It seems airlines aren’t the only type of transport feeling the pinch of Covid-19 coronavirus. With fewer people travelling domestically, Japan Railways has announced it will stop running some of their extra-fast Nozomi bullet trains, which gets passengers from Tokyo to Osaka in just two and a half hours, from March 19 until March 31 due to lack of passengers. The Nozomi shinkansen reaches speeds up to 285 kilometres per hour and only serves four major stations on the Tokaido shinkansen line: Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Shin-Osaka.
Japan Railways is releasing daily updates on the Nozomi shinkansen status through its official English Twitter. There is also a timetable on the official website showing exactly which trains are suspended. If you’ve already purchased a ticket, you can either cancel and get a full refund, or exchange it for another train on the same day. You’ll also get a full refund if another bullet train happens to get cancelled due to coronavirus. Contact the station staff for more information on refunds.
Note that JR Passes cannot be used on the Nozomi Shinkansen. The slower Hikari and Kodama trains will continue their service as normal along the Tokaido shinkansen line.
Here is how Covid-19 coronavirus has affected Tokyo, including event cancellations and venue closures. However, there’s still plenty of places that are open.