All aboard!

Today was probably the most fun day of work so far. We met at the Tamachi station this morning and traveled a few stops to the main Tokyo station where we met the Train Crew Depot Staff. This is the group that manages all of the drivers and conductors for the Shinkansen bullet trains. After a brief presentation, we got a chance to try our hand in the conductor simulator, which is basically a mock up train car with a virtual train station.

The conductor stands in the last car, and is in charge of operating the train doors. They also control the emergency brake and make sure the train is parked in the correct position. I was pretty good at the basic operations, but had to reopen the doors twice because virtual people kept trying to jump in the doors at the last minute.




We then got to ride in a series 300 (not the type pictured below) up in the driver's cabin! It was an amazing experience being able to look out the front window of a train going 270 km/hr. We flew down the tracks for about an hour, and then got off at a stop for lunch.




After lunch we caught another train headed back to Tokyo, and followed the conductors around for a while to learn what they do while the train is in motion. I then took a short nap before we got to the station. Once back in Tokyo we went down to the driver's training simulator and practiced pulling the train into the station. It was much harder than it looked to get it parked right! The train is has automatic safety features that will slow it down or stop it to avoid a collision, but the driver is in charge of calculating the speed for an exactly on-time arrival, and driving it under 30km/hr. I was parked a little to short for passengers to get off, but I blame the blaring siren they set off in my ear while I was driving.




After work I went down to the tailor shop and got myself a birthday present; a custom built suit. It is going to be a gray 2-button suit, and is going to cost me less than a new suit off the rack back home! I got to pick everything from the fabric and buttons, to the pockets and lapels. He is even going to monogram the inside of it for me! I will post pictures in 2 weeks when it is done.


Here is a quick video from inside the cockpit of the train. We pass another Shinkansen going the other way in less than a second. Each train is about 1/4 mile long...