TOKYO: Resplendent in shocking pink, a sleek “Hello Kitty” bullet train, complete with special carriages festooned with images of the global icon from Japan, has been unveiled before it chugs into service this week.
The special shinkansen or bullet train will run for the next three months between the western cities of Osaka and Fukuoka from Saturday, the West Japan Railway firm said, hoping that one of the country’s most famous exports will boost tourism.
Passengers will be in left in no doubt what train they are on, with Hello Kitty smiling down from the shades of every window and adorning every passenger seat cover.
One car will feature a “life-sized Hello Kitty doll” — the character is “five apples” tall, according to creator Sanrio — so fans can take selfies, a West Japan Railway spokesman said.
Another car will have no passenger seats but offer regional specialties, including a selection of goods and foods, in a bid to boost the local economy and tourism.
Hello Kitty, the mouthless character, has spawned a multi-billion-dollar industry since Sanrio introduced it in 1974.
It adorns everything from pencil cases and pajamas to double-decker buses and airliners.
Japan’s Hello Kitty bullet train debuts this week
Japan’s Hello Kitty bullet train debuts this week
NASA plans ISS medical evacuation for Jan. 14
- Space station set to be decommissioned after 2030
- NASA and SpaceX target undocking Crew-11 from the International Space Station no earlier than 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 14, with splashdown off California targeted for early Jan. 15 depending on weather and recovery conditions
WASHINGTON: NASA crew members aboard the International Space Station could return to Earth as soon as Thursday, the US space agency said, after a medical emergency prompted the crew to return from their mission early.
“NASA and SpaceX target undocking Crew-11 from the International Space Station no earlier than 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 14, with splashdown off California targeted for early Jan. 15 depending on weather and recovery conditions,” the agency said in a post on X.
Details of the medical evacuation, the first in ISS history, were not provided by officials, though they said it did not result from any kind of injury onboard and that the unidentified crew member is stable and not in need of an emergency evacuation.
The four astronauts on Nasa-SpaceX Crew 11 have been on their mission since Aug. 1. These expeditions generally last around six months, and the crew was already due to return to Earth in the coming weeks.
American astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, as well as Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov, would be returning, while American Chris Williams will stay onboard the international body to maintain a US presence.
Officials indicated it was possible the next US mission could depart to the ISS earlier than scheduled, but did not provide specifics.
Continuously inhabited since 2000, the ISS functions as a testbed for research that supports deeper space exploration — including eventual missions to Mars.
The ISS is set to be decommissioned after 2030, with its orbit gradually lowered until it breaks up in the atmosphere over a remote part of the Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo, a spacecraft graveyard.
