Thursday, October 1, 1964: Bullet train

TOKYO -- Japan's new electric "Dream Train" rolled out of Tokyo station this morning on its 347-mile maiden trip to Osaka. The train has a top speed of 125 mph. Japanese rail officials planned the fast service to start in time for the Olympic games opening here Oct. 10. (United Press International)

-- Photo from Kyodo News Service. Caption: A superexpress Hikari train passes by (Tokyo's) Nichigeki Theatre in Yurakucho district on Dec. 21, 1964. Tokaido Shinkansen line was inaugurated on Oct. 1 just before Tokyo and Shin-Osaka in four hours and emerging as the world's first high-speed rail for mass transport.

* "Japan's Bullet Train, the World's First (and Still Best) High-Speed Rail Network, Turns 50" (Next City): @

* "Japan's Shinkansen: Revolutionary design at 50" (BBC): @

* "Fifty Years Ago and Today, Japan Blazes Trails with Trains": @

* "About the Shinkansen" (Central Japan Railway Company): @

* Episode of "Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections" (2011): @
* "High Speed Rail in Japan: A Review and Evaluation of the Shinkansen Train" (University of California Transportation Center, 1992): @ 

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Tuesday, January 1, 1963: 'Astro Boy'

The animated cartoon "Tetsuwan Atomu," about a young robot boy with super powers who fights for peace and justice, has its television premiere in Japan. Based on the comic book ("manga") by Tezuka Osamu, it would be broadcast in the United States starting in September as "Astro Boy." 
* Watch first English episode: @ and @

* Entry from www.animenewsnetwork.com: @

* Entry from tezukaosamu.net: @

* Entry from tezukainenglish.com: @

* Short profile of Tezuka Osamu (from www.animeacademy.com): @

* "The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution: @ 

* "Astro Boy and Anime Come to the Americas" (Fred Ladd and Harvey Deneroff, 2009): @   

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