Nozomi
N700A Series Nozomi, September 2021
Overview
Service typeShinkansen
First service1934 (Express)
1992 (Shinkansen)
Current operator(s)JR Central, JR West
Route
TerminiTokyo
Hakata
Line(s) usedTōkaidō Shinkansen
San'yō Shinkansen
On-board services
Class(es)Green/standard
Catering facilitiesTrolley service
Technical
Rolling stockN700 series, N700S series
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification25 kV AC overhead
Operating speed300 km/h (190 mph) (San'yō Shinkansen) 285 km/h (180 mph) (Tōkaidō Shinkansen)

Nozomi (のぞみ, "Wish" or "Hope") is the fastest train service running on the Tokaido & San'yō Shinkansen lines in Japan. The service stops at only the largest stations, and along the stretch between Shin-Ōsaka and Hakata, Nozomi services using N700 series equipment reach speeds of 300 km/h (186 mph). The trip between Tokyo and Osaka, a distance of 515 kilometres (320 mi), takes 2 hours 21 minutes on the fastest Nozomi service, with the fastest service between Tōkyō and Hakata taking 4 hours 46 minutes.[1]

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 Shinagawa, Shin-Yokohama, Nagoya and Kyōto.[1] On the Sanyō Shinkansen between Shin-Ōsaka and Hakata, all Nozomi trains stop at Shin-Kobe, Hiroshima, Okayama and Kokura, with certain trains also stopping at additional stations.

Foreigners traveling with a Japan Rail Pass are required to purchase a special ticket to use the Nozomi service.[2]

Stopping patterns (as of January 2024)

Legend

● All trains stop
△ Some trains stop

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.

Station Distance (km)
(from Tokyo)		 Tokyo – Hakata*
Tōkyō 0.0 ●
Shinagawa 6.8 ●
Shin-Yokohama 25.5 ●
Nagoya 342.0 ●
Kyoto 476.3 ●
Shin-Ōsaka 515.4 ●
Shin-Kōbe 548.0 ●
Nishi-Akashi 570.2 △
Himeji 601.3 △
Okayama 676.3 ●
Fukuyama 733.1 △
Hiroshima 821.2 ●
Tokuyama 903.5 △
Shin-Yamaguchi 944.6 △
Kokura 1013.2 ●
Hakata 1069.1 ●

Note:
* Some trains begin/terminate at Nagoya, Nishi-Akashi, Himeji, Okayama, or Hiroshima.

Rolling stock

Current rolling stock

Former rolling stock

Formations

Current operations

N700 series / N700S series

As of December 2023, 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; enclosed smoking compartments are located in cars 3, 10, and 15. [4][5][6]

Car no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Class Standard Standard Green Standard
Reservation Non-reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved
Facilities Toilet Toilet, smoking room   Toilet Vending machine Toilet Toilet Smoking room Vending machine, toilet, wheelchair space   Toilet   Smoking room, toilet  

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).

Future plans

In an announcement by JR Central, JR West, and JR Kyushu made on 17 October 2023, the companies stated that all onboard smoking rooms on the Tokaido, San'yo, and Kyushu Shinkansen trains would be discontinued by Q2 2024.[7] In addition, all smoking rooms located on station platforms on the aforementioned Shinkansen lines would also be discontinued.[7]

Former operations

700 series

Services formerly operated with 700 series sets at the time of their removal in March 2020 were as follows:[3]

Car No.12345678910111213141516
Class

and Reservation

Standard
Non-reserved		Standard
Non-reserved		Standard
Non-reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Green
Reserved		Green
Reserved		Green
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved		Standard
Reserved
Facilities ToiletCardphoneToilet, vending machine ToiletCardphoneToilet Toilet Vending machine, toilet, wheelchair spaceCardphoneToilet Vending machine, toilet, cardphone 
Smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking Smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking No-smoking Smoking Smoking

History

Wartime steam services

The Nozomi name was first used for long-distance express services operated between Busan in Japanese-occupied Korea and Mukden (now Shenyang) in the former Manchukuo (now China) from 1934.[8] From 1938, the services were extended to run between Busan and Xinjing (now Changchun) in Manchukuo. The 1,530 km journey from Busan to Xinjing took over 29 hours, with an average speed of 52 km/h (32 mph). The services were run down between 1943 and 1944.[8]

Shinkansen services

Nozomi shinkansen services commenced on March 14, 1992, using new 300 series trainsets with a top speed of 270 km/h. From March 1997, 500 series trainsets were introduced on Tokyo - Hakata Nozomi services, running at a maximum speed of 300 km/h 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 JR West adjusted all Nozomi services to operate completely with reservations during three seasons that experience the highest ridership: New Years and Christmas (late December thru the first week of January), Golden Week (29 April to 5 May), and the Obon festival (mid to late August).[9] These adjustments were made in a bid to increase seat patronage and reduce the amount of standing passengers.[9]

See also

References

  • JR新幹線＆特急列車ファイル [JR Shinkansen & Limited Express Train File]. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. 2008. ISBN 978-4-330-00608-6.
  • JR Timetable, March 2008 issue
  1. 1 2 Hyperdia: Shin-Osaka–Tokyo timetable for 2009-06-11
  2. ↑ "Use of "NOZOMI" and "MIZUHO" Shinkansen bullet trains". Japan Railways Group. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 "新幹線700系の8日ラストラン取りやめ 感染拡大防止で 1日が最後の運行に" [700 Series Shinkansen Last Run Cancelled]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). Mainichi. 2 March 2020. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  4. ↑ JR Timetable, August 2011, p.997
  5. ↑ 新幹線　車両大全 [Shinkansen Cars Encyclopedia]. Tokyo, Japan: Ikaros Publications Ltd. November 2011. pp. 60–135. ISBN 978-4-86320-526-0.
  6. ↑ "Accommodations of trains". Central Japan Railway Company (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  7. 1 2 Kinoshita, Kenji (17 October 2023). "東海道・山陽・九州新幹線の車内喫煙ルーム、2024年春にすべて廃止" [All smoking rooms on Tokaido, Sanyo, and Kyushu Shinkansen trains will be discontinued in spring 2024.]. MyNavi Corporation. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  8. 1 2 JR急行・快速列車 [JR Express & Rapid Trains]. Tokyo, Japan: Railway Journal. 2 November 1991. p. 127.
  9. 1 2 "JR東海・JR西日本，3大ピーク期に"のぞみ"を全席指定席で運転" [JR Central and JR West to Discontinue Non-Reserved Seats on all Nozomi Services during Three Major Holidays]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). 14 September 2023. Archived from the original on 14 September 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
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