Shinkansen Shinkansen The , meaning "new trunkline," but colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, in order to aid economic growth and development. Beyond long-distance travel, some sections around the largest metropolitan areas are used as a commuter rail network. It is operated by five Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen () in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-Shinkansen lines with a maximum
What Is Life in a number of popular movies: Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" (1990), during the "May 11, 1980" sequence; Tom Shadyac's "Patch Adams" (1998); and, more recently, Sam Mendes' "Away We Go" (2009). In late 2012, "What Is Life" was used in advance promotion for the film "This Is 40", directed by Judd Apatow, although it was omitted from the accompanying soundtrack album. According to "Rolling Stone": "Today, many people know it merely as a song from all those soundtracks: it's in "This Is 40", "Patch Adams", "Goodfellas" and many more. It's almost as ubiquitous as 'Let My Love Open the Door' or