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]
![]() N700A Series Nozomi, September 2021 | |
Overview | |
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Service type | Shinkansen |
First service | 1934 (Express) 1992 (Shinkansen) |
Current operator(s) | JR Central, JR West |
Route | |
Termini | Tokyo Hakata |
Line(s) used | Tokaido Shinkansen San'yō Shinkansen |
On-board services | |
Class(es) | Green/standard |
Catering facilities | Trolley service |
Technical | |
Rolling stock | N700 series, N700S series |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
Electrification | 25 kV AC overhead |
Operating speed | 300 km/h (185 mph) |
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, Okayama, Hiroshima and Kokura, with certain trains also stopping at additional stations. The Nozomi service is not valid for foreigners traveling with a Japan Rail Pass.[2]
Legend
● | All trains stop |
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○ | Some trains stop |
△ | Few trains stop |
Note:
1 Some trains begin/terminate at Nishi-Akashi, Himeji, Okayama or Hiroshima.
2 Some trains begin/terminate at Nagoya.
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 - Hakata1 | Tokyo- Shin-Osaka2 |
Nagoya - Hakata |
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Tokyo | 0.0 | ● | ● | |
Shinagawa | 6.8 | ● | ● | |
Shin-Yokohama | 25.5 | ● | ● | |
Nagoya | 342.0 | ● | ● | ● |
Kyoto | 476.3 | ● | ● | ● |
Shin-Ōsaka | 515.4 | ● | ● | ● |
Shin-Kobe | 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 | ● | ● |
Trains are formed as shown below, with car 1 at the Hakata end, and car 16 at the Tokyo end.[3][4]
Car no. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
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Class | Standard | Standard | Green | Standard | ||||||||||||
Non-reserved | Reserved | Reserved | Reserved | |||||||||||||
Facilities | WC | WC / smoking compartment | Cardphone | WC | Vending machine | WC / smoking compartment | WC / cardphone | Smoking compartment | Vending machine / WC / wheelchair space | Cardphone | WC | Smoking compartment / WC / cardphone | ||||
Smoking | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
(All cars are completely non-smoking, except for enclosed smoking compartments located in cars 3, 7, 10, and 15)
Car No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Class | 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 | WC | Cardphone | WC / vending machine | WC | Cardphone | WC | WC | Vending machine / WC / wheelchair space | Cardphone | WC | Vending machine / WC / cardphone | |||||
Smoking | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
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.[5] From 1938, the services were extended to run between Busan and Hsinking (now Changchun) in Manchukuo. The 1,530 km journey from Busan to Hsinking took over 29 hours, with an average speed of 52 km/h (32 mph). The services were run down between 1943 and 1944.[5]
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.
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Named trains of Central Japan Railway Company | ||
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Shinkansen |
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Limited express (daytime) | ||
Limited express (overnight) | ||
Discontinued |
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Named trains of West Japan Railway Company | ||
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Shinkansen | ![]() | |
Limited express (daytime) | ||
Limited express (overnight) |
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Limited express (commuter) |
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Rapid | ||
Other |
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Discontinued |
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