#HTE

Cool, Non-Pointy High-Speed Train Design: Tokyo’s Narita Express, by Industrial Designer Kenji Ekuan

The last time I visited Japan (over a decade ago) the Narita Express, the high speed train that whisks you from the airport to Tokyo, looked like this:

However, it’s since received a pretty sick re-design by industrial designer Kenji Ekuan, who famously designed the original Kikkoman soy sauce bottle:

The futuristic-looking train made its debut in 2009–which means Ekuan, who was born in 1929, designed it in his seventies. Talk about staying sharp in your old age!

Sadly Ekuan, a former trustee of Art Center, passed away in 2015 at the age of 85. His design firm, the GK Design Group, lives on.

See Also:

From Retro to Futuristic to Super-Luxurious, the Unusual Train Designs of Eiji Mitooka

More “Designer Trains” in Japan: Ken Okuyama’s Cruise Train