2017 No.20

Railway Journey across Japan

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COOL Trains ART Trains
Pictures of train culture

Photos: Nankai Electric Railway Co., Ltd., West Japan Railway Company, East Japan Railway Company, The Pokémon Company, and Mashima Railway Pictures Co., Ltd.

POKÉMON with YOU Train

Meet the world-famous characters born in Japan

©2016 Pokémon. ©1995-2016 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.
Pokémon is a registered trademark of Nintendo, Creatures Inc., GAME FREAK inc.

With the cooperation of the POKÉMON with YOU campaign, which aims to help support recovery following the Great East Japan Earthquake, this train running on the Ofunato Line in the Tohoku region features the famous Pokémon game characters. The train is like a dream for children, with a seated carriage featuring illustrations of Pokémon and a playroom carriage where they can play freely.

Rapi:t

A striking form combining strength and speed

This Nankai Electric Railway limited express links the center of Osaka with Kansai International Airport. The outside of the train is done in a futuristic retro style and the strong design evokes the image of a steam locomotive in the streamlined shape of an aircraft. The blue carriages leave a lasting impression on travelers.

Hanayome Noren

Experience the traditional “harmony and beauty” of Japan

This sightseeing train runs along the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. The red and black colored exterior was conceived in the image of Wajima-nuri lacquerware, a traditional craft of the Hokuriku region. The overlapping pattern is of Japanese-style clothing known as Kaga-Yuzen. The interior of the train offers travelers the chance to rediscover the harmony and beauty of Hokuriku thanks to an aisle designed as stepping stones resembling a Japanese garden, walls depicting the gold leaf of Kanazawa, and individual cabin partitions finished in a yuzen-zome dye style.

GENBI SHINKANSEN

Appreciating modern art while on the move

*Photographic works inside a perspective drawing by ©mika ninagawa, courtesy of Tomio Koyama Gallery

This “moving museum” runs on the Joetsu Shinkansen Line. The exterior resembles a painter’s canvas and features images of fireworks in Nagaoka on a jet-black base designed by photographer and film director Ninagawa Mika. The interior of the train displays works that include paintings, sculptures, and photographs by six different artists.