The death of the buffet reaches Japan...
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.
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.
In fiscal 2017, sales aboard trains were down 5 percent from the previous year, according to JR East.
Kyushu Railway Co. has already announced that its Mizuho and Sakura bullet trains will not offer onboard sales starting March 16.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/02/19/business/jr-east-end-board-sales-food-goods-yamabiko-shinkansen-tokyo-tohoku/#.XaTAo__QjIU