Shinkansen

Perfect for upper beginner and intermediate students of Japanese.

This Japanese history reader contains three essays on Japanese trains. Learn how Japan went from its first steam train to the fastest railway on Earth in under a century.

Meet the crowds who had never seen a locomotive and named it the "land steamship," ride along as the world's first bullet train opens just days before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and look ahead to the maglev that floats above its track at 500 km/h.

Japan's First Railway: The 1872 Shimbashi–Yokohama line, the British engineers who built it, and the track laid out across the sea when the army refused to give up its land

History of the Shinkansen: A pre-war "bullet train plan," a race to finish before the Olympics, and a safety record with zero passenger deaths since 1964—delays measured in seconds

The Maglev Chūō Shinkansen: Superconducting magnets, a 603 km/h world record, and the long standstill in Shizuoka that kept a finished dream waiting

Yes, you can read real Japanese—even if you are fairly new to the language. Every essay is built so you're never stuck.

FEATURES:

•Before You Read primers give you the historical background and grammar patterns to watch for
•Every sentence is presented one per page with furigana on all kanji, a complete vocabulary list, and grammar explanations
•Grammar spotlights, cultural notes, and maps of Japan appear right where you need them
•The full essay in Japanese only (no gloss) lets you practice reading without interruption
•Review & Practice: true-or-false, comprehension, particle, and translation exercises for every essay, with a complete answer key
•Kanji in Focus gives every key kanji its own page: stroke-order diagram, readings, component parts, and a memory hook
•An English summary of each essay to check your understanding (Don't cheat! Work through the Japanese first!)
•FREE MP3 audio recorded by a professional native speaker at two speeds: natural pace and slow & clear—no sign-up required
•FREE Anki flashcard decks to master the vocabulary
•Every sentence also lives in the Makoto+ Sentence Explorer—tap to hear audio, see word-by-word breakdowns, and quiz yourself on the web or in the free Makoto app for iOS and Android (unlock code included in the book)
•PDF and EPUB editions included at no extra cost

Hiragana knowledge is required, and we recommend a solid understanding of basic Japanese grammar and sentence structure first. If a passage feels tough, the vocabulary notes, app, and Anki decks will get you through.

To your Japanese!