How to ride the Kyushu Shinkansen "Tsubame"

You are currently viewing The Kyushu Shinkansen Tsubame is now operated as a local Shinkansen

Our favorite Shinkansen with a lovely face, the 800 series

When our child got a Plarail as a toy from a happy meal at a McDonald’s in Kyoto some years ago, this lovely Shinkansen amazed him. He said, “Someday I want to ride this Shinkansen!”.

In order to let his dream come true, we researched carefully, because this 800 series is not operated that often. We had a chance though, if we take a local Shinkansen, but only if this local Shinkansen has 6 cars (8 cars is the N700 series, the same one as the Sakura) .

The 800 series was coming to Kurume station!

We were really happy when this 800 series came to Kurume station.

After boarding this Shinkansen, we were even more happy, it was worth to take a detour!

The 800 series is very famous for its quality, we agreed, its quality is really gorgeous and luxurious.

We really wanted to ride this special Shinkansen even further, but our journey to Hakata was so short…

How to ride a 800 series "Tsubame" Shinkansen

This first model of the Kyushu Shinkansen is operated only as a local Shinkansen now.

If you are planning to go from Hakata to Kagoshima Chuo, it would be better to take a faster Shinkansen Sakura (N700 Series), but if you have enough time or are interested in riding this special Shinkansen, it would be worth making a detour.

Only pay attention, on board food service is not available in this local Shinkansen, there are only beverage vending machines. If you want to enjoy your journey to Kagoshima, we recommend to prepare something to eat in Hakata.