This week's newsletter comes to you from aboard the Frecciarossa 1000 high-speed train to Napoli. Its bright red bodywork cuts a bold figure on platforms across the country. Sleeker and more aerodynamic than Italy's older rolling stock, the train takes its cues from the Japanese Shinkansen. It is a connection made tangible by Hitachi logos hidden around the interior, a discrete marker of the train's manufacturer. Once in motion, it cruises at a cool 300 km/h, well below its designed top speed of 400 km/h.

We're taking a pause from our usual Tokyo-centric programming this week. As the Italian countryside glides past, it feels good to be back here. This particular Frecciarossa departed Milan and will call at Rome, though I won't have time to explore either on this trip. Having come up from Florence, I boarded in Bologna and will ride straight through to the final stop, Napoli Centrale. With three hours ahead, there's just enough time to share a pair of impressions from my journey thus far.