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Agence France-Presse

Tickets for the first train bound for Tokyo from Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station on the Hokkaido Shinkansen Line, which will open March 26, sold out around 25 seconds after going on sale on Friday amid excitement among train fans, the operators said.
Tickets for the first bullet train bound for Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto from Tokyo also sold out in 30 seconds, they said. Some fans stayed overnight at Sapporo and Hakodate stations to purchase the first train tickets.
“We’ll be able to witness a historic moment,” said one of the fans.
After spending the night in a sleeping bag at Sapporo Station, Naoto Okabe, 32, got four tickets for his family on the first Hayabusa train bound for Tokyo. “Since the undersea Seikan Tunnel was completed during my childhood, I’ve been looking forward to travelling in the tunnel by shinkansen,” said Okabe with tears in his eyes.
We’ll be able to witness a historic moment
Fan
The tunnel connecting the Honshu main island and Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido opened in 1988.
Fumio Arakawa, 53, who was aboard the first trains on both the Nagano and Yamagata bullet train lines that opened in 1997 and 1992, respectively, bought a ticket for the first train bound for Tokyo at JR Shinjuku Station. “I want to enjoy the scenic view from the train and feel how excited local people are,” he said.
Hiroki Shirai, 45, who purchased a ticket for the first train bound for Tokyo at Hakodate Station, said, “I want to see for myself how quietly the new bullet train travels through the Seikan Tunnel.”
On the opening day, a total of 32 trains will operate in both directions, including special trains. All 731 seats on trains with 10 cars are reserved, including 18 at Gran Class with the widest seats and 55 at Green Cars with wider seats, according to Hokkaido Railway Co. and East Japan Railway Co.
The new shinkansen line will link Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto with Tokyo in four hours and two minutes at the fastest. When passengers transfer to a local line train at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto to go to Hakodate, the shortest travel time between Tokyo and Hakodate will be four hours and 29 minutes, 53 minutes shorter than current schedule.


Sold out in 25 seconds: Japan’s shinkansen fans brave cold for  first Hokkaido-Tokyo line tickets

People line up outside JR Sapporo Station in Hokkaido Prefecture, northern Japan to purchase tickets for the Hokkaido Shinkansen bullet train for March 26, the day the new service is launched connecting Hokkaido and Tokyo in four hours and two minutes. Photo: Kyodo

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