I wrote 3 months ago about the launch of the new Shinkansen E5 series, a new train which will begin commercial operations March next year.
E5 Series Shinkansen
I’m writing again about it because, last week, the JR East company opened a public contest to… name the new E5 series.
Of course, there are some prizes, the Gold prize would be an E5 series Shinkansen commemorative plaque plus an originally designed E5 series Shinkansen Suica card and the Silver prize would be the E5 designed Suica card. The contest is opened at the JR East website and the deadline is April 1st.
[Later edit: from the application page, it seems to me that you can only apply if you have a Japanese address… So, if you want to participate, maybe a postcard is a better solution]:
“Atarashii Tohoku Shinkansen no ressha aisho boshu” Jimukyoku
P.O. Box 32 go, Tokyo Ginza Branch, 100-8691, JAPAN
JR East is looking for…
“a name that is not only easy to understand but is capable of representing the train’s speed and comfort.”
The train is painted in a “Tokiwa” green-white scheme with a bit of pink (Tokiwa 「常盤」 is the name of a lake), has a very distinctive long nose, some advanced technical details like car body tilting system and full-active suspension and, talking about comfort, features a very comfortable looking power-reclining “shell” seats… B)
… and here’s how it looks in operation…
Do you feel inspired? B)