Shinkansen Scramble 2026

In 10 days, my friend Ali and I are heading to Japan for the very first — a five-day nationwide rail race inspired by adventure shows like Race Across the World. 

Starting and ending in Tokyo, teams race across Japan using the country’s legendary Shinkansen network to hunt for checkpoints, earn points, and out-strategize the competition. 🚄

The catch? We won’t know the full route ahead of time. At the starting line, we’ll receive a manga-style race pack filled with hidden checkpoints that could send us anywhere from major cities to tiny off-the-map towns. Every train decision matters.

This honestly feels like the perfect mix of travel, strategy, storytelling, chaos, and adventure — and maybe proof that reinventing your life can look like racing across Japan by bullet train with one of your friends. 🇯🇵✨

Over the next few days/weeks I’ll be sharing the planning, the race itself, the inevitable train mistakes, convenience store food reviews, and whatever chaos happens when you decide this is a reasonable vacation idea.

Follow along. This is going to be wild.