For the next few weeks, you can see a scale model of a Japanese bullet train on display in a Kensington High Street shop.
This is the Series N700S Shinkansen, which is the newest model of the bullet train, and that started service on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen line in July 2020, with a maximum speed of 300km/h (186mph), and has an improved acceleration letting it reach 170mph in just three minutes.
A member of staff in the shop offers brief talks about the train, highlighting that it comes with onboard batteries to help to get to the next station in case of a power failure, and a revamped sharper nose and curvier body design that reduces noise levels when entering tunnels. You can, just about, peer through the windows to see the seating layout inside, the fire extinguisher in the corridor, and the toilets in the connecting links.
Other than now going into service in Japan, the trains are also the first to be designed specifically for sale overseas, and are expected to be seen on the Dallas-Houston high speed rail line when it opens, possibly in 2025.
The 1/20 scale model is on loan from Central Japan Railway Company and is on display on the ground floor of Japan House on Kensington High Street until 8th November. You can just wander into the shop to have a look. There is also a documentary (in Japanese with an English explainer handout) at Japan House on Sunday 31st October at 4pm about the construction of the first shinkansen, from the start of the works to its inauguration in October 1964.
You can also buy a souvenir if you want, a very small cast model of the train made from the metal used in the original N700 prototype train. Just 700 have been made.
The exhibition in the basement about the Tokyo 1964 Olympics is also open until 7th November, and you need to book free tickets for that.
Having travelled on both, Eurostar twice and Shinkasen once at similar speeds, the Shink is smoother and quieter and feels more luxurious. Eurostar felt old and shabby.
Saw it weeks ago when visiting the Tokyo 1964 exhibition, which is superb.