JR Hokkaido has announced that as of March 4 drink/snack wagon sales on express trains Oozora (Sapporo – Kushiro) will terminate. Also early morning and late evening express trains Super Hokuto (Sapporo – Hakodate) will no longer offer drink/snack wagon sales.

More and more passengers are buying drinks and snacks before boarding a train. Japanese convenience store, Kon-bini, has become more common at train stations in Japan, as Kon-bini offer more variety of choices hence people are buying drinks and snacks before getting on a train.

Such was the case for me on my last Shinkansen (bullet train) ride from Kyoto to Tokyo on business trip. Shinkansen still offer drink/snack sales by wagon but far wider choices of drinks and snacks before getting on a train at a station, coworkers and I bought beer and snacks at a station before getting on a train.

I know it is change of time. But once there were dining cars and buffet cars on Shinkansen, dinning car was more of norm on Limited Express trains, and some long distance Express trains had buffet car service. Buffet car service on JR trains (was called government entity Kokutetsu back then) was more small simplified dinning service, stand up counter with fewer selection than dining car. Buffet car was more like café service on European trains, but buffet car had small kitchen and they actually did cook on train.

Back in good old days, took Shinkansen Kodama from Mishima to Tokyo. Back then Kodama had buffet car, no seats and standing counter only. I ordered beer and curry rice. Beer served in real glass cup, curry rice served on real glass plate, not on disposable paper or plastic plate, with real silverware, not plastic. Those were good old days...