Your favorite Shinkansen model?

as you know, there are many different models of Shinkansen trains.
So today here is a little poll: which one do you prefer?
explain briefly why :)

According to me:
my favorite is Shinkansen 300

althought it is not the most recent one, it looks incredibly pure and futuristic. it has a beautiful white and blue color.
and it keeps a "reasonnable" appearence afterall. Not like Shinkansen E5 or E6, too much "rocket shaped", according to me.


thanks for your participation!

As a business traveler, I prefer the N700 (especially the West/Kyushu 8-car version with its spacious ordinary reserved seats), E5 and E6 because of the electric outlets and nice toilets. Among them, the E6 is the prettiest on the outside, so that would be my top choice.

As a leisure traveler, I prefer the 800 for its unique interior design.

I always liked the airplane feel of the 500. I do like the E5 and E6. And the best was the GranClass seating on the E5. It was spectacular.

My favorite has always been the 1962 Shinkansen Class 1000 series Set A, consisting of cars 1001 & 1002. Micro Ace produced a model of this train, though it has long been unavailable.

A larger model of this train is on the second floor of the JR Museum near Nagoya. You can also see a photo of it in the 0 Series Shinkansen room at the JR Museum near Omiya (where I first learned that the early 0 series cars had escape hatches on the sides).

It's easy to find the Class 1000 Shinkansen on the Wikipedia.

My next favorite was the 0 series,and I rode them as much as possible on my early trips to Japan. My Japanese host on the first trip was surprised to hear that foreigners called them Bullet Trains.

The last time I rode one was maybe 8 or 9 years ago, on the special run between Hakata station and the depot at Hakata Minami. The 0 series had been relegated to Kodama service for a long time by then, and are completely gone now.

My next favorite was the 200 series (unmodified), followed by the 500 series. While thew 500 series usually ran only Nozomi service, and I had a JR Rail pass, which precluded their use, I was surprised ot find a 500 trainset in Hikari service, so I rode that. At Hakata-Minami I was able to take a photo of 5 of the 9 500 series trainsets next to each other. They, too, are now only found in shortened Kodama trains of JR West.

Finally there are the double deck cars of the 100 and 200 series. I never got to ride one, but the good news is that there is one of the 100 series cars in the JR Nagoya museum.

Probably everyone likes Dr. Yellow, and my favorites are T1 through T3.

There are models of all these trains.

All shinkansen will be dated by Maglev I can ride in 2027. I walked through the prototype car and strange to see no power wheels in the undercarrige.

For me it would be the 0-series. Out of the modern ones, I guess the new Super Komachi with red colour like Namahage is my favorite.

Maglev sure is impressive, but I doubt it will replace the traditional shinkansen. More likely it will become a white elephant for JR, as the Japanese economy continues to dwindle down, or even crash due to the weight of debts and aging populace.

izquierda, are you familiar with the blog "Densha Otaku 365"?
It is in French and has lots of photos and videos of Japanese and French trains and more..

http://www.denshaotaku365.com/

For the exterior, nothing comes close to the 500 series. Besides those, from the current models the E2, E3 and 800 are also great. From the older models, I'd prefer the 100 and 200 series over the 0 series.

Then there are some shinkansen with an "interesting" design, not exactly beautiful but somehow fitting for Japan. think of the E4 and E5, and also the 700 in Railstar-livery.

The N700 and E6 on the other hand are just plain ugly, no matter how you look at them.

As for the interior, the 800 is wonderful, just like many other trains from JR Kyushu. And it's not just the beauty of it, they're also the most comfortable. The others are all pretty much on the same level, although when I'm travelling with luggage I try to avoid the E4.

@Red Frog:

I didn't know about it. I now discover it for the first time. Thanks for the info !

I really like the 800 Series and would be my favourite! It have a really nice interior and the exterior is also look really smooth! Really enjoy the train last in year while in Kyushu.

I also love the N700! it rather unique duck billed design with decent acceleration. Love at first sight in 2007!

I will be travelling on E5 and E6 later this month when I'll be travelling North Japan!