One of the most iconic images of Japan is that of the gleaming white bullet train passing in front of Mount Fuji. The shinkansen as it’s known in Japan is a marvel of technology and engineering but despite it’s international reputation for speed and safety not much is known about what makes it work so well.
On this special episode of Tokyo Podcast, Anthony Joh delves into the history and details of the shinkansen with author Christopher Hood who is the author of the book, Shinkansen: From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan. Christopher talks about the historic origins of the Shinkansen and the amazing feat of engineering it took for Japan to recover from the devastation of World War II to be ready for the world Exposition in 1967.
We also look at the technologies that make the Shinkansen successful and if those technologies can be exported to other countries and in the future if Japan can be a leader in the field of high speed rail. Shinkansen: From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan is a thorough examination of the success of the Shinkansen and the impact it has had on Japanese society.
