Disney Shinkansen coming to Japan’s rails, starts service this month

Magical Dream Shinkansen celebrates 40 years of Disney theme parks in Japan.

A ride on the Shinkansen always feels special, but it’s going to feel extra exciting for Disney fans later this month. Next Friday, East Japan Railway, also known as JR East, will begin running a special Disney-themed Shinkansen.

▼ The lead car of the Disney Shinkansen

The Disney Shinkansen will run along the Tohoku Shinkansen line, which connects Tokyo with the northeastern Tohoku region of Japan’s main island of Honshu, most notably with Sendai, Tohoku’s most populous city. The exterior of the 10-car train will feature artwork of Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Chip, and Dale, plus locations from Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea, the paired parks which, together with their associated other facilities, make up the Tokyo Disney Resort.

▼ Cars 1 through 5

In addition to the graphics on the outside of the train, the standard passenger announcement chimes inside will be changed to a Disney-themed version, though it’s unclear if they’ll be instrumental versions of classic Disney animated movie songs, or a rendition of some new song being produced to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the opening of Tokyo Disneyland, which is coming up in April and which the Disney Shinkansen is celebrating.

▼ The 15th anniversary of the opening of Disney Sea, for example, had its own theme song, “Sea of Dreams,” performed by J-pop megastar Misia.

An official schedule for the Disney Shinkansen is yet to be announced, but JR East is saying that it will primarily function as a Yamabiko or Nasuno-class Shinkansen, which run between Tokyo and, respectively, Morioka and Koriyama. Somewhat ironically, you can’t take the Disney Shinkansen all the way to Tokyo Disneyland, as Tokyo Disney Resort is actually located in Chiba Prefecture, about 15 minutes east of Tokyo Station using JR East’s Keiyo Line.

▼ Cars 6 through 10 of the Disney Shinkansen

The Magical Dream Shinkansen, as the Disney-themed bullet train is officially called, will have its first run on December 22, and is scheduled to be in service until approximately the end of March. Though not yet active as of this writing, JR East has earmarked a special website for the Magical Dream Shinkansen here, which will most likely have schedules and reservation information once it goes live, and considering the combined number of Disney fans and rail otaku in Japan, getting your tickets as soon as possible is probably a good idea.

Source: PR Times via IT Media
Top image: Tokyo Disney Resort
Insert images: PR Times
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