is the name of a number of train services that formerly operated in Japan by

Japanese National Railways The , abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

(JNR), and most recently an all-stations service operated by

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

(JR East) until September 1997 on the high-speed

Tōhoku Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line that runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main island, Honshu. Operated by the East Japan Railway Company, it links Tokyo in the south to Aomori in the north, with ...

in Japan.

History

Express

The name ''Aoba'' (written as "青葉") was first used from 20 November 1945 on an service between in Tokyo and on the

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line () is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Saitama, Saitama, Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Uts ...

. This continued until the train was renamed on 1 October 1965.

Limited express

The ''Aoba'' name (written as "あおば") was reintroduced from 20 March 1971 on

Limited express A limited express is a type of express train or express bus service that stops at fewer locations compared to other express services on the same or similar routes. Japan The term "limited express" is a common translation of the Japanese ...

services between and . These services were discontinued on 24 November 1975.

Shinkansen

From the start of services on the newly opened

on 23 June 1982, ''Aoba'' was the name used for the all-stations shinkansen services operating initially between and Sendai, later between Ueno and Sendai, and eventually between and Sendai. Services initially used 200 series 12-car "E" sets with a Green (first class) car as car 7, and a buffet counter in car 9. Services later used 8-car 200 series "G" sets with a Green (first class) car as car 5, and a buffet counter in car 7. When the E1 Shinkansen made it's debut, one set was used on Max Aoba services between Nasushiobara and Tokyo.

12-car E sets

8-car G sets

The number of ''Aoba'' services was reduced from 1 December 1995, following the introduction of the ''

Nasuno The is a train service operated on the Tōhoku Shinkansen by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It serves all stations between and , a medium-sized city approximately 225 km north of Tokyo.JR Timetable, December 2008 Origin ...

'' all-stations service, and the name was finally discontinued from 1 October 1997 when the remaining trains were integrated with ''

Yamabiko The is a high-speed Shinkansen train service operated on the Tōhoku Shinkansen between and by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. Name The word ''yamabiko'' is usually translated as 'echo', particularly one which is heard in th ...

'' services.

Former rolling stock

* 200 Series 12 car E sets (23 June 1982 - 1 October 1997) * 200 Series 8 car G sets (23 June 1982 - 1 October 1997) * E1 Series 12 car sets (Max Aoba) (15 July 1994 - 1 October 1997) File:Shinkansen_200kei_G45.jpg, Set G45 of the 200 series Shinkansen, similar to those used on Aoba services File:E1_M1_Max_Asahi_317_Omiya_20020629.jpg, An E1 series Shinkansen, similar to the one used on Aoba services.

References

{{JR East trains Tōhoku Shinkansen Tōhoku Main Line Railway services introduced in 1945 Railway services discontinued in 1997 Named Shinkansen trains