The Shinkansen made its first appearance between Tokyo and Osaka in 1964, the year of the Tokyo Olympics. Shinkansen, or "bullet trains," began operating on the route between Tokyo and Nagano in October 1997. Today the Shinkansen network spreads all the way from the Tohoku region in the north to Kyushu in the south. Japan's Shinkansen are among the fastest trains in the world, reaching speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour (185 miles per hour) just like France's TGV super-express.