All Aboard the Shinkansen!

Train lovers and densha otokos (and onnas) flocked to the Shinkansen Exhibition that was held last week in the Marina Bay Sands Heliconia Ballroom. Kitty did a visit last Saturday. Kitty's main purpose was to check out Japan's new Hokuriku Line that will open somewhere March this year. Also, one of the guests is this lovely lady:

Masumi Toyooka

Usually activities held in the ballroom are paid events. Somehow its free for this one. Amazingly, even when its just a week before the event, theres some pretty heavy publicity through social media. It even got featured on Aniculture and AFA Channel! Kitty didnt expect much publicity on this one. One of the main draw is the Shinkansen simulator. Yeap this chunk of metal shown here.

Shinkansen Simulator

Be prepared for a long queue! Even though doors opened at 10AM, Kitty have to queue for about 2 hours to try out the simulator. However it was worth it. It does feel that you are driving an actual shinkansen. The helpers/conductors nearby were a helpful lot, teaching and showing what each switch and lever on the dashboard does. Heh, tempted to press the decelerator but conductor stopped me in the nick of time. Classic japanese timing and precision.

Prior to trying out the simulator, Ms Fujimoto-san, Kitty's friend cum freelance reporter brought Kitty to meet up with Ms Masumi Toyooka. Yeap, that Train Conductor girl aka Mama Tetsu. Of course, her nickname is a giveaway, she's already a married mama. Gahh, it was awkward as Kitty's Japanese language not up-to-notch. Conversing to her about Shinkansen and "idols" while trying to put up a straight face. Ugggh! Still, to have a photo taken with her was good!

2-shot with Masumi Toyooka-nyan!

A little background info of her, she was an actress and previously contracted to Hori Pro. She consider herself a train "otaku". She really loves trains, as evident in her blog (insert blog link). She has segment done together with the Train Professor which explains why Shinkansen is so awesome. Explanation of the shinkansen awesomeness boils down to 3 things:

So Fast! (The Shinkansen can travel from one end of Singapore to another in 7.5 mins!)
Many Passengers! (It can carry more passengers than a Boeing 747)
So Cool! (The Shinkansen design is cool looking)

Train Professor and Mama Tetsu at Q&A segment

Kids goes apeshit of course. Though throughout the segment, they been emphasising alot on the distance and travel between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. No surprises as both nations did plan to have a High Speed Rail network connecting both sides. And the company behind the Shinkansen could be one of vendors they are choosing fron. The segment has a Q&A session with prizes to be won, but its more tailored for kids participation. And Mama Tetsu did a quick wink and smile to me. Ahhh


There are other exhibits like the paper train section, train model display, VR experience zone (didnt try) and a merchandise booth. From the photos shown here, its indeed a small area but its adequate for an this type of event.

Info on the Shinkansen

Video info on Taiwan's high speed rail

Shinkansen goods booth

Some of the Takara Tomy train sets you can get

Shinkansen BG photo

Get all stamps and win a prize! Only for under 12 yr olds though

More model kits

Making model paper trains here

Awesome Level:
★★★☆☆ stars　
(Venue is just one ballroom wide, if you are a train lover you'll love it )Overall, I liked this exhibition. Well trying out the simulator after a long wait was truly worth it. Of course talking to Ms Masumi too. Also, its a good place to bring your kids along.

-Nakitty