JANUARY 27

You may not think of it that way but Japan is a country made up of islands - something like Hawaii is a state made up of islands.  The total number of islands is 6,852.  Wow!

The largest island is Honshu which is home to the capitol, Tokyo.  The second largest island is Hokkaido whose primary city is Sapporo.  104 million people live on Honshu and over 5 million on Hokkaido.  The two islands are separated by over 50 miles. 

On this date in 1983, the pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, connecting the two islands broke through.  It is the longest tunnel in the world with a portion drilled under the sea bed.  When the tunnel was completed in 1988, it included two rail lines. 

In 2005, a project was started to change the rail lines to dual gauge; narrow for freight trains and a standard gauge was added for passenger trains.  Bullet train passenger service did not begin until 2016.  By 2031, they hope to have the passenger service extended to Sapporo.  The Seikan Tunnel is one I'd like to see.  I'm sure there's a light at the end.