世論 What Japan Thinks

Trains always have a certain charm for me, and the shinkansen (bullet train) more than most, but sometimes I feel there are things missing, with no wireless LAN even on the newest models being the most obvious omission. This survey from goo Ranking looked at what the Japanese felt they’d like to see on the shinkansen and other express trains.

Demographics

Between the 25th and 28th of July 2008 1,072 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.3% of the sample were male, 5.7% in their teens, 14.4% in their twenties, 31,0% in their thirties, 28.1% in their forties, 10.5% in their fifties, and 10.4% aged sixty or older. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.

The one thing I felt missing from express trains (not that I wanted to use it myself) is the opportunity to order special lunch boxes from stations you pass through. These eki-ben, as they are known, are rather popular for some reason I have never been able to understand.

With many of the answers it is not specified if people want the facilities to use or to avoid, although I suspect the latter for most of them!

Ranking results

Q: What do you think would be good to have on the shinkansen or other express trains? (Sample size=1,072)

Rank		Score
1	Fully flat reclining seat	100
2	One drink free service	85.4
3=	Battery recharging service	58.7
3=	Business carriage with internet service	58.7
5	Dining carriage	57.7
6	Mini theatre carriage	53.0
7	Family-only carriage	50.0
8	Wake-up service to avoid sleeping past one’s stop	48.0
9	Ladies-only carriage	47.3
10	Wet towel service	42.8
11	Massage chair	40.3
12	Kids-only carriage	37.6
13	Slipper service	34.7
14	Toilet with powder room	33.9
15	Refresh (body, mind) carriage	33.7
16	Pet OK carriage	32.7
17	Businessperson-only discount carriage	31.4
18	Sleeper carriage	30.7
19	Seat-back monitor (entertainment system)	29.7
20	Boozers’ carriage	25.5