As of June 30, 2018, a shinkansen (bullet train) designed in collaboration with Hello Kitty is now operating! It’s recommended not only for Hello Kitty fans, but also for anyone traveling in Western Japan. Discover all the features and wonders of this new shinkansen!
A Hello Kitty-themed shinkansen bullet train is unveiled at JR Shin Osaka station, in Osaka, western Japan, Saturday, June 30, 2018. The special shinkansen had its inaugural round trip Saturday between Osaka and Fukuoka, connecting Japan’s west and south until the end of September. The stylish train is painted pink and white, showcasing Hello Kitty images and trademark ribbons from flooring to seat covers and windows. (Kyodo News via AP)
Japan’s train operator has unveiled its new Hello Kitty-themed Shinkansen bullet train. Aimed to revitalise travel to local areas in western Japan, the train is entirely furnished with Hello Kitty decorations. Hello Kitty has been a Japanese icon since it launched 44 years ago and is now a multi-billion dollar global brand.
Thanks to a collaboration between JR West Japan and this famous character, the Hello Kitty Shinkansen was created. Decorated with a pink ribbon pattern, this cute shinkansen started operating on June 30, 2018 (Sat) between Shin-Osaka Station in Kansai and Hakata Station in Kyushu.
Go on a Journey With Hello Kitty!
The interior of the train is super cute as well. For example, the 2nd coach that’s dubbed the “Kawaii! Room” is furnished in a gorgeous Hello Kitty style. There’s also a photo spot where you can take a selfie with Hello Kitty, so it will feel as if you’re actually traveling with her.
Lots of Tourism Information!
As if that weren’t enough, the train also provides plenty of tourism-related services. Head to the 1st coach called “Hello! Plaza” to get a limited-time introduction to the various events and tourist spots that each part of Western Japan has to offer. From July to September, the theme will be the prefectures of Tottori and Shimane, while from October, it’ll be dedicated to Yamaguchi Prefecture. There’s a space where you can purchase local specialties and even a video corner where you can learn more about these areas!
This is just the beginning of what the train offers. For instance, the train chime has been changed to an original melody. Don’t let it escape your ears!
How to Board the Train
If you want to travel by the Hello Kitty Shinkansen, just purchase your Super (Limited) Express Seat Ticket and Basic Fare Ticket as you would do for a regular shinkansen. Non-reserved seats are available as well. Other than ticket vending machines and JR ticket offices (Midori-no-Madoguchi) at the station, you may also book them online.
Operating Days & Times
Here’s the timetable of departures and arrivals.
▼Kodama 730▼ Departing from Hakata: 6:40 am – Arriving in Shin-Osaka: 11:13 am
▼Kodama 741▼ Departing from Shin-Osaka: 11:29 am – Arriving in Hakata: 3:38 pm
The train will be operating every day from June 30 (Sat) to September 30 (Sun), with some exceptions*. The operating schedule from October 2018 has yet to be confirmed.
*July 18 – 20, August 8 – 10, September 3 – 5, September 26 – 28
*Depending on the operating status, the positions of the coaches may change without advance notice.
More Unmissable Features!
While the Hello Kitty Shinkansen is in service, several events are scheduled. For example, a Hello Kitty Shinkansen cafe will open in Hakata Station. Enjoy its original interior design and unique menu items. In the same station, there will also be a temporary “antenna shop” (a shop promoting regional products) where you can buy plenty of original goods that are perfect as souvenirs. Moreover, the Chugoku JR Bus will wear a temporary wrap to match the Hello Kitty Shinkansen. Information on other events can be found on the official website, so do check it out every once in a while.
If you’re traveling around Japan, don’t miss this chance to travel with Hello Kitty in a super cute train. You’ll build memories that you’ll never forget!
Japanese people are known for their intelligence, strong health, politeness, and wellness. But why is this nation so unique and different from the rest of the world? they have an incredibly cool education system!
In Japanese schools, the students don’t take any exams until they reach grade four (the age of 10). They just take small tests. It is believed that the goal for the first 3 years of school is not to judge the child’s knowledge or learning, but to establish good manners and to develop their character. Children are taught to respect other people and to be gentle to animals and nature. They also learn how to be generous, compassionate, and empathetic. Besides this, the kids are taught qualities like grit, self-control, and justice.
While most schools and universities in the world begin their academic year in September or October, in Japan it is April that marks the start of the academic and business calendar.The first day of school often coincides with one of the most beautiful natural phenomena — the time of cherry blossom. The academic year is divided into 3 trimesters: April 1 — July 20, September 1 — December 26, and January 7 — March 25. Japanese students get 6 weeks of holidays during the summer. They also have two-week breaks in winter and spring.
Most Japanese schools do not employ janitors or custodians. The students clean their school themselves.
In Japanese schools, students have to clean the classrooms, cafeterias, and even toilets all by themselves. When cleaning, students are divided into small groups and assigned tasks that rotate throughout the year. The Japanese education system believes that requiring students to clean up after themselves teaches them to work in a team and help each other. Besides, spending their own time and effort sweeping, mopping, and wiping makes kids respect their own work and the work of others.
In Japanese schools, school lunch is provided on a standardized menu and is eaten in the classroom.
The Japanese education system does its best to ensure that the students eat healthy and balanced meals. In public elementary and junior high schools, the lunch for students is cooked according to a standardized menu developed not only by qualified chefs but also by health care professionals. All classmates eat in their classroom together with the teacher. This helps build positive teacher-student relationships.
In order to get into a good junior high school, most Japanese students enter a preparatory school or attend private after-school workshops. The classes in these schools are held in the evenings. Seeing groups of small kids returning from their extracurricular courses late in the evening is common in Japan. Japanese students have an 8-hour school day, but apart from that they study even during the holidays and on weekends. It’s no wonder that the students in this country almost never repeat grades in primary, lower secondary, or secondary school.
Apart from traditional subjects, Japanese students also learn Japanese calligraphy and poetry.
Japanese calligraphy, or Shodo, involves dipping a bamboo brush in ink and using it to write hieroglyphs on rice paper. For Japanese people, Shodo is an art that is no less popular than traditional painting. Haiku, on the other hand, is a form of poetry that uses simple expressions to convey deep emotions to readers. Both classes teach children to respect their own culture and centuries-old traditions.
Nearly all students have to wear a school uniform.
Almost all junior high schools require their students to wear school uniforms. While some schools have their own attire, traditional Japanese school uniform consists of a military style for boys and a sailor outfit for girls. The uniform policy is intended to remove social barriers among students and get them into a working mood. Besides, wearing school uniform helps to promote a sense of community among the children.
The school attendance rate in Japan is about 99.99%.
Probably all of us have played truant at least once in our life. However, Japanese students don’t skip classes, nor do they arrive late for school. Moreover, around 91% of pupils in Japan reported that they never, or only in some classes, ignored what the teacher lectured. How many other countries can boast such statistics?
At the end of high school, Japanese students have to take a very important exam that decides their future. A student can choose one college they would like to go to, and that college has a certain score requirement. If a student doesn’t reach that score they probably don’t go to college. The competition is very high — only 76% of school graduates continue their education after high school. It’s no wonder that the period of preparation for entrance to higher education institutions is nicknamed ’examination hell.’
College years are the best ’holidays’ in a person’s life.
Having gone through ’examination hell,’ Japanese students usually take a little break. In this country, college is often considered the best years of a person’s life. Sometimes, Japanese people call this period a ’vacation’ before work.
I’ve often heard it said by friends and colleagues here in Osaka that: “Japan doesn’t really do Christmas.” However, I tend to disagree with this notion. There is a Christmas of sorts in Japan, but it’s very different from what you might be used to.
Is it a normal working day?
It’s true that Christmas is considered a regular working day here in Japan. But for me, through a number of means such as selective use of annual leave, timing of school events and simply the lucky way the calendar falls, I have so far been able to enjoy the day off on each of the seven Christmases that I’ve spent working in Japan. With Christmas Day falling on a Sunday this year, I’ll be able to avoid the depressing scenario of working on this most holy of holidays. Despite not having been to mass since I was a teenager, Christmas is the one time of year when this former Catholic schoolboy decides to invoke religious prerogative!
That all being said, Christmas Day is not a national holiday in Japan so, depending on the policy of your workplace, you’ll likely have to take it off as part of your annual leave. Nonetheless, December 23rd is a yearly public holiday since it’s the reigning Emperor’s Birthday that day.
Who do you spend it with?
I find that the way in which Christmas and New Year are celebrated by the locals here, is the inverse of how they are celebrated back in Western countries.
In Scotland, Christmas was always seen as the family time. No matter how busy we all were, the whole family always came together on Christmas Day in the late afternoon for a feast of turkey, Christmas pudding and all the usual toppings. New Year, on the other hand, was the time to go out with friends in order to get, as we slur in Glasgow, “steamin’ drunk.”
In Japan, it seems to be the opposite. Christmas is the time for friends and couples to throw parties, go out for dinner, and celebrate, whereas New Year is when families come together, visit a temple and usher in the beginning of January with food and drink at the family home.
If you don’t have a date on Christmas Eve, you won’t want to venture anywhere public.
In fact, Christmas Eve is sold as the most romantic night of the year – kind of equivalent to Valentine’s Day. All of the restaurants and hotels are booked up, all of the stores are selling lovers’ Christmas gifts, and all of the streets are overrun with sickly sweet displays of affection. Apparently there’s such unspoken pressure for romance that single people look for any boyfriend or girlfriend in the weeks leading up to Christmas, just so they can have someone to go on a date with.
In fact, Christmas Eve is sold as the most romantic night of the year – kind of equivalent to Valentine’s Day.
What’s the deal with Christmas and KFC?
On Christmas Eve in Japan, if you want to treat yourself to a meal that truly captures the Japanese spirit of Christmas, then there really is only one place to go: Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Yes, for Japanese people, no Christmas celebration is complete without a visit to the Colonel.
But why is this?
Apparently the answer goes back more than 40 years. Before Osaka’s historic World Expo in 1970, American fast food was almost unheard of in Japan. However, at the Expo, established names like McDonalds and KFC tested very well among Japanese visitors. As a result, the first KFC in Japan opened in Nagoya later that year, to great reception from both Japanese and foreign residents alike.
However, it wasn’t until four years later that the link between Christmas and KFC was established. After observing a group of foreigners opting for KFC at Christmas time in the absence of the traditional turkey, one of the executives at KFC decided to push an aggressive marketing campaign centered around Christmas. And so it transpired. In Christmas of 1974 the “クリスマスにはケンタッキー” (Kentucky for Christmas) campaign proved to be a massive success.
Today it is a core part of Christmas tradition here in Japan. It’s so popular that you have to place your order more than a month in advance for some items on the Christmas menu, and/or face a six-hour queue on the actual day. Have a look at this 2010 commercial for a very merry KFC Christmas, featuring actress and singer Haruka Ayase dancing with children to the tune of Suteki na Holiday (a famous Japanese Christmas song).
To be fair, it kind of makes sense, after all Colonel Sanders, with his white beard and cheery disposition probably takes to a Santa Suit better than most Japanese mascots do.
What are “Illuminations”?
Japanese shopping malls, restaurants and other public areas are get the Christmas bug too. And when it comes to tacky, over-the-top, yet always adorable expressions of festive joy, nobody does it better than the Japanese.
Everywhere shoppers go, you will see Christmas lights, illuminated displays and gaudy decorations all over the place. It was rather jarring to see the large Halloween pumpkin outside of my gym replaced with an oversized inflatable Santa, complete with accompanying reindeer, just one day after Halloween.
The whole country goes mad for “illuminations” – seasonal Christmas light-up events that range from small street decorations to spectacular audiovisual and projection mapping extravaganzas. There are plenty taking place all over the country, from late November sometimes all the way until Valentine’s Day and beyond.
In Osaka, the festive lighting in and around the Kaiyukan Aquarium, just a short walk from my house is especially beautiful. Namba Parks’ illuminated rooftop is another famous Christmas feature.
The Nabana no Sato Winter Illumination in Mie prefecture is one of Japan’s biggest and most popular.
There’s nothing quite like an extended festive season to lift the spirits. So if this is your first or fiftieth Christmas in Japan, I hope it’s a happy one!
Sesshu Toyo, an artist monk from the Muromachi period (1333-1573), is said to have utilized the landscape artistry techniques that he learned in China when he constructed Gyorakuen. Using the naturally sloping terrain, he drew water springing from between rocks to a pond and made an island and three rock bridges there to symbolize a turtle being held by a crane. He also arranged azaleas and old pines around the pond.
Truly a place to relish the beauty of every season, the garden gets many visitors during the fall foliage season beginning in mid November.
The Name “Gyorakuen” is said to come from a phrase in Chinese Shī Jīng. Sesshu fled from Kyoto where a war had occured and built this garden to express his wish to the peace.
Gyorakuen was designated as a Scenic spots by Fukuoka Pref in 1978 and is familiar to many people as “Sesshu’s Gyorakuen”.
Particulary, the autumn failage is famous however it’s Spring Cherry Blossom and greeny, summer ‘forest bath’ and winter “wabi” and “sabi” is exceptional. So one can enjoy the garden at any seasons.
The garden is built based on Shinsenhorai ideology and the island in the pond is called Hourai island.
At the back is Zazen-ishi and likened the turtle and crane.
The characteristic of sesshu garden is that the left side is steep and severe and it becomes gently as it goes to the right. Some says that it expresses life or wish to peace.
ACCESS -*40 minute drive from Honamihigashi Interchange off of the Yakiyama Bypass
*60 minute drive from Kokuraminami Interchange off of the Kyushu Expressway
*15 drive from JR Hita Hikosan Line Buzen Kawazaki Station
*20 minute drive from Tagawa Gotoji Station of the JR Heisei Chikuho Railway
INQUIRIESTelephone Number:0947-72-7777
Kamemitsu Head OfficePARKING50 vehicles
In this post we are mentioning a few tips and guidelines, which can make your mailing experiences smoother and to make sure that you never miss to wish your loved one’s with gifts and postcards on their special occasions.
Sending a mail from Japan:
Many services are being provided by Japan Post. Here is a summary of the necessary that can help you.
Post Cards
Sending a postcard internationally costs 70 yen for Airmail (3 to 7 days to arrive), 60 yen for Surface Mail (1 to 3 months to arrive).
Size Definition of a Post Card: (14 to 23.5 cm)×(9 to 12 cm)
The longer side has to be more than 1.4 times as long as the shorter side.
Envelopes
Standard Size: (14 to 23.5 cm)×(9 to 12 cm)×(up to 1 cm)
up to 50 g
around 90 to 110 yen for Airmail (depends on the weight and the country you send to), around 7days to arrive
Non-Standard Size: The longest side is up to 60 cm
The total of 3 sides is up to 90 cm
up to 2 kg
around 220 to 260 yen for Airmail (depends on the weight and the country you send to), arrive in around 7 days
Greeting Cards
Write “Christmas Card,” “Birthday Card,” “Greeting Card” etc, on the letter. And you possibly get some discounts at Post Office no matter which it is a card of standard size or not.
How to Send Post Cards & Envelopes
Let’s take your letter(s) to any post office. The post officer will weigh it and tell you how much. Pay the money and leave your letter to the fast and trustworthy Japanese postal service.
Just in case you have a problem with communication, show him or her this phrase in Japanese, which will put your letter in transit.
「航空便で送ってください」 = “Please send this via Airmail.”
cf: Easy Conversations in Japanese Language
“Airmail” in Japanese = pronounce “ko-ku-bin” or say “airmail” in English
If you have Japanese stamps and are sure of how to send it, just put the stamp(s) on your letter and post it into the RIGHT pocket of a mailbox.
(Japanese mailboxes are red, around 1-meter-high boxes with right and left pockets.)
Note:You cannot send CASH through postal service in Japan.
Parcels
EMS (Express Mail Service) is cheap (from 900 yen), safe and fast with Tracking Number. I recommend it.
You can send up to 30 kg of documents and goods from post offices.
To send your parcel(s) through EMS, take it to any post office.
Just in case you have a problem with communication, show the post officer this phrase in Japanese, which will put your letter in transit.
「EMSで送ってください」 = “Please send this via EMS.”
cf: Easy Conversations in Japanese Language
Note: Post Offices tend to close early. If you want to make sure, you go there by 16:00.
Sending a mail to Japan:
Tokyo and other cities in Japan have many zip/postal codes; there is not a specific zip code for each town and prefecture.
If you are looking for the zip/postal code for somewhere in Japan, the following link will be helpful.
Choose the country and put the city, street number etc you have, and this website automatically looks up the code.
Example: How to write a Japanese address in English
Mr.Taro Google
10-1, Roppongi6-Chome, Minato-ku, TOKYO,
106-6126 JAPAN
1, Name.
2, Street (and room in some cases) number. In many cases, it is composed of 2 to 4 numbers with hyphens (like 6-10-1). If you are not sure about the idea of Chome, just write “6-10-1, Roppongi”. Japanese postal workers will manage it, so I rather recommend this style.
The order of the numbers is important, so don’t change it.
3, Town, then Prefecture,
4, A zip/postal code is composed of 3 + 4 numbers with a hyphen (like 106-6126). Finally, country.
cf: The address above in Japanese:
〒106-6126 東京都港区六本木6-10-1 グーグル太郎様
Japan’s train operator has unveiled its new Hello Kitty-themed Shinkansen bullet train. Aimed to revitalise travel to local areas in western Japan, the train is entirely furnished with Hello Kitty decorations. Hello Kitty has been a Japanese icon since it launched 44 years ago and is now a multi-billion dollar global brand.
Sesshu Toyo, an artist monk from the Muromachi period (1333-1573), is said to have utilized the landscape artistry techniques that he learned in China when he constructed Gyorakuen. Using the naturally sloping terrain, he drew water springing from between rocks to a pond and made an island and three rock bridges there to symbolize a turtle being held by a crane. He also arranged azaleas and old pines around the pond.
come from a phrase in Chinese Shī Jīng. Sesshu fled from Kyoto where a war had occured and built this garden to express his wish to the peace.
famous however it’s Spring Cherry Blossom and greeny, summer ‘forest bath’ and winter “wabi” and “sabi” is exceptional. So one can enjoy the garden at any seasons.
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