Know Your Trains: Type-500 Eva

This article is based on a visit on 23 November 2016.

Edit: The Type-500 Eva Shinkansen was taken out of service on 13 May 2018.

The Type-500 Eva stopping at Higashi-Hiroshima Station.
By kh ws (500系 V2編成) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

There's a reason I've spent the last few articles talking about the Shinkansen.  I wanted to get the background information out of the way so I could show you this before it's too late.  Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the Type-500 Eva Shinkansen!  Launched on 8 November 2015, its debut was meant to mark two anniversaries: the 40th anniversary of the Sanyo Shinkansen line, and the 20th anniversary of the TV anime Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, Shin Seiki Evangerion).

For those unaware of the Evangelion franchise, allow me to summarise it for you.  In the near future, the city of Tokyo-3 is being beseiged by extraterrestrial monsters called Angels.  Humanity's only defence lies in fighting them with giant robots called Evas.  The main character of this story is one such Eva pilot, a 14-year-old boy named Shinji Ikari.  Unfortunately, Shinji is beset with a fragile, emotional state, fueled partly by his father Gendo -- who just so happens to be his new commanding officer.  Furthermore, their organisation, known as NERV, may have a secret agenda that may forever alter the future of humanity...

While the finer points of its plot (and some serious budget cuts near the end of the series) have split opinions, Evangelion still maintains a wide and devoted fanbase (myself included), so much so that its creator Hideaki Anno collaborated with JR West to bring this world to the Sanyo Shinkansen.  The result is the "Type-500 Eva", a special 500-Series Shinkansen running once daily from Fukuoka to Osaka and back.  As seen in the picture above, the train features a violet and green livery evoking Eva Unit-01, the robot piloted by Shinji in the series.

The interior of Car #2.
By Rsa [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

The interior of car #2, a non-reserved car, continues the exterior's colour scheme with purple seats, green stripes along the floors, and the NERV logo plastered everywhere.  A few of the window shades in car #2 feature images like an AT-Field barrier, or Gendo Ikari doing his trademark stare.  Think you could rest easy with him right beside you...?

For the most part, the unique decor doesn't extend beyond the first two cars, but there are some neat touches here and there.  The smoking cabins in car #3 feature images of side characters Ryoji Kaji (shown) and Ritsuko Akagi.  I may not indulge in tobacco myself, but I couldn't resist taking a peek.

The highlight of the Type-500 Eva, however, has to be car #1.  Rather than additional seating, this car features a small exhibit on Evangelion, including a few dioramas and a standee of one of the characters.  The guy featured here is the mysterious latecomer Kaworu Nagisa.  As a special promotion, his voice-actor (Akira Ishida) did a few of the on-board announcements!  (By the way, I was wearing a T-shirt and NERV ID card I got at Evangelion World in Fuji-Q Highland.)

The centrepiece of car #1 is this re-creation of an Eva cockpit.  Passengers can sit in it to play a simulation game where they defend the train from various Angels!  In order to play, passengers must be selected by a lottery, the application for which is sadly not available to non-Japanese citizens.  However, if it's not too crowded, anyone can line up to get their picture taken with it for free!

The Type-500 Eva is a Kodama service, meaning it stops at every station on the line.  Once a day, it leaves Hakata Station in Fukuoka at half-past 6 in the morning, ending at Shin-Osaka Station at a quarter past 11.  Soon after, it leaves Shin-Osaka, returning to Hakata just past 4 in the afternoon.  There is no Green Car seating on this train, however the reserved seats in cars #4 through 6 are arranged 2+2 across, and are almost as comfortable as Green seats.  Also, be aware that the train is periodically taken out of service for maintenance, roughly a couple of days every two to three weeks.  This schedule is not regular, so be sure to check the service calendar on the official website (the link is at the end of this post) to make sure it is in service when you're available.

Station	Kodama 730 for Shin-Osaka	Station	Kodama 741 for Hakata
Hakata	6:36 AM	Shin-Osaka	11:32 AM
Kokura	6:54 AM	Shin-Kobe	11:46 AM
Shin-Shimonoseki	7:03 AM	Nishi-Akashi	11:56 AM
Asa	7:17 AM	Himeji	12:10 PM
Shin-Yamaguchi	7:27 AM	Aioi	12:23 PM
Tokuyama	7:45 AM	Okayama	12:40 PM
Shin-Iwakuni	8:01 AM	Shin-Kurashiki	12:56 PM
Hiroshima	8:24 AM	Fukuyama	1:11 PM
Higashi-Hiroshima	8:37 AM	Shin-Onomichi	1:24 PM
Mihara	8:51 AM	Mihara	1:38 PM
Shin-Onomichi	9:07 AM	Higashi-Hiroshima	1:50 PM
Fukuyama	9:19 AM	Hiroshima	2:02 PM
Shin-Kurashiki	9:35 AM	Shin-Iwakuni	2:29 PM
Okayama	9:52 AM	Tokuyama	2:53 PM
Aioi	10:13 AM	Shin-Yamaguchi	3:08 PM
Himeji	10:28 AM	Asa	3:23 PM
Nishi-Akashi	10:50 AM	Shin-Shimonoseki	3:38 PM
Shin-Kobe	11:00 AM	Kokura	3:48 PM
Shin-Osaka	11:14 AM	Hakata	4:07 PM

But that's not all!  To generate further interest in the Type-500 Eva, JR West had launched a few promotional campaigns not long before my visit.  Due to popular demand, they announced the service would be extended into Spring 2018, an extra year after its original closing date.  On top of that, they launched a stamp rally.

To play the stamp rally, pick up a free booklet from one of the stations on the Sanyo Shinkansen line, and stamp it at the following five stations: Shin-Osaka, Okayama, Hiroshima, Hakata, and Osaka (not served by the Sanyo Shinkansen), plus one more aboard the Type-500 Eva itself.  The stamp stations, such as the one from Shin-Osaka shown above, are located somewhere within the ticket gates, so you will need to buy a train ticket, or show a rail pass, in order to find them.  (What, you think they'd let you play for free?)

Once you've collected three or more out of the 6 stamps, go to one of the three shops indicated on the booklet, in Osaka, Hiroshima, or Hakata stations.  Show them the booklet along with any purchase of 500 or more, and you will win the following: a NERV/JR West button-pin, and an entry to win a scale model of one of the Type-500 Eva cars.  But hurry; the stamp rally ends on 9 January 2017!  Now do you see why I wanted to get this article out as soon as possible?

Website: (English) (Japanese)