Despite the 4 hour travel time & the fact that Hakodate is a declining city, the train was almost sold out--only got a seat bc first classhttps://twitter.com/380kmh/status/910730403949854720 …
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more
The driving force behind the high ridership is tourism, not local travel (I'm assuming)--the same happened in Aomori when Shin-Aomori opened
It turns out that Tokyo's tourist market is so huge that even a fraction of it is much higher than ALL local travel demand up here
Still too soon to say if it's a trend that will continue but if so, maybe Shikoku and other boonies will get Shinkansen after all someday
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.