Most people want to travel as quickly as possible, so express trains are popular. The most popular trains are “Nozomi” for the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen and “Hayabusa” for the Tohoku Shinkansen. Among these, the core long-distance trains tend to be the most popular. What happens when this happens? People will be seeking reserved seats on the “Nozomi” train bound for Hakata, even though they will be traveling between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. On the Tohoku Shinkansen as well, many people take the Hayabusa bound for Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto between Tokyo and Sendai, so it is common to see passengers swapping places in Sendai. This tendency was especially exacerbated by the fact that the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen trains used to depart for Hakata at exactly 0:00. It is not surprising, then, that when you search for “trains departing at midnight,” the first train that comes up in the search results is the one that leaves at the same time as the first train. However, during the peak season, when the number of passengers increases rapidly, the competition for reserved seats on the most popular trains intensifies. The timetable has been revised, and now trains bound for Shin-Osaka depart at zero minutes. The Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen also offer section trains, that is, trains that do not run through the entire section. As you can see from the timetable, the “Nozomi” trains do not only run between Tokyo and Hakata. There are also many trains between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka or between Tokyo and Hiroshima. In addition, there are also early morning and late night services between Nagoya and Hiroshima and Hakata. There is no reason to be particular about “to Hakata” when traveling between Tokyo, Nagoya, and Shin-Osaka, which are especially popular. However, the search method by specifying the time zone and section does not tell you where each train is going. In fact, however, there is a way to get a rough idea of the operating section. That is the train number. As of January 2023, the Nozomi regular trains (daily trains) between Tokyo and Hakata are numbered 1-79. Trains between Tokyo and Hiroshima start at No. 81 and go up to No. 100, and trains between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka are basically allocated at No. 200. However, a closer look reveals some exceptions. There is no necessity to stick to the “Tokyo to Hakata” trains when traveling between Tokyo, Nagoya, and Shin-Osaka, so the “Nozomi 2xx” trains bound for Shin-Osaka are targeted. Since this train is not chosen by people going to Shin-Osaka and beyond, the probability of getting a reserved seat may increase. However, I have heard that the number of Shin-Osaka-bound trains has been increasing in recent years because this story has become well known. The allocation of train numbers is not constant, so there may be various changes in the future. However, in the case of the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines, it would not be out of place to remember that “Nozomi,” which has a large number, is a section train.
Another way to reverse the “people concentrate on trains that are easy to recognize” is to target special trains that run only on certain days. Trains that run only on specific days are less likely to be recognized than regular trains that run every day, and therefore are considered to be less popular. However, if the train runs on a day that coincides with your travel date, there is no reason not to take advantage of it. Especially in the case of the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines, there are many cases where extra trains are flexibly set up; JR checks the sales of reserved-seat tickets every day, and if it finds that there is not enough demand on a particular day, it may even add an extra train that was not scheduled to run on a sudden basis. This results in the appearance of trains that are not supposed to run according to the paper timetable. Looking at the timetable of the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines, some people may be surprised at the number of trains marked with “◆” that run only on certain days. A typical example is the “Nozomi” trains running between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka, which number between 300 and 400 (as of January 2023). It is not just trains that are temporary in all sections. There are also regular trains that normally run between Tokyo and Hiroshima, but are temporarily extended to Hakata only during peak season. This is also a good option for those who travel between west of Hiroshima and east of Hiroshima. The Tohoku, Hokkaido, Akita, Yamagata, Joetsu, and Hokuriku Shinkansen lines do not have as many section trains as the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines due to demand trends and track capacity. In the case of the Tohoku Shinkansen, the most frequent trains are between Tokyo and Sendai, but most of the trains stopping at Sendai are “Yamabiko” trains that stop frequently at intermediate stations, resulting in a concentration of use of “Hayabusa” express trains. Considering these circumstances, it is more realistic to take an extra train on these Shinkansen lines. The situation is the same for the Kyushu Shinkansen and the West Kyushu Shinkansen. It should also be noted that the Tohoku Shinkansen has more capacity for Hayabusa than for Komachi and for Yamabiko than for Tsubasa.
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