Tōkaidō Shinkansen and Mount Fuji

The bullet train route from Tokyo to Kyoto, Tōkaidō Shinkansen, carries more than 150 million passengers each year. The trains are on time (average 6 seconds off schedule) and fast – 300 km/hour (180+mph). The cars are air sealed and quiet. The train goes through mountains instead of around or over. We saw lots of buildings and little farm land. Farms we did see were growing tea. The best sight we saw was snow capped Mount Fuji. Mount Fuji is a volcano that is often used as a symbol of Japan. It last erupted in the early 18^th century and is located at the junction of three plates (plate tectonics). It is over 12,300 foot elevation and is snow clad some of the year. The challenge – can a Lumix Panasonic camera capture Mount Fuji through the window of a train traveling 180 mph? The answer is: yes you can take a decent picture. Can you take a picture of a bullet train moving in the opposite direction at the same speed? No, you just photograph a blur.