Japan is gearing up for the debut of a new bullet train in the spring of 2015 that will blast through relatively undiscovered territory. Called the Hokuriku Shinkansen, it will provide quicker access from Tokyo to Nagano, Niigata, Toyama, Gifu, Ishikawa and Fukui prefectures.
I’m especially excited that travel time from Tokyo to Kanazawa, a former castle town renowned for its Kenrokuen Garden, artisan shops and former samurai and geisha districts, will be reduced by half, from about 5 hours to 2 1/2. This Hokuriku Shinkansen Advertorial I wrote, which appeared in the New Yorker in the August 11 & 18 issue, describes just some of the highlights of the Hokuriku region.
