On a roll: bullet train food carts become Japan’s latest must-have

The food trolley and passengers in the interior of a shinkansen bullet train in Japan. The carts have become a popular after being discontinued on a Tokyo-Osaka route. Photograph: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Alamy

They are simple, practical items that have rolled seamlessly along bullet train aisles for decades, carrying snacks to millions of hungry travellers as they are whisked along at speeds of around 300km/h (186mph).

But now the humble food and beverage trolleys of one of Japan’s shinkansen routes have become an unlikely must-have item in canteens and household kitchens across the country.