Sayōnara, Hello Kitty Shinkansen!

This is going to be a sad story, because I’m writing about a train that completed its last run today. Yes, Hello Kitty Shinkansen is not running anymore, after only 8 years of service. This specially themed 500-series bullet train, which ran on the Sanyō Shinkansen line between Shin-Osaka and Hakata, was truly iconic, and not only are little kids crying across the world, but also all train buffs like me.

The train was painted in pink and white, floor-to-ceiling, and featured Sanrio’s Hello Kitty character. It was not just an exterior wrap: the interior for cars 1 and 2 was also fully themed with seats, windows, doors, etc. Cars 3 to 8 had standard, non-themed interiors.

Car 1, called “Hello Plaza,” had no regular seats. Instead, it had a Hello Kitty merchandise store, as well as a play area. After all, it was supposed to attract little children.

Car 2 had rows of regular seats, albeit with specially themed upholstery, and the “Kawaii! Room” at the end of the car for taking pictures and playing.

I think this information is kind of useless right now, since the train is no longer running, but the way to find out which train out of more than 200 per day was Hello Kitty was to know its number or departure time. Kodama No. 942 departed from Hakata at 7:04 and arrived at Shin-Osaka at 11:25, and Kodama No. 949 departed from Shin-Osaka at 11:37 and arrived at Hakata at 15:51.

There is a new Hello Kitty train that runs between Kansai Airport and Kyoto, called the “Haruka,” but honestly I don’t think it’s a like-for-like replacement. Come on, JR West.

I finally had an opportunity to travel to Japan in February 2026, and of course, riding the Hello Kitty Shinkansen was high on my bucket list. So we picked the day, the tickets were purchased, and my son and I showed up at the Shin-Osaka Station platform, from which Kodama No. 949 was supposed to depart, excited in anticipation to take this iconic train to Himeji, about a 30-minute ride.

But Japanese gods had other plans for us that day. We were “lucky” because we picked the only day in February when the train didn’t operate. I completely forgot to check the timetable on the JR West website before heading to the station.

Instead, a regular 500-series Shinkansen arrived, which was a bit disappointing at first, but then I thought - it’s still a really cool experience, because these 500-series trains are rare and will be fully retired sometime in 2026–2027.

The 500-series Shinkansen is very special because of its iconic, aircraft-like design. It was the first train to hit 300 km/h (186 mph) in regular service. It has an aggressive, biomimetic “kingfisher” nose, which was designed to eliminate a pop-like noise when entering tunnels and reduce energy consumption. It also has a cylindrical body that allows for excellent aerodynamics. It’s a truly revolutionary train, so it was an honour to ride it.

In addition, we really enjoyed our day trip in Himeji, where we toured Himeji Castle, one of the 12 surviving castles. This castle is the largest and most complete surviving castle in Japan. Despite the city being completely destroyed during WWII, the castle miraculously survived, almost intact. The castle was even featured in the 1967 “You Only Live Twice” James Bond film.

But you know what? Could I have missed the chance to ride the Hello Kitty Shinkansen, knowing that it would be gone forever in a few months? Of course not! So the next morning, I took an express train to Kobe and bought a ticket to Shin-Osaka on the Hello Kitty Shinkansen.

Was I jumping like a little boy when I saw its distinct pink nose? Of course! The ride took only 15 minutes, and I barely managed to explore the Hello Plaza and Kawaii! Room before we arrived at Shin-Osaka. I was not oblivious to the fact that I was competing for space with little kids, but I didn’t care much. I also bought a mochi-like dessert for my son and me, and it turned out to be quite tasty.

Alright, that’s it - let me go do some grieving ∎.