How long does it take a bullet train to ride round Japan?

shinkansen train travels through central Tokyo 2008

With a top speed of 320 kilometres (199 miles) per hour, Japan’s bullet train – the Shinkansen – takes just under 12 hours to complete its 1,941-kilometre (1,206-mile) journey from Aomori in the north to Kagoshima in the south. This is assuming the train stops at all designated stops. You could do Japan in a day, though you might be travelling too fast to take it all in. Plans are currently underway for a new high-speed train network using levitating magnets to keep the trains above the tracks, reducing friction, and as a result granting speeds of over 500 kilometres (310 miles) per hour.

Rik Sargent