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New bullet
train could be world's cutest
SushiTimes News Agency, Japan
East Japan Railway Co. on Friday unveiled a new shinkansen
in the town of Rifu, Miyagi Prefecture, that will run
at a speed of 360 kph, which may make it not only the
world's fastest train, but also the cutest due to the
last minute inclusion of "cat ears".
Hello Kitty fans rejoice!
Apparently Japan Railways decided the cat easr would
help spruce up their image after needlesly killing 107
people and injuring 460 more in last months derailment
in Western Japan. (A derailment which was casued
by excessive speed. Will these people e ever learn?!)
JR East aims to put the new bullet train -- named Fastech
-- into service on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line in 2011,
when a new section opens between Hachinohe and Shin-Aomori
stations in Aomori Prefecture.
But the East Japan Railway company, the country's largest
rail operator, says creating the world's fastest train
was not their only aim.
"The test runs are being made to ensure we can
really piss off the French by building a train faster
than their current record holding high-speed TGV. Running
a more efficient and safe train for our passengers is
not the only goal," a spokesman said.
The two ends of the jade-colored, eight-car test train
look different. The first car has a rounded nose, while
the eighth car has a narrow, sharper rear end.(Much
like many of todays anorexic Hollywood starlets)
The test runs between Sendai and Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture,
will be conducted at a maximum speed of 405 kph.
It has still yet to be decided if the train will be
covered in a Hello Kitty paint scheme.
--
On Sunday evening I returned from yet another week-long
business trip to DC. The good part about the whole experience
was that I was finally able to use some of my frequent
flyer miles to upgrade to first class for the first
leg of the trip. (Tokyo to Detroit)
While First Class is definitely not my style (I'm more
of a low-budget travel kind of guy) I can still really
appreciate things like getting a chilled glass of champagne
placed into your hand as soon as you settle into your
barcalounger sized seat.
And it is that big beautiful reclining seat
that makes ALL the difference. The thing spreads
out into a nearly horizontal sleeping surface that is
both flat and wide enough that I am able to actually
roll onto my side and catch some sleep. The food is
also a lot better than what you typically get down in
"steerage".
But just to bring me back down to earth, I was unabel
to get an uphgrade ion the retur flight and arrived
back in Japan fully jet-lagged and a complete wreck.
--
If nothing else, a trip outside of Japan only goes
to reinforce the things that I love about this country.
-Beer vending machines
-Customer service that is second to none
-Great food. Everywhere!
-Efficient and ubiquitous public transportation systems
-Beer vending machines
Don't take me wrong. I still love to travel, but I
feel most comfortable here in Japan.
--
As of late (if you count the past 12 months as being
"late") I feel like Sushicam has started to
drift away form its original "flavor" and
has instead turned into a Photo-blog that happens to
take place in Japan, rather than a Blog about Japan
that happens to include photos.
I want to change this.
Earlier I talked about losing my "mojo" as
it pertains to photography. But I think it is more than
that. I think I need to find things about this place
that once again fill me with that most wonderful set
of emotions, most notably of which are: Where the
hell am I? and What the hell is that? What the hell
is that person eating?!
Granted, my not living "out in town" anymore
has certainly put a crimp in my day to day exposure
to all things Japanese, I think the mere fact that have
I have already been here for 5 and a half years has
started to jade me to the experience.
What i need to do is find a way to shock myself back
into the fascination I once fealt for this place. And
nothing seems to work better for this than venturing
out into the unexplored (at least for me) areas of this
country and seeing if I can manage to get myself lost.
So as much as possible I am going to try and avoid
places that I have already covered.
It's time to mix it up again.
Time to find my mojo.
--
After a long hiatus, the Sushicam Monthly Prints
Raffle is back!
For those of you with a memory as bad as mine, or if
you just found Sushicam, here is how it works:
I only want to retain enough proceeds to cover the
actual cost of hosting this site so the number of winners
will be determined by the number of people who enter.
So the more people that enter the more winners there
will be.
Winners will receive 8x12 inch print of their choice.
(Glossy or matte finish) Prints will be mailed directly
to you from my smugmug.com printing service. All prints
are made on Fuji Crystal Archive paper and they look
great.
Anyone can enter, as I ship to any country. But if
your country is one that Smugmug.com will not ship directly
to, then it will take a little longer for you to receive
your print(s) as I will have to first ship it to myself,
and then forward it on to you.
It costs $5 to enter, and you can enter as many times
as you like.
To enter all you need to do is use the Paypal "make
a donation" link located on the right-hand side
of the main intro page,
or on the raffle page
itself.
That's it.
I will keep track of the list of entries, posting updates
to it on a regular basis. The raffle ends on July 15th
and winners will be announced on July 16th.
Note: When you enter the raffle via Paypal, please
also send me a separate email specifying what name or
"handle" you want to be listed under in the
Monthly Raffle entries list.
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