By SHINYA MATSUMOTO/ Staff Writer
March 15, 2021 at 17:45 JST
KAGOSHIMA--Ten years after being fully launched, a bullet train dubbed the "Shooting Star Shinkansen" finally got the send-off it wanted but canceled due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
The Shinkansen made a special run on March 14, carrying hundreds of wishes solicited from the public and emitting spotlights into the night sky in seven hues and attracting spectators along the way.
The run marked the 10th anniversary of the full opening of the Kyushu Shinkansen Line, which connected Fukuoka to Kagoshima, in March 2011.
The train, comprising six cars, left JR Kagoshima-Chuo Station at 6:35 p.m. for Hakata Station in Fukuoka without passengers.
Spotlights in seven colors were emitted from the left side of the train as it headed north for Fukuoka.
A train-viewing event was held at Chikugo Regional Park in Chikugo, Fukuoka Prefecture, attracting hundreds of spectators. The Shinkansen stopped near the park, beaming the spotlights to the accompaniment of music. Fireworks were also projected into the night sky there.
In response to JR Kyushu’s solicitation, 8,350 written wishes from around Japan were sent to the company.
Among the 777 wishes chosen for the commemorative event were, “I want to run through the next 10 years with stronger determination than I have now,” and “I wish people’s hearts would become connected.”
Those desires are displayed on the train’s exterior and in posters shown inside.
The Kyushu Shinkansen Line fully opened on March 12, 2011.
But the company canceled all scheduled celebratory events as the nation was reeling from the events of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami the day before and the unfolding crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The Shooting Star Shinkansen will carry passengers from March 15 to May 28 without illumination, but bearing the wishes.
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The Shooting Star Shinkansen projects a searchlight with fireworks into the sky at it stops near Chikugo Regional Park in Chikugo, Fukuoka Prefecture, on March 14. (Minako Yoshimoto)
