Japan's Bullet Train Offers World's First Zombie Apocalypse Experience For Halloween Travelers

On Japan's highly praised shinkansen, the bullet train, ridership for the ride takes roughly two and a half hours. But the trip turned into what can only be described as a zombie warfare filled journey, with all of the passengers screaming. Organizers, less than two weeks to Halloween, of this practice, which took place on Saturday, flirted with it as ‘the first running shinkansen haunted house in the world.’

(Photo Credit: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)  People in zombified costumes engage in performances inside the ‘Zombie Shinkansen’ train traveling from the capital of Japan, Tokyo to Osaka, based from the South Korean film – Train to Busan – during Halloween festivities in the city, Tokyo, Japan.

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There were around 40 looking for thrills on one of the chartered cars of the shinkansen --- what is known in Japanese as ‘the bullet train’; and they were keen to put their fear of revenants to the test as the train made its way between the capital and the western city of Osaka. The in-cabin entertainment was based on the extremely popular 2016 South Korean movie ‘Train to Busan,’ about a father and his young daughter who found themselves on a train that was overrun by blood thirsty zombies.

Everything seemed to be alright as the passengers boarded the bullet on a saturday evening as it was nearly time for the train to make a calm exit. Instead, less time would be taken for the first bloody massacre. One such victim – an actress placed in the audience by event organisers – was an actress who writhed in pain and then turned into a vile creature, screeching and attacking other unsuspecting passengers. Kenta Iwana of the group Kowagarasetai English translation ‘scare squad’ hails as the event organizer said that their aim was to “show the sudden - almost in an instant - destruction of what in other circumstances is an ordinary, peaceful shinkansen which we all often use without a second thought”.

"It felt like I was in a movie"

Among the many tourists on the board, there was also Joshua Payne who was sitting next to one of the actresses.  "I literally felt like I was in the film, just sitting here watching it take place in front of me," the 31-year-old American told AFP. "The fact that we can physically go from Tokyo to Osaka right now and have this whole performance at the same time... I think is really cool and maybe a little bit groundbreaking," Joshua said.

It was not even the Central Japan Railway Company’s first attempt at the infamously clean and safe shinkansen, a Japanese masterpiece which turned sixty this year. Along came Covid-19 pandemic which ‘grounded’ operations of long-distance travel for a while and after then, the operator began promoting the sale of bullet train cabins to host events as an alternative source of income.

There has been a sushi bar and a bar on the Higashi Shinkansen, even hosting a sumo match on the soft-shelled unit while single units are available for hire for stag or hen do parties. Jr central tourism arm executive marie izumi was baffled by the notion of zombifying commuting in asking for their collabo as it appeared to be ‘nearly impossible’ to execute. However, the event did alter her in a way that led her to believe that there are “new possibilities” for the bullet train concepts, Izumi said and concerts and comedy skits, for instance would also work well in the near future.

Suspense 

Toys chainsaw guns and similar props were, however, used during filming on Saturday, with extreme gore and brutality omitted so as not to spoil the pristine image of the shinkansen. In order to balance this restrained horror, the two-and-a-half hours tour was filled with zombie cheerleader, magician, comedian performances, including the most famous ‘Thriller’ dance performance by Michael Jackson.

"Nobody wants to sit tight for such a long time being constantly exposed to horror," said Ayaka Imaide of Kowagarasetai. Many who were on the zombie teeming train said that the experience itself was worth the cost of the tickets that went for a whopping 50,000 yen ($335). "It was very immersive," Naohiko Nozawa 30, spoke from Tokyo, Africa Press Agency (AFP). "And the appearance of so many different kinds of zombies kept me entertained all the way."