By TAKASHI OGAWA/ Staff Writer
December 20, 2022 at 18:23 JST
The Tokaido Shinkansen (Provided by Central Japan Railway Co.)
Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) has begun offering a charter service for its Nozomi Shinkansen, hoping to accelerate demand after ridership fell off during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“I hope this service will help to further increase the overall value of our passengers’ trips,” said Shin Kaneko, president of JR Tokai.
People can now rent out from one car of the Nozomi to the entire bullet train for special events, such as group trips or employee-training excursions.
The service is available on the Nozomi from stations in the Tokyo metropolitan area, such as Tokyo, Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama, to Nagoya, Kyoto or Shin-Osaka stations.
The cars on offer will be those between the 13th and the 16th regular cars, as well as the eighth and the ninth green cars (upgraded cars).
Passengers can also use liquid crystal display monitors and speakers to watch movies and listen to music, or ask that a red carpet be laid in the aisles while it is rented out.
The charter fee is less than the total cost of all the regular seats in the car, according to travel agency JTB Corp., which is selling the chartered Shinkansen package.
JR Tokai said it is the first time this service is offered as a commercial product, though it had responded to individual charter requests.
Since March, JR Tokai has held three events to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Nozomi and offered the use of one car for free.
The company received around 800 applications, and the car was used for weddings, graduation trips and other events.
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