Tokyo: Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen bullet train services were temporarily suspended between the Tokyo and Hakata terminals on Wednesday due to heavy rain in the central Japan prefecture of Shizuoka.
The suspension affected people returning home on the final day of the country’s “bon” summer holiday season, with many stranded at Tokyo, Shin-Osaka and other stations.
In Shizuoka, heavy rain was caused by warm and humid air flowing in from the south toward Typhoon Lan.
Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, halted services between Mishima and Shizuoka stations on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line from around 8:30 a.m. after rainfall exceeded a certain level. The suspension was later extended to the section between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. Tokaido Shinkansen services were fully resumed at around 2:10 p.m.
West Japan Railway Co., or JR West, suspended services between Shin-Osaka and Hakata stations from around 10 a.m. Services were resumed around 12:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, Central Nippon Expressway Co. closed several sections, including between the Shin-Fuji and Shin-Shimizu exits on the Shin-Tomei Expressway and between the Numazu and Shimizu exits on the Tomei Expressway.
Tokyo Station’s Yaesu south exit was crowded with families and tourists around 1 p.m., with many sitting on the ground against pillars or walls.
Eiki Sekine, 76, was accompanying members of a junior high school tennis club on a trip to the western city of Takamatsu from the northeastern city of Koriyama “We planned to hold a practice session in Takamatsu, but we won’t make it in time,” Sekine said. “It’s unfortunate that (the suspension) will affect our players’ condition.”
JIJI Press