A train of Dogs travels by Bullet Train to Nagano

In Japan’s bullet trains also known as “Shinkansen” , dogs generally have to travel in a cage and in a separate compartment from their owners, however efforts are being made to make pets more comfortable and owners not travel with concern for their well-being.

At Tokyo’s Ueno Station, 21 canine passengers boarded the Shinkansen (bullet train) for an hour-long ride to the resort town of Karuizawa alongside their owners. Other four-legged passengers aboard the first “dog vacation” service operated by Japan Railways included breeds such as Pomeranians, a terrier and a Shiba Inu – so far only small or medium-sized dogs.

In their comments, the owners were pleased by the experience since whenever they traveled by train, some even traveling very frequently, they had to supervise their pets at all times and see that they were well.

In an attempt to improve the travel experience for people with pets, an entire car was dedicated in this pilot project organized by the JR East railway company and its subsidiary JR East Start Up. Seeing that it worked, the company is willing to organize more regular tours in the future that accept pets traveling together with their owners.

This project seeks to create an environment in which people can live in harmony with their pets, which are part of the family. This is a big step toward making pet-friendly public transportation a reality.

Japanese trains are famous for being so clean and one of the biggest challenges was keeping impeccable standards on board which is why plastic covers were placed on all seats in the designated carriage and four air purifiers were used. After the trip it will be cleaned and conditioned again to remove all dog hair.