Newsfrom Japan

Osaka, March 15 (Jiji Press)—West Japan Railway Co., better known as JR West, will launch a "Hello Kitty Shinkansen" bullet train service on its San'yō Shinkansen Line this summer in collaboration with Sanrio Co., the railway operator has announced.

A Hello Kitty train featuring Sanrio's popular kitten character will consist of eight 500 series cars and provide a Kodama Shinkansen service on the line, which connects the western cities of Osaka and Fukuoka.

Its design was inspired by Hello Kitty's trademark red ribbon, which well describes JR West's desire for enhancing ties between regions in western Japan with Shinkansen services, the company said.

One of the train's unique features will be the absence of passenger seats in car 1, which will be dedicated to sales of local specialties, JR West said, adding that car 2 will have a complete set of Hello Kitty decorations.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]