Nozomi shinkansen marks 25 years as vital transport artery

[bill937ca]

Japan Times article on the 25th anniversary of the Nozomi trains.

 

 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/03/14/national/nozomi-shinkansen-marks-25-years-vital-transport-artery/#.WMfO0mSGMUF

Edited March 14, 2017 by bill937ca

[railsquid]

I remember, on my first visit in Japan in 1993, being asked breathlessly by someone whether we'd taken the Hikari or Nozomi from Kyoto to Tokyo. Aaargh, where does the time go. Mind you, next time I did that route in 1997 it was with the Seishun 18 Kippu...

Edited March 14, 2017 by railsquid

[Sacto1985]

Nozomi only became possible with the introduction of the 300 Series trainset, which had a top speed of 270 km/h and dramatically cut the travel time between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka Stations. Today, the N700A trainset can travel between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka in under 2.5 hours--and it may be even faster once the older 700 Series trainsets leave service, which may allow 300 km/h running on certain parts of the Tokaidō Shinkansen line between Shzuoka and Kyoto.

 

While Nozomi services are not covered by the Japan Rail Pass now, I wouldn't be surprised soon that it would be, but passengers using the rail pass will have to pay a supplemental fee to use this train.

[JR 500系]

I think the greatest part about being able to use the Nozomi is when you are travelling directly from Tokyo to Hakata. There is no need for a transfer, and when lugging large luggage around, transfers are abit of a problem...

 

I encountered in my 2nd trip when I just disembark from the plane and had to take a shinkansen from Hakata all the way to Tokyo... After a long flight and having to transfer at Shin-Osaka/ Shin-Kobe, I really wanted to be able to take the Nozomi.... 

[Ewan.in.gz]

Heheh, transfers with luggage are not necessarily an issue.... You can choose to transfer at somewhere less busy than Shin-Osaka. One day in February, I was taking the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hiroshima, lugging a 22kg suitcase too.... I chose to make the transfer at Shin-Kobe. There are only 2 tracks and 2 platforms, so if you are not changing directions, all you need to do is get off the first train and find the right place to board the second train!

 

Easy as pie!

 

Ewan

[westfalen]

Yes, changing trains in not really a problem in Japan where everything runs on time and not only stops at the platform the timetable says it will be on but the car your seat is in always stops exactly on the mark too.  It's nice to get off for a while to stretch your legs and grab a bento too.

 

The thing that bugs me most often about no having access to the Nozomi is that there are seemingly more and more of them every year and less Hikari and Kodama trains.  When I first started going to Japan a pass holder could hop on any Shinkansen that came along but now you go to the departure board and see Nozomi, Nozomi, Nozomi, Nozomi......

[Sacto1985]

The thing that bugs me most often about no having access to the Nozomi is that there are seemingly more and more of them every year and less Hikari and Kodama trains.  When I first started going to Japan a pass holder could hop on any Shinkansen that came along but now you go to the departure board and see Nozomi, Nozomi, Nozomi, Nozomi......

 

Hence the reason why I'd like the Japan Rail Pass updated so Pass holders can ride the Nozomi train by paying a supplemental fee (e.g., 20% of the cost of a full Nozomi ticket). And this applies to the Mizuho train between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chūō Stations, too.