Video Nagoya to Osaka - Riding the Japanese Nozomi Bullet Train

[drakestravels]

New to the group and glad to find other fans of the bullet trains. I rode the Shinkansen for the frist time last month (June 2018) and loved it. It was amazing how smooth but powerful the acceleration was and the organization for passengers to get on and off to minimize the time in the station. Love these trains and made a short video of the journey. Can't wait to to go back to back to ride again. I've rode similar trains in Europe but have to say Japan has the best!  See Youtube link for a video summary of the ride.

 

 

[chadbag]

Were you riding on a JR Pass?

[JR 500系]

I think he got on a 'Hikari' as if the train that he rode on is the one that is pulling into the station, then it is a 'Hikari' as the destination board is in Red... The other train when they arrived at Shin-Osaka and is pulling into the station is a Nozomi (Yellow board) 

[drakestravels]

Was not on a JR Pass. Purchased tickets just for this one ride and advised JR Pass not accepted on the fastest train but didn't have one anyways. Also purchased with reserved seats.

 

Perhaps we were on a Hikari since I see point with yellow and red board. I thought it was the Nozomi but I'm not an expert. I know the routing was Nagoya to Osaka Shin with a single stop in Kyoto. Thanks for sharing and overall really loved the ride and huge fan now. I'll definitely ride again on a future visit. Also enjoy this group and learning more!

[chadbag]

1 hour ago, drakestravels said:

Was not on a JR Pass. Purchased tickets just for this one ride and advised JR Pass not accepted on the fastest train but didn't have one anyways. Also purchased with reserved seats.

 

Perhaps we were on a Hikari since I see point with yellow and red board. I thought it was the Nozomi but I'm not an expert. I know the routing was Nagoya to Osaka Shin with a single stop in Kyoto. Thanks for sharing and overall really loved the ride and huge fan now. I'll definitely ride again on a future visit. Also enjoy this group and learning more!

 

Just an FYI, for future reference:  

 

The difference in ride between a Hikari and Nozomi service is pretty much nil between Osaka and Tokyo (so Nagoya -- Osaka would qualify).  The Hikari will stop at a few more stations but generally are the same trainsets and should go about just as fast on the fastest stretches.

 

Stops:

 

NOZOMI: Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shin-Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka
HIKARI: Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shin-Yokohama, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, Nagoya, Gifu-Hashima, Maibara, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka

 

(Stop info from: http://www.travelwithamnet.com/blog/2016/12/14/different-shinkasens-nozomi-hikari-kodama-mizuho-sakura)

 

So from Nagoya to Osaka there are 2 extra stops on the Hikari, which is why it takes a slightly longer amount of time to get there.

 

Based on price, the Hikari is a better financial deal since you can buy the JR Pass and ride as many Hikari (and Kodama Shinkansen and non-Shinkansen JR trains) as you like. And you get free reserved seats with the JRPass.

 

Unless you really really have to ride on the one that says Nozomi on its name plate.  The experience is the same once it is going and the time difference is negligible.  For the complete Shin-Osaka to Tokyo route about 21 minutes longer on the Hikari based on Hyperdia lookups I just did.  For Nagoya to Shin-Osaka it is about 3 minutes difference.

Edited July 21, 2018 by chadbag

[JR 500系]

hhmmm.. depending n which Hikari service you take, it might be totally the same...

 

Based on Hyperdia,

 

Nozomi 205 (N700 series) leaves Nagoya at 09:01, arrives at Kyoto at 09:35, leaves Kyoto at 09:36 and arrives at Shin-Osaka at 09:50, taking a total of 49mins for the journey

 

Hikari 461 (N700 series) leaves Nagoya at 09:07, arrives at Kyoto at 09:45, leaves Kyoto at 09:46 and arrives at Shin-Osaka at 10:00, taking a total of 53 mins for the journey 

 

Seeing the difference between the Nozomi and the Hikari, the route between Nagoya and Kyoto is 34mins for Nozomi and 38mins for Hikari, and the same time they both take from Kyoto to Shin-Osaka (14mins)… so i'm not sure if that is due to the fact that the Nozomi did travel faster than the Hikari since they both have the same stops. 

 

The next Hikari, Hikari 503, is different from Hikari 461 though, cause it stops at Gifu-Hashima and Maibara before coming to Kyoto, which means even more time taken over the Nozomi … Kodama is the all stops service so that makes it the slowest...  (Nozomi-yellow, Hikari-Red and Kodama-Blue) 

 

There is another advantage of the Nozomi over the Hikari, in that it goes Non-stop from Tokyo to Hakata, by which no other service does. Having to transfer trains is sometimes quite tedious especially more so with luggage to drag along, though the best choice of transfer station would be Shin-Kobe where most Hikari stops and there is no need to walk anywhere and simply wait on the same platform!  🙂