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Title: The sushi train is closed! Post by: Bmblbzzz on October 14, 2019, 19:45:15 The death of the buffet reaches Japan...
Quote East Japan Railway Co. says starting March 15 it will no longer sell food and other goods aboard Yamabiko bullet trains on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line. Quote Also on Monday, Hokkaido Railway Co. said March 15 will be the final day that onboard sales are available on Hayabusa and Hayate trains running on the Hokkaido Shinkansen Line between Shin-Aomori Station in Aomori Prefecture and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station in Hokkaido Prefecture. With JR Hokkaido slated to also halt sales on its Super Hokuto limited express trains at the end of this month, onboard sales will fully end on regular trains operated in the company’s service area. Quote In fiscal 2017, sales aboard trains were down 5 percent from the previous year, according to JR East. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/02/19/business/jr-east-end-board-sales-food-goods-yamabiko-shinkansen-tokyo-tohoku/#.XaTAo__QjIUKyushu Railway Co. has already announced that its Mizuho and Sakura bullet trains will not offer onboard sales starting March 16. Title: Re: The sushi train is closed! Post by: JayMac on October 14, 2019, 23:00:27 Nice to see Japanese railways taking a lead from the UK and reducing catering. It's usually the other way round. :P
Although to be fair, the catering withdrawal here is trolleys, rather than buffet cars. Title: Re: The sushi train is closed! Post by: Bob_Blakey on October 15, 2019, 08:47:52 Recently returned from a couple of weeks in Japan watching some early Rugby World Cup pool matches (and doing some of the usual touristy stuff). Our group used the JR Central Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen for Osaka > Nagoya, Nagoya <> Kyoto & Nagoya <> Tokyo trips and saw no evidence of any buffet cars, with on-board refreshments being supplied via a well stocked trolley. Needless to say said trolley was not nailed to a carriage floor and traversed it's section of the train more than once during each journey (GWR take note! ;D).
Title: Re: The sushi train is closed! Post by: Bmblbzzz on October 15, 2019, 11:45:06 It doesn't specify whether the sales to be closed (and they were to be closed earlier this year, that article is from February) were from a trolley or buffet. I kind of got the impression it was a buffet. But note they also say "...sales of bento, sandwiches, souvenirs and other items set to cease, JR East said. Items such as hot coffee and soft drinks will remain available." So not a total desert. Also interesting that labour shortages are given as a reason, in addition to falling sales.
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