is the fastest train service running on the Tokaido and San'yō

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond lon ...

lines in Japan. The service stops at only the largest stations, and services using N700 series equipment reach speeds of along the stretch between and . The trip between

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and

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, a distance of , takes 2 hours 21 minutes on the fastest ''Nozomi'' service, with the fastest service between

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and Hakata taking 4 hours 45 minutes.Hyperdia: Shin-Osaka–Tokyo timetable for 2009-06-11
/ref> The trains stop at fewer stations than the '' Hikari'' and '' Kodama'' trains. On the Tōkaidō Shinkansen between Tokyo and Shin-Ōsaka, ''Nozomi'' trains stop only at , , and . On the Sanyō Shinkansen between Shin-Ōsaka and Hakata, all ''Nozomi'' trains stop at , , and , with certain trains also stopping at additional stations. Foreigners traveling with a

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are required to purchase a special ticket to use the ''Nozomi'' service.

History

Wartime steam services

The ''Nozomi'' name was first used for long-distance express services operated between

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in Japanese-occupied Korea and Mukden (now

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) in the former

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

(now China) from 1934. From 1938, the services were extended to run between Busan and Xinjing (now

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) in Manchukuo. The journey from Busan to Xinjing took over 29 hours, with an average speed of . The services were run down between 1943 and 1944.

Shinkansen services

''Nozomi'' shinkansen services commenced on March 14, 1992, using new 300 series trainsets with a top speed of . From March 1997, 500 series trainsets were introduced on Tokyo - Hakata ''Nozomi'' services, running at a maximum speed of and covering the section between Shin-Osaka and Hakata in 2 hours 17 minutes. 700 series trains were introduced on ''Nozomi'' services in 1999, and N700 series trains were introduced from July 1, 2007, initially with four daily round-trip runs. All regularly scheduled through ''Nozomi'' services to the San'yō Shinkansen (Tokyo–Hakata) were operated by N700 series sets from 13 March 2010. From the start of the revised timetable on 17 March 2012, all regularly scheduled ''Nozomi'' services, including runs limited to the Tokaido Shinkansen, were operated by N700 series sets. Effective December 2023, JR Central and

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adjusted all ''Nozomi'' services to operate completely with reservations during three seasons that experience the highest ridership: New Years and

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(late December through the first week of January), Golden Week (29 April to 5 May), and the Obon festival (mid to late August). These adjustments were made in a bid to increase seat patronage and reduce the amount of standing passengers. Starting in March 2025, ''Nozomi'' services will begin operating with only two unreserved cars instead of three outside of peak periods, with officials citing an increase in the popularity of online train reservations.

Stopping patterns (as of January 2024)

Legend ''Only basic Nozomi stopping patterns are shown. Additional Nozomi trains with differing stopping patterns are added during holiday and high-peak travel periods and are not included in this table.'' Note:
* Some trains begin/terminate at Nagoya, Shin-Osaka,Nishi-Akashi, Himeji, Okayama, or Hiroshima.

Rolling stock

Current rolling stock

* N700 series (July 2007 – present) * N700S series (July 2020 – present) File:Shinkansen N700 z15.jpg, N700 series, June 2008 File:Series-N700S-J2.jpg, N700S series, September 2021

Former rolling stock

* 300 series (March 1992 – March 2012) * 500 series (March 1997 – June 2008) * 700 series (March 1999 – March 2020) File:Shinkansen 300kei J61.JPG, 300 series, February 2011 File:Shinkansen 500 series W2 formation.jpg, 500 series, February 2010 File:JR Central Shinkansen 700.jpg, 700 series, January 2008

Formations

Current operations

N700 series / N700S series

As of November 2024, trains are formed as shown below, with car 1 at the Hakata end, and car 16 at the Tokyo end. All seats are non-smoking.JR Timetable, August 2011, p.997 Electric power outlets are located at the ends and at window seats of standard cars, and at each seat in Green cars. In 2021, payphones were removed from cars 4, 9, 15 (previously present on N700 trains only) and car 12 (previously present on all trains). In March 2024, smoking rooms were removed from all Tokaido, San'yo, and Kyushu Shinkansen trains and station platforms. File:Shinkansen N700 series Green seat.JPG, N700 series Green car interior File:Shinkansen N700 series Standard-sized car seat.JPG, N700 series standard-class car interior

Former operations

700 series

Services formerly operated with 700 series sets at the time of their removal in March 2020 were as follows:

References

* * JR Timetable, March 2008 issue {{JR West trains Railway services introduced in 1992 Named Shinkansen trains