What is transport?
| Roles of transport | Transport of the past | Transport of today |
Transport of today
Railway transport
Railways are all over Japan and they connect towns along the coast or in the mountains and big cities. You can see various kinds of trains like Shinkansens and express trains.
In Japan seven railway companies own the carriages with unmanned operation system. This system is expected to become new transport system.
 
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Conventional train line
Conventional train line
New Transit Yurikamome
New Transit Yurikamome
 
Shinkansen line
Shinkansen line
Automobile transport
Buses and taxis are used by everyone. Some improvements to the services have been done, for example placing priority seats and lifts for the elderly and physically/mentally challenged persons, and reconstructing bus terminals in order for everyone to transport safely.
 
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Bus terminal
Bus terminal
 
Lift-equipped bus
Lift-equipped bus
 
Taxi
Taxi
Marine transport
We will transport huge or heavy or large quantity of goods by ship. Some marine transport can take shorter route than land transport. For example, from airport to city centre, the distance by hovercraft in Oita is half of the bus route and the time distance by Jet foil in Kobe is 1/3 of the time bus takes.
 
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Jet foil
Jet foil
Photograph supplied courtesy of Sadokisen Inc.
 
Bulk carrier
Bulk carrier
Photograph supplied courtesy of The Japanese Shipowners’ Association
 
Hovercraft
Hovercraft
Photograph supplied courtesy of Oita Hoverferry Co.,Ltd.
Air transport
We take airplanes to go farther for business or vacation. We also use airplanes to transport foods which need to be kept fresh, for example crabs and shellfish from Hokkaido or delicious fruits from Okinawa and Amami.
Airplane follows a route in the sky called air route. Especially around the airports, air routes are decided strictly in detail so that planes can take off and land safely. Thanks to the air transport, live fishes and beautiful flowers can be sent from foreign counties.
 
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Jumbo jet
Jumbo jet
 
Load and unload of air cargo
Loading and unloading of air cargoes