“Welcome Home”: A Project to Celebrate the Reopening of Akita Shinkansen Komachi

April 29th will be a memorable day for many people! Finally, Akita Shinkansen Komachi  and Tohoku Shinkansen will be resumed! (Related Post) 

The return of lifeline will help Tohoku with much faster recovery. Also, by reconnecting between Morioka and Tokyo, Japan will be finally connected on a single line -- From the southern tip of Kyushu all the way to the northern tip of Honshu Island!

A Project to Welcome the Returning Akita Shinkansen

Last weekend, an interesting project has initiated to celebrate the reopening on April 29. The concept is simple: We welcome back the first arriving Akita Shinkansen Komachi by waving hands, shaking banners, dancing or in any costume or way you like!

 

The Northern Tohoku Inspired by the southern Kyushu Spirit:

The project was inspired by a JR Kyushu Shinkansen Commercial, which was aired only briefly and called off due to the Tohoku earthquake. To understand the concept, you have to watch this video first:

The recent opening of JR Kyushu Shinkansen had been longed for by the Southern people! The concept was “what matters is not the Shinkansen itself, but it is all the Kyushu people.” The filming gathered more than 10.000 people along the railway to make “a wave and welcome the rainbow-colored bullet train.” Their excitement is as you could feel in the video!

Although this was filmed before the earthquake, it seems as though the spirit of Kyushu Wave has been rippling through to our Tohoku region! The Akita Project has been originally proposed on Twitter ( #komachi115) by a local resident; now it has been spread by many Akita residents!

"4.29 Sakura Komachi 115 Okaerinasai Project"

Many tourism-related groups have been planning events at local stations in Tohoku. Tazawako Tourism Association is one of them; We will be welcoming arriving guests with some surprises at Tazawako Station!

"Welcome Back, Komachi!"

For an individual, the Komachi 115 Project invite you to express your excitement by simply waving hands, shaking banners, dancing – in any creative way you could think of !

The first arriving Shinkansen Komachi (Komachi 115-Go) will be on April 29th. The following is the approximate time at each station in Akita Prefecture:

Tazawako 10:34 – Kakunodate 10:48 – Omagari 10:59 – Akita Station 11:32

In Need of Someone to Film on Video:

The Project organizer is urgently looking for people who can film this memorable event – from roadside on Route 46, rice paddies, bridges, etc. — particularly in need of someone who could ride on the Komachi 115 and shoot it from the window! Later, they hope to put the data together and uploaded it online.

Are you interested? Please write to mailto:sakurakomachi115@excite.co.jp