May 25th: Train Dining Car Day

Tomorrow, May 25th, is Train Dining Car day in Japan. And you thought Thermometer Day was random! Once upon a time, restaurant carriages were much more prevalent in Japan. And May 25th is the anniversary of the very first time a train with a dining car ran. 

More than a 100 years ago, on May 25th 1899, the very first dining car was opened for business. The dining car was on a train that run from Kyoto to Yamaguchi.

As you know, trains are still a huge thing here. But sadly restaurants on trains are not as common these days. Largely due to the advancement of train technology. Trains used to chug along slowly, but not they can travel great distance in lesser time. Removing the need for the convenience of a rolling restaurant.

I don't know which came first - the removal of the train dining car or the ekiben... did the ekiben emerge to fill the void. Or did the marketing of the ekiben also contribute to the disappearance of the in train eateries.

Between the shorter travelling times, the ekiben, platform convenience stores and fast food diners, as well as push cart food sales on a train there is little need for a restaurant on a train anymore. Despite that, for now, May 25th remains Train Dining Car day in Japan. But maybe not for much longer: in more recent years they have been pushing May 25th as Purin (pudding) day. As much as I love purin, I am vying for train dining car to hold onto its title. 

Happy Train Dining and Pudding Day!