500-series Shinkansen on Sanyo Kodama...

[TestudoToTetsudo]

With the 500 series Shinkansen equipment now operating exclusively on Sanyo Shinkansen Kodama trips, I was wondering if anyone knows what percentage of all Sanyo Kodama trips are being handled by the 500-series.  I'm thinking of possibly using the Kodama for some travel along the Sanyo Shinkansen route the next time I am in Japan and wonder what the odds will be I will get a 500-series.

 

Thanks!

[bikkuri bahn]

Here you go. 6 trains a day in each direction. Top table is Shin-Osaka to Hakata.  Bottom is Hakata to Shin-Osaka.

 

http://www.jr-odekake.net/navi/shinkansen/knowledge/500kei_okosama/pdf/timetable100313.pdf

[westfalen]

Thanks for that. I'm spending three nights in Kokura in September so I should be able to fit in a ride somewhere.

[Guest ___]

Can someone translate the time that the 500's will be at Shinosaska from that .PDF file.

[TestudoToTetsudo]

Thanks for the great info!

 

I'll have to check again before my trip as it is still a long ways off but at least I know the odds are slim enough I'll have to check when that time comes!

 

I hope they stay in service for a while!

[bikkuri bahn]

Can someone translate the time that the 500's will be at Shinosaska from that .PDF file.

 

Shin Osaka departures:  6:15, 7:00, 7:29, 11:33, 16:38, 18:38

Shin Osaka arrivals:      11:05, 16:05, 18:05, 21:28, 22:35, 23:21

[Guest ___]

Can someone translate the time that the 500's will be at Shinosaska from that .PDF file.

 

Shin Osaka departures:  6:15, 7:00, 7:29, 11:33, 16:38, 18:38

Shin Osaka arrivals:       11:05, 16:05, 18:05, 21:28, 22:35, 23:21

 

Cool, thanks, that makes things a lot easier when waiting for them in two weeks. Any idea when the RailStar's arrive and depart to Shinosaka (in English) ?

[bikkuri bahn]

The Railstars depart roughly half hourly to hourly, depending on the time of day. The train designations/numbers are Hikari 540-589, so even without a schedule, by checking the "denkokeijiban" (electronic departures indicator) at the station, you can determine which trains are Railstars.  Here is a site that gives the times.  The top column is for Shin-Osaka(新大阪) to Hakata(博多).  The one below it is vice-versa.

 

http://imode.ekitan.com/plan/sta2/index_railstar.html?uid=NULLGWDOCOMO&guid=ON

[Guest ___]

Good information, thanks. Sadly the page does not seem to like my Firefox and doesn't view correctly but I get the gist of what you're saying.

[bikkuri bahn]

Good information, thanks. Sadly the page does not seem to like my Firefox and doesn't view correctly but I get the gist of what you're saying.

 

That's unfortunate.  It seems the page is configured for cellphone viewing.  I can't find any other web sites with current schedules for the Railstars.

[Guest ___]

I did get it to translate ok between my limited ability to read kana and rikaichan, manged to snag the times.

[TestudoToTetsudo]

To get the full Shinosaka-hakata schedule of all trains for a day in English, go to hyperdia.com, click the link for English and look up a schedule for shinosaka to hakata on the date you want.  When the schedule page loads, under the first direct train you see (even if it's a Nozomi), click the link for "interval timetable".  A full day schedule of every nozomi, hikari rail star and kodama will load in English, complete with intermediate stop times and service names for each train in English.

 

Hyperdia has worked for me in Firefox.

 

Hope this helps!

[Guest ___]

That one works well, thanks.

[TestudoToTetsudo]

Shashinka - glad that worked for you.

 

Wow, it's about 2 years before I'll likely be able to take my next trip to Japan and I'm already stringing out possible train trips!  I'm not even sure how long I'll be in Japan yet or what time of year I'll be going (family commitments and wife's work schedule will likely drive that), but I'm hoping to have a good idea of what types of trips I'll want to take, and the time realities of each, so once I have a clear picture of how much time I will have where, I'll have a "baseline" plan to start with (from which I can deviate as desired/necessary).  Hopefully the 500-series will keep running in 2012; I'll be sure to ask again closer to the date I leave!

 

Thanks for the wealth of information!

[disturbman]

To get the full Shinosaka-hakata schedule of all trains for a day in English, go to hyperdia.com [...]

 

Woosh! Thanks a lot for this, it will help me plan my upcoming trip to Japan. Too bad there is nothing for April 2010.

[TestudoToTetsudo]

To get the full Shinosaka-hakata schedule of all trains for a day in English, go to hyperdia.com [...]

 

Woosh! Thanks a lot for this, it will help me plan my upcoming trip to Japan. Too bad there is nothing for April 2010.

 

Yeah, Hyperdia has some great stuff beyond simple point-to-point schedules if you know how to look.

 

The one catch (besides the next schedule change not being up yet) is that the "Interval Timetable" only shows trains that serve both endpoints you plugged into the schedule (in this example, Shinosaka and Hakata).  So a train that only runs as far as, say, Okayama, won't show up in it.

 

Still a very fun toy to use to plan travel in Japan.  Even if the schedule changes, you can figure out what lines run every 5-10 minutes, which run once or twice an hour, and which only run a few times a day relatively quickly, which really helps.