WHAT IS IT
Glass is a mirror outside the window
The blue train running in a line across the lower glass is the one the photographer was riding. Japanese rail fans call this hansha-tetsu (反射鉄): a train reflection shot of your own train, caught in the glass of buildings right beside the tracks. You ride the train and photograph it at the same time, and we think that is a big part of the fun. Here are the places on the Tokaido Shinkansen where it has worked for us, with the side of the train to look from.
Note: the daytime photos on this page all show the Disney-themed Sparkling Dreams Shinkansen. For another English introduction to hansha-tetsu, see Tokyo Railway Labyrinth ↗.
TWO KINDS
Two kinds of places
Buildings near stations
Yurakucho, Tokyo–Shinagawa, past Shinagawa, Shin-Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto
Around departures and arrivals the train slows to about 60–70 km/h (at Shin-Yokohama it was already accelerating, at about 160 km/h). Glassy buildings stand right by the tracks; past Shinagawa, the train appeared in two of them within about 13 seconds.
Factories and company sites
POLA Fukuroi Factory, FUJITEC
Long walls of glass parallel to the tracks, with open ground in front. Even at 150–250 km/h the train shows up end to end. It only lasts a moment, so it helps to know where to look.
QUICK LIST
Quick list for the ride
When to look, in the direction we filmed. Times were measured on a Kodama, which stops at every station.
| Place | Seat | When |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Yurakucho Marui | Seat A side | Toward Shin-Osaka: about 1 min after Tokyo |
| 02 Tokyo–Shinagawa (night) | Seat E side | Toward Tokyo: between Shinagawa and Tokyo |
| 03 Past Shinagawa | Seat A side | Toward Shin-Osaka: about 1 min after Shinagawa |
| 04 Past Shin-Yokohama | Seat A side | Toward Shin-Osaka: about 1 min after Shin-Yokohama |
| 05 POLA Fukuroi Factory | Seat A side | Toward Shin-Osaka: about 2.5 min after Kakegawa |
| 06 Either side of Nagoya | Seat A side | Toward Shin-Osaka: just before and after Nagoya |
| 07 FUJITEC Big Wing | Seat E side | Toward Tokyo: about 2 min before Maibara |
| 08 Kyoto Computer Gakuin | Seat E side | Toward Tokyo: just before Kyoto |
TOKYO → SHIN-OSAKA
Mirrors along the line
Listed in order toward Shin-Osaka. Toward Tokyo the order reverses, but Seat A and Seat E stay on the same side.
Yurakucho Marui
The first mirror, right after departure
About a minute after leaving Tokyo Station, on the Seat A side as you pass Yurakucho. The long strip of glass on the café floor of the Marui department store reflects the passing train. The train is still slow here, so it is the easiest place to try first.
Toward Shin-Osaka, filmed: about 1 minute after leaving Tokyo
Window page: Tokyo Tower and the cityWhere the photo was taken (train position) on Google Maps ↗
The Seat E side between Tokyo and Shinagawa
At night, a line of window lights
Between Tokyo and Shinagawa, glassy buildings line the tracks on the Seat E side, and the train shows up in one after another. At night the lit windows become a row of dots sliding through the glass. The photos show only a small part of it, taken on an ordinary train.
Toward Tokyo, filmed: from leaving Shinagawa until arriving at Tokyo
Daiichi Sankyo Shinagawa R&D Center and Osaki Garden Tower
Two buildings in a row
About a minute after leaving Shinagawa, on the Seat A side. First the Daiichi Sankyo Shinagawa R&D Center, then about 13 seconds later Osaki Garden Tower. In both, the train runs in a line across the lower floors of glass.
Toward Shin-Osaka, filmed: about 1 minute after leaving Shinagawa
A low building past Shin-Yokohama
Rows of windows, while speeding up
About a minute after leaving Shin-Yokohama, 1.6 km along on the Seat A side. A trackside building has rows of long windows, and the train slides across the lower row. The train is accelerating, so it lasts only a few seconds. We have not yet confirmed the building's name.
Toward Shin-Osaka, filmed: about 1 minute after leaving Shin-Yokohama
POLA Chemical Industries, Fukuroi Factory
End to end in the long glass
Past Kakegawa, around Fukuroi, a long white factory appears on the Seat A side. Beyond the lawn and hedges, the train runs end to end along the bottom of its glass. At about 250 km/h, it is over in a moment.
Toward Shin-Osaka, the Otsuka Pharmaceutical factory (with the POCARI SWEAT lettering) follows on the same side about 10 seconds later. Toward Tokyo, look about 10 seconds after passing it.
Toward Shin-Osaka, filmed: about 2.5 minutes after leaving Kakegawa (Kodama)
Where the photo was taken (train position) on Google Maps ↗POLA Chemical Industries sites (Japanese) ↗
Either side of Nagoya Station
Just before arriving, and just after leaving
Around Nagoya Station, glassy buildings line the tracks on the Seat A side. Just before arriving, a building with tall windows reflects the train as it slows down, and the Meitetsu (Nagoya Railroad) sign from across the tracks shows up mirrored near the top of the glass. Just after leaving, the train appeared sharply, down to the pattern on its body.
Toward Shin-Osaka, filmed: just before arriving at Nagoya, and just after leaving
FUJITEC Big Wing
Long glass beside the research tower
FUJITEC's Big Wing in Hikone, Shiga, is known for its 170 m elevator research tower. On the Kyoto side of the tower, the long glass of the building with the large FUJITEC lettering reflects the train in a straight line. Toward Shin-Osaka, look just after passing the tower; toward Tokyo, just before reaching it.
Toward Tokyo, filmed: about 2 minutes before arriving at Maibara (Kodama)
Window page: FUJITEC Big WingWhere the photo was taken (train position) on Google Maps ↗
Kyoto Computer Gakuin, Kyoto Ekimae Campus
Arched windows, a blue train
West of Kyoto Station on the Seat E side. The white school building with the Kyoto Computer Gakuin name has tall arched windows, and the train runs across their upper part. It is about the same stretch where To-ji's five-story pagoda appears on the opposite, Seat A side.
Toward Tokyo, filmed: just before arriving at Kyoto
On the opposite Seat A side: To-ji pagodaWhere the photo was taken (train position) on Google Maps ↗
HOW TO
Filming it yourself
- Shoot video. Watching the train glide through the glass is more fun on video than in a photo, and you can pull a still from it later. Many of the photos here are frames from video.
- Hold the lens close to the window to cut down reflections from inside the car.
- You don't need sunshine. Every photo on this page was taken on a cloudy day.
- Film from your own seat. Keep aisles and vestibules clear, and avoid capturing people or rooms inside the buildings.