Staff members cleaning the front of a train at the JR Central Shinkansen depot in the Shinagawa district of Tokyo. - AFP
TOKYO (AFP): Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday.
High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on October 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after its World War II defeat.
