an to offer bullet train with footbath 

                 Last Updated: Wednesday, March 05, 2014, 19:36    

Tokyo: Japan's super-speedy bullet train is to offer passengers a chance to soothe their tired feet as they zip through the countryside, in a carriage equipped with footbaths.

JR East will launch the service in July, with one carriage on the "shinkansen" bullet train having two 2.4-metre-long (8-foot) tubs facing windows.

Bathing is a ritualised and highly-prized activity in Japan and the footbaths are intended as places for passengers to relax rather than to clean their feet.

The train, named Toreiyu -- a rather tortured combination of the English "train", the French "soleil" and "yu", the Japanese word for hot water -- will also have a car with a bar counter and tatami-mat flooring with tables made from cherrywood.

"We are trying to offer services in which getting on the train itself is the purpose of the travel," said JR East spokesman Ryosuke Akaya.

    The train will run on a 148-kilometre (92-mile) route between Fukushima and Shinjo City in Yamagata prefecture mostly on weekends. It is part of a campaign to promote tourism in Yamagata, a farming area known for rice, beef, cherries and pears.

    The inland city of Fukushima is more than 60 kilometres northwest of the tsunami-crippled nuclear power plant on the Pacific coast.

 

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/japan-to-offer-bullet-train-with-footbath_915963.html

 

足湯付き「とれいゆ」…山形新幹線デザイン一新

　山形新幹線「つばさ」の車両デザインが一新される。

イタリアの高級車「フェラーリ」の外装を手がけたことで知られる山形市出身の世界的工業デザイナー奥山清行さん（５４）がデザインを担当。４月下旬から順次、投入される。

　先頭部と上部の紫色のラインは、山形県の鳥「オシドリ」の羽根がモチーフ。ラインのふちは、県花「紅花」が染料に加工される過程で黄色から鮮やかな赤へと変化する様子をグラデーションにして表現した。

　側面には、季節ごとに「桜とフキノトウ」「紅花とサクランボ」「稲穂とリンゴ」「蔵王の樹氷」があしらわれ、「山形色」が全面に押し出されている。

　今回の新デザインは、６月から始まる山形デスティネーションキャンペーン（ＤＣ）に合わせて企画された。２０１６年度末をめどに、全１５編成の塗り替え作業を完了させるという。

　また、７月からは福島―新庄駅間で、つばさの車両内に足湯や湯上がりラウンジなどを設けたイベント列車「とれいゆ」の運行も始まる。緑色は月山、白い部分は雪をイメージしているという。

　吉村知事は「奥山氏が故郷・山形への熱い思いを形にしたと聞いている。山形の多様な魅力が凝縮され、視覚的にもインパクトが大きい。『山形への旅』に新たな楽しみが加わり、魅力がさらに増す。新車両が多くの方に愛されることを願う」とコメントしている。

（2014年3月22日18時06分  読売新聞）

 

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20140321-OYT1T00156.htm?from=navr

 

 

            Current Event: The Yamagata Toreiyu Shinkansen

In March 22, JR announced that they are making an onsen train called “Yamagata Shinkansen Toreiyu”. The “Yamagata Shinkansen Toreiyu” has a small foot bath inside for a limited period of time.

The designer of the “Yamagata Shinkansen Toreiyu”, Mr. Okuyama, is from Yamagata, and has also designed Ferrari cars.

           The normal Yamagata shinkansen will also change their coloring.

 

In June 2014, Yamagata will start the “Yamagata Destination Campaign” (YDC)

From July 2014, the “Toreiyu” shinkansen will run from Fukushima to Shinjo (Yamagata)

Because Yamagata has many onsens along its railway line, Yamagata has decided to create the “Toreiyu” shinkansen.

Inside the “Toreiyu”, there is a “foot bath” and “yuagari lounge”

“Yuagari” means “after bath”. There are also “tatami sheets” provided

The President of Yamagata hopes that everyone will enjoy and ride the “Toreiyu Yamagata Shinkansen” in the future.

I think the “Yamagata Toreiyu Shinkansen” is a good creation because people riding the train can feel special riding a unique train and relax on the train. The “Toreiyu” shinkansen can also bring more sightseeing people to Yamagata, which will help out Yamagata.

If, however, the “Toreiyu” shinkansen becomes older, water may leak, and more water will be needed along with repairs. So, the “Toreiyu” shinkansen may be uneconomical and expensive, and I do not think it is necessary. Even though the “Toreiyu” is a new shinkansen, I think that JR should keep on using its older shinkansen because building new shinkansen costs a lot of money. The “Toreiyu” is also a mini shinkansen, and because it is smaller, there is less space, compared to the older, bigger shinkansen trains. Also, there might not be enough people interested in the “Toreiyu”, so it also may not bring more tourists to Yamagata.

However, I still want to ride the Toreiyu shinkansen in the future because I think it is a unique train and will leave a large impact on people.

 

Vocabulary List:

 

l  Destination: a place

l  Diverse (iro iro na) many different kinds or types

l  Appeal: how something looks good to someone

l  Condense: make something smaller

l  Visual: how or what something looks like

 

 

 

 

This is the new coloring of the regular “Tsubasa” Yamagata Shinkansen.

 

 

This is the new Toreiyu Shinkansen coloring.