tones of the 'Welcome to the shinkansen' audio announcement, and the soft seats. Now Japanese furniture maker Emoor is offering the relaxing comfort of a shinkansen ride even if you're not going anywhere, with a pair of chairs inspired by those found on the high-speed trains. Specifically, these chairs take their inspiration from the chairs onboard JR East's E7-type carriages on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line, which connects Tokyo and Kanazawa. Both use the same upholstery as the shinkansen's actual seats, with the red-and-gray pattern matching the material used in the standard-class cars and the blue fabric identical to that of the first-class Green Car seats. ▼ They also both feature those classy little headrest cover cloths. The frames aren't exact copies of the shinkansen seats, however. Instead the red chair is based on Emoor's 'Leon' chair model, and the blue on the company's 'Kanata' design. So while you're getting the authentic Shinkansen experience in terms of fabric feel and aesthetics, you also get an expanded range of reclining, height, and headrest angle options. ▼ Fittingly, the Green Car-inspired chair has more height adjustment options than the normal-class one. This is actually Emoor's second batch of Shinkansen-style chairs, as the original stock sold out. As of May 20, though, orders are once again open through JR East's JRE Mall online store here and the official Emoor e-store here, with the regular-class chair priced at 65,000 yen and the Green Car version 70,000 yen, with shipping slated for late July. Source, images: PR Times Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Shinkansen bullet trains adding semi-private booths on most popular travel route【Pics】 -- JR East announces awesomely cheap one-day all-you can ride pass, Shinkansen included -- What's the rule for where to put strollers on Japan's Shinkansen bullet trains? External Link © SoraNews24
Asahi Shimbun
23-05-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
Okutama retreat blends luxury and community revival hopes
A new boutique hotel that blends rustic charm with modern comfort is set to open on May 25 in Okutama, a mountainous town on the western edge of Tokyo. Satologue is a renovated old farmhouse nestled beside the scenic Tamagawa river that aims to reinvigorate the local community by offering travelers an immersive escape into nature and rural culture. Getting to the hotel from central Tokyo takes less than two hours. Its accommodation wing, completed after the successful launch of its restaurant and sauna last year, features just four twin rooms, each around 35 square meters. Rooms were designed to feature minimalistic white walls and vaulted, cocoon-like ceilings, with each space accented by the calming scent of Japanese cypress. Guests can take in sweeping views of the river gorge from the comfort of their rooms, bathtubs or dining tables without stepping out onto the terrace. Seasonal cuisine is also emphasized by highlighting regional delicacies such as farmed "yamame" trout, heirloom vegetables like Jisuke potatoes and "udo" (Japanese spikenard), and premium Japanese beef. The hotel also offers hands-on experiences, from wasabi harvesting and tasting tours to gardening in fields on the property and exploring a biotope inhabited by native amphibians such as the Japanese fire belly newt. COMMUNITY IN MIND The hotel's operator, Ensen Marugoto, is partly funded by East Japan Railway Co. (JR East). The operator's vision is to integrate the hotel into the community, creating an experience where the entire town feels like part of the stay. 'We recommend you to step outside the hotel and discover what the entire region has to offer,' said Takumi Akiyama, general manager of Satologue. 'Even enjoying a dish with local vegetables supports the community and puts a smile on a farmer's face.' Satologue is located a 20-minute walk from Hatonosu Station on JR Ome Line. The scenic route to the hotel showcases mountain views and clusters of traditional homes, reflecting the project's concept of integrating the community into the guest experience. One night for two guests is 110,000 yen ($760), including meals and sauna access. Despite the premium price tag, the hotel is already fully booked for May, with demand especially high among Tokyo's 40-something professionals seeking a quick and cozy getaway close to home. 'Okutama offers the rare luxury of quiet, unspoiled nature within easy reach of the city,' said an Ensen Marugoto spokesperson. 'You don't need to hop on an express train and travel far. The value lies in that contrast.' MORE HOTELS TO COME With rural depopulation threatening many such communities, local leaders view Satologue as a model for regional revival. 'It would be great if more local residents could get involved in this kind of project,' said Okutama Mayor Nobumasa Morooka. Encouraged by the strong start, Ensen Marugoto plans to open five to eight similar converted farmhouse hotels along the Ome Line within the next five years. Their broader vision includes expanding to 30 locations along rural rail lines nationwide. 'Our goal is to help tourists feel connected to the local life and history of these places,' said company President Shunpei Shimada. 'We hope they feel as if they've found a second hometown.'
