The Shinkansen and major trunk lines have trains that can be called “signature trains. For the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, it is the “Nozomi” train, and for the Tohoku Shinkansen, it is the “Hayabusa” train. Since trains are usually a means of transportation, the need to travel quickly increases, and these trains become more popular.
Are the signature trains the only ones that are noticeably faster?
But wait a minute.
Of course, the signboard train is certainly the fastest, but does the time required for other trains increase dramatically? I would like to pose this as a question.
Of course, trains that stop at every station will significantly increase the time required. Taking the Tokaido Shinkansen as an example, the “Nozomi” runs between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka in about 2 hours and 30 minutes, while the daytime “Kodama” takes nearly 4 hours. The “Hikari” takes a little less than 3 hours, depending on the train.
However, there are some situations where the difference narrows when using a sectional route. For example, between Nagoya and Shin-Osaka. The “Nozomi” train only stops at Kyoto during this period. The “Kodama” stops at all stations. What about “Hikari”?
There are several patterns of stops for the “Hikari”, but the “Hikari” between Tokyo and Okayama generally stops at every station west of Shin-Osaka, in addition to the “Nozomi” stations and stops in Shizuoka Prefecture. In this way, there is no need to duplicate the “Kodama” between Shin-Osaka and Okayama.
There is also another “Hikari” between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. This train stops at every station between Shin-Osaka and Nagoya, eliminating the need for a duplicate “Kodama” between Nagoya and Shin-Osaka. Of course, the additional stops at Yonehara and Gifu-Hashima will increase the time required between Nagoya and Shin-Osaka.
The “Hikari” also has a stop between Shin-Yokohama and Nagoya, but each train stops at a different station. This is done to minimize the variation in travel time by decentralizing the number of stations while keeping an eye on demand.
Given these circumstances, the time required between Nagoya and Shin-Osaka should not be significantly different when using Okayama Hikari compared to Nozomi, and in fact it is. On the other hand, the difference in travel time between Nagoya and Tokyo between “Hikari” and “Nozomi” is wider because “Hikari” stops at more stations than “Nozomi,” and “Nozomi” has to make a stopover at each station.
In other words, instead of looking only at “Nozomi”, you should also look at “Hikari” depending on the section you will use and the timing. Besides, Hikari is a little cheaper than Nozomi if you want a reserved seat. In fact, I once returned to Tokyo from Shin-Osaka by “Hikari” instead of “Nozomi”.
However, this is only true of the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines, which have a number of large cities along their route. On the Tohoku, Joetsu, and Hokuriku Shinkansen lines, which are more “Tokyo to many places” in character, trains that go farther tend to stop at fewer stations and are faster. Therefore, the difference in travel time between the signature trains “Hayabusa” or “Kagayaki” and other trains tends to increase.
However, the Tohoku Shinkansen’s “Yamabiko” trains have different stop patterns, so depending on the section and time of day you intend to use the train, you may want to compare it with the “Hayabusa” before making a decision. Depending on the section and time of day you plan to use, you may want to compare the Hayabusa with the Yamabiko before making a decision.
Specifically, the “Yamabiko” trains between Tokyo and Sendai, which are combined with the “Tsubasa” trains, stop at relatively few stations. Even the same “Sendai Yamabiko” may pass through only one station between Tokyo and Sendai, depending on the train.
The “Yamabiko” between Tokyo and Morioka aims to connect Tokyo and Sendai and northward quickly, so it stops at a limited number of stations south of Sendai and stops at every station north of Sendai. The same “Yamabiko” train can differ in this way.
© Source travel watch
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