JR Central and JR West released the train schedule for this autumn from October 1, 2010 through November 31.

According to them, many extra trains will run during busy days and hours. They said up to nine Nozomi services per hour on Tokaido Shinkansen and five direct services to Sanyo Shinkansen will be available in Friday evenings and three-day weekends. The number of direct Nozomi services scheduled is 106 a day on average during this autumn and 117 during three-day weekends.

Additionally more Series N700, most comfortable and energy saving vehicles on Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, will go into the service and 132 Nozomi trains by Series N700 will run a day at the end of this November. The number of Hikari and Kodama trains of Series 700 is also increased.

Westbound Nozomi Trains newly using Series N700

• Nozomi 207, changed from Series 700 to Series N700 on November 01 (Tokyo 08:00 → Shin-Osaka 10:36)
• Nozomi 241, changed from Series 700 to Series N700 on November 01 (Tokyo 16:40 → Shin-Osaka 19:16)

Eastbound Nozomi Trains newly using Series N700

• Nozomi 226, changed from Series 700 to Series N700 on November 01 (Shin-Osaka 10:47 → Tokyo 13:23)
• Nozomi 252, changed from Series 700 to Series N700 on November 01 (Shin-Osaka 18:07 → Tokyo 20:43)

Westbound Hikari and Kodama Trains newly using Series 700

• Hikari 467, changed from Series 300 to Series 700 on November 01 (Tokyo 10:03 → Okayama 14:17)
• Kodama 647, changed from Series 300 to Series 700 on November 02 (Tokyo 10:26 → Nagoya 13:16)
• Kodama 655, changed from Series 300 to Series 700 on November 01 (Tokyo 12:26 → Nagoya 15:16)
• Hikari 527, changed from Series 300 to Series 700 on November 02 (Tokyo 19:33 → Shin-Osaka 22:30)

Eastbound Hikari and Kodama Trains newly using Series 700

• Kodama 810, changed from Series 300 to Series 700 on November 02 (Mishima 08:49 → Tokyo 09:47)
• Hikari 460, changed from Series 300 to Series 700 on November 02 (Okayama 06:03 → Tokyo 10:10)
• Hikari 510, changed from Series 300 to Series 700 on November 01 (Shin-Osaka 09:13 → Tokyo 12:10)
• Kodama 668, changed from Series 300 to Series 700 on November 02 (Nagoya 16:28 → Tokyo 19:17)
• Kodama 676, changed from Series 300 to Series 700 on November 01 (Nagoya 18:28 → Tokyo 21:17)

JR Central and JR West announced that free seating car's smoking carriage of Nozomi and Hikari trains will be swept away in the spring of 2011. This is because they will turn a smoking car, which is car 3 in 16-car train of series 700 and 300 and 2 in 8-car for Hikari Railstar, into non-smoking. The other smoking cars, which are car 10, 15 and 16 in 16-car train and 6 in 8-car, will be remained. Because car 15 and 16 in 16-car train and 6 in 8-car are free seating of Kodama, free seating car's smoking carriage of Kodama will be available beyond next spring.

JR Central and JR West said that they met passengers' demands for avoiding secondhand smoke and smoking rates declining.

No exact date has been available officially. But they said that is scheduled for next spring. That indicates that the shift will be done along with train schedule revision in the spring of 2011 with opening of Kyushu Shinkansen's entire portion. Sakura train, which will start to run in the next spring between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chuo, has no smoking cars and four smoking compartment in the deck.

new smoking/non-smoking carriage arrangement

Car 3 in 16-car train of series 700 and 300. Starting from the top, Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama.

Car 2 in 8-car train for Hikari Railstar. Starting from the top, Hikari and Kodama.

JR West announced child fare of Sanyo Shinkansen Double Ticket Pack (山陽新幹線2枚きっぷ) will be offered for a limited period only. Tickets for children, JPY 6,000 per a pack (JPY 3,000 per a ticket), are purchasable and usable only if child-travelers are traveling with ones with the tickets for adults. This ticket may have a great advantage for a family trip.

Overview of Sanyo Shinkansen Ni-mai Kippu

• Name of the ticket: Sanyo Shinkansen Ni-mai Kippu (山陽新幹線2枚きっぷ meaning Sanyo Shinkansen Double Ticket Pack)
• Travel dates:
  • for adults, until October 14, 2010
  • for children, July 17, 2010 through September 26
• Period of selling:
  
  • for adults, until September 30, 2010
  • for children, July 14, 2010 through September 12
  must be purchased three days prior to the departure date
• Maximum period of travel: twelve days from three days after purchase date
• Effects of the ticket: This ticket allows two travels for a passenger or a travel for two passengers by Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama trains.
• Available sectors: from/to Osaka city or Kobe city to/from Kita-Kyushu city or Fukuoka city
• Prices:
  • for adults,
    • JPY 25,000 (JPY 12,500 per a ticket) for purchases made by June 30, 2010
    • JPY 25,600 (JPY 12,800 per a ticket) for purchases made July 1, 2010 through september 30
  • for children, JPY 6,000 (JPY 3,000 per a ticket)
• Purchasable at: major stations, travel centers and travel vendors in Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe area or Fukuoka area
• Remarks:
  • Tickets for children are purchasable and usable only if child-travelers are traveling with ones with the tickets for adults.
  • Travels by connecting Shinkansen trains are allowed.
  • The trains and seats must be assigned before traveling. Changes are not permitted.

JR Central and JR West released the train schedule for this summer from July 1, 2010 through September 30.

According to them, many extra trains will run during busy days and hours. They said up to 9 Nozomi services per hour on Tokaido Shinkansen and 5 direct services to Sanyo Shinkansen will be available in Friday evenings, three-day weekends and Bon holiday period. The number of direct Nozomi services scheduled is 109 a day on average during this summer and 130 a day on average during Bon holiday period.

Additinally more N700 series, most comfortable and energy saving vehicles on Tokaido Shinkansen, will go into the service and 128 Nozomi trains in N700 series will run a day at the end of September. The number of Hikari and Kodama trains of 300 series is also increased. On Sanyo Shinkansen, some Kodama trains of four-car or six-car 100 series will start to be in service of six-car 100 series or eight-car 500 series.

Westbound Nozomi Trains newly using N700 series

• Nozomi 221, changed from 700 Series to N700 Series on June 25 (Tokyo 10:00 → Shin-Osaka 12:36)
• Nozomi 263, changed from 700 Series to N700 Series on June 25 (Tokyo 20:20 → Shin-Osaka 22:56)
• Nozomi 237, changed from 700 Series to N700 Series on August 01 (Tokyo 16:00 → Shin-Osaka 18:36)

Eastbound Nozomi Trains newly using N700 series

• Nozomi 228, changed from 700 Series to N700 Series on June 25 (Shin-Osaka 11:47 → Tokyo 14:23)
• Nozomi 254, changed from 700 Series to N700 Series on June 25 (Shin-Osaka 18:47 → Tokyo 21:23)
• Nozomi 222, changed from 700 Series to N700 Series on August 02 (Shin-Osaka 09:47 → Tokyo 12:23)

Westbound Hikari and Kodama Trains newly using 700 and other series

• Kodama 747, changed from 100 Series of four-car set to 100 Series of six-car set on June 30 (Okayama 13:51 → Hakata 17:22)
• Kodama 771, changed from 100 Series of six-car set to 500 Series of eight-car set on June 30 (Shin-Osaka 20:22 → Shin-Yamaguchi 23:51)
• Kodama 853, changed from 100 Series of six-car set to 500 Series of eight-car set on July 01 (Shin-Yamaguchi 06:00 → Hakata 07:17)
• Kodama 721, changed from 100 Series of four-car set to 100 Series of six-car set on July 01 (Okayama 06:00 → Hiroshima 07:04)
• Kodama 863, changed from 100 Series of six-car set to 500 Series of eight-car set on July 01 (Kokura 08:49 → Hakata 09:09)
• Kodama 831, changed from 100 Series of four-car set to 100 Series of six-car set on July 01 (Hiroshima 18:49 → Hakata 20:57)
• Kodama 761, changed from 100 Series of six-car set to 500 Series of eight-car set on July 01 (Shin-Osaka 17:38 → Hakata 22:50)
• Kodama 639, changed from 300 Series to 700 Series on August 01 (Tokyo 08:26 → Nagoya 11:16)
• Hikari 523, changed from 300 Series to 700 Series on August 01 (Tokyo 17:33 → Shin-Osaka 20:30)
• Hikari 511, changed from 300 Series to 700 Series on August 02 (Tokyo 11:33 → Shin-Osaka 14:30)

Eastbound Hikari and Kodama Trains newly using 700 and other series

• Kodama 736, changed from 100 Series of four-car set to 100 Series of six-car set on June 30 (Hakata 07:18 → Okayama 10:53)
• Kodama 752, changed from 100 Series of six-car set to 500 Series of eight-car set on June 30 (Hakata 14:51 → Shin-Osaka 20:05)
• Kodama 764, changed from 100 Series of four-car set to 100 Series of six-car set on June 30 (Hakata 18:17 → Okayama 21:35)
• Kodama 856, changed from 100 Series of six-car set to 500 Series of eight-car set on July 01 (Hakata 08:14 → Kokura 08:35)
• Kodama 746, changed from 100 Series of six-car set to 500 Series of eight-car set on July 01 (Hakata 12:21 → Shin-Osaka 17:05)
• Kodama 660, changed from 300 Series to 700 Series on August 01 (Nagoya 14:28 → Tokyo 17:17)
• Kodama 696, changed from 300 Series to 700 Series on August 01 (Shin-Osaka 22:03 → Nagoya 23:05)
• Kodama 636, changed from 300 Series to 700 Series on August 02 (Nagoya 08:28 → Tokyo 11:17)
• Hikari 522, changed from 300 Series to 700 Series on August 02 (Shin-Osaka 15:13 → Tokyo 18:10)

JR Central released that Shinkansen Nagoya Oufuku Kippu Towers Pack (新幹線名古屋往復きっぷタワーズパック meaning Shinkansen Nagoya Return Trip Ticket Towers Pack) is available until May. This is a special discount ticket including round trip Shinkansen tickets and, JPY 1,000 gift/meal voucher for shops and restaurants in JR Central Towers. This ticket is sold at JPY 2,900. Withholding JPY 1,000 of the voucher, single trip on Shinkansen between Toyohashi and Nagoya costs only JPY 950.

Overview of Shinkansen Nagoya Oufuku Kippu Towers Pack

• Name of the ware
  • Shinkansen Nagoya Oufuku Kippu Towers Pack (新幹線名古屋往復きっぷタワーズパック meaning Shinkansen Nagoya Return Trip Ticket Towers Pack)
• Travel dates
  • March 13, 2010 through May 9
    good for both of weekdays and weekends
• Period of selling
  • March 13, 2010 through May 9
    purchasable only on the travelling day
• Maximum period of travel
  • 1 day
• Price and sectors
  • from a station between Toyohashi and Toyokawa, and Futagawa to Nagoya city: JPY 2,900
    Round trip by Shinkansen is available between Toyohashi and Nagoya.
    Not available passengers "from" Nagoya and for child travelers.
• Purchasable at
  • Station counters and vending machines of reservation ticket in Toyohashi, Futagawa, Ushikubo and Toyokawa, and Toyohashi Branch of JR Tokai Tours
• Remarks
  • The price of JPY 2,900 is including JPY 1,000 voucher for shops and restaurants in JR Central Towers.
  • Shinkansen Nagoya Oufuku Kippu (新幹線名古屋往復きっぷ meaning Shinkansen Nagoya Return Trip Ticket, JPY 2,800 for weekday and 2,260 for weekend travel) not including the gift/meal voucher carries on being available.

JR Central and West released new schedule's outline of Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen which will be revised on March 13, 2010. The points of new schedule are expansion of opportunity for getting series N700 new model cars, boosting convenience of early-morning eastbound Nozomi service and growing in frequency of direct Nozomi service between Tokyo and Hakata.

All direct Nozomi services between Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen are in series N700!

The procurement of late model Shinkansen series N700 cars which are comfortable and enhancing energy conservation is now going in gear. With the new schedule, all of 101 direct Nozomi services between Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen will be in series N700. Between Tokyo and Shin-osaka, about 70% of Nozomi trains will be in series N700.

Early-morning eastbound Nozomi service gets more convenient!

In weekday early-morning, 6 Nozomi trains in row leaving Shin-osaka and Kyoto and 7 leaving Nagoya will be in series N700. The travel time of some train will be reduced and operation intervals equalized. Nozomi 298 from Nagoya will be in series N700 and its departure time of Nagoya put off by 5 minutes without change of its arrival time for Shin-yokohama, Shinagawa and Tokyo. Also Nozomi 100 from Nishi-akashi will be in series N700 and it will arrive at Tokyo 7 minutes earlier than before. It means passengers from Nishi-akashi and Shin-kobe can arrive Tokyo before 9:00 with the new schedule.

3 Nozomi services an hour between Tokyo and Hakata is aveilable in more hours!

In addition to two Nozomi services an hour between Tokyo and Hakata, some Nozomi train will be expanded its travel reach to/from Hakata. The number of Nozomi trains between Tokyo and Hakata is 57 a day and it will be 65. In more hours of morning and evening, three Nozomi services an hour between Tokyo and Hakata is available. And some Nozomi train's travel span will be shortened because it will run shortly before/after the travel range expanded Nozomi.

Revision of Hikari and Kodama services

One Kodama train between Tokyo and Shin-osaka will finish its travel at Nagoya and the following Hikari train will stop at Gifu-hashima and Maibara. The daily service of Hikari Rail Star in off season will be reduced by 5 round trips. Three Kodama trains between Okayama and Hiroshima, one between Hiroshima and Hakata and three between Kokura and Hakata will be omitted.

JR West released Kodama and Yakumo Shiteiseki Oufuku Kippu (こだま＆やくも指定席往復きっぷ meaning Roundtrip Special Discount Ticket for Kodama and Yakumo Reservation Seats), a discount ticket for traveling from stations along Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Aioi for Yonago, Matsue and Izumo-shi area. There are two kinds of ticket; for second class and Green cars. Both of them are good for second class reservation seats of Kodama and some Hikari trains along Sanyo Shinkansen. On Yakumo trains, "for second class" ticket is good for a second class reservation seat and "for Green cars" ticket is good for a Green car.

JR West announced that this ticket will be good until December 23, 2009 and no blackout dates. The price for a child is flat fare regardless of actual travel distance. And they said the rent-a-car special discount of 2,000 yen for 24 hours is also available.

This ticket seems to be a kind of counterplot against the expressway's maximum toll of 1000 yen on weekends and holidays. On the news release, they said "Enjoy saving autumn travel with your family and your friends with this ticket of NO JAM!" Now is as good time as any to visit Sanin area.

• Name of the ticket
  • Kodama and Yakumo Shiteiseki Oufuku Kippu (こだま＆やくも指定席往復きっぷ meaning Roundtrip Special Discount Ticket for Kodama and Yakumo Reservation Seats)
• Travel dates
  • October 3, 2009 through December 23, 2009
• Period of selling
  • September 29, 2009 through December 21, 2009
    ※ Tickets are available 21 - 7 days before departure.
• Maximum period of travel
  • 2 days
• Sample sectors and prices (roundtrip)
  • Shin-Osaka (within Osaka city) → Yonago; JPY 12,000 for second class, JPY 14,000 for Green cars
  • Shin-Osaka (within Osaka city) → Matsue; JPY 13,200 for second class, JPY 15,200 for Green cars
  • Shin-Osaka (within Osaka city) → Izumo-shi; JPY 13,600 for second class, JPY 15,600 for Green cars
  • Himeji → Yonago; JPY 11,500 for second class, JPY 13,500 for Green cars
  • Himeji → Matsue; JPY 12,000 for second class, JPY 14,000 for Green cars
  • Himeji → Izumo-shi; JPY 13,200 for second class, JPY 15,200 for Green cars
    ※ The price for a child is flat fare regardless of actual travel distance. It is JPY 3,000 for second class or 4,000 for Green cars.
• Available sectors
  • Roundtrip departing at Sanyo Shinkansen stations between Shin-Osaka and Aioi and arriving at Yakumo stops along Hakubi and Sanin lines
    ※ Some specific sectors are unavailable.
• Terms of use
  • This ticket is for at least 2 persons traveling along.
• Purchasable at
  • a major station of JR West around the departing area
  • a major travel vendor
• Remarks
  • The trains and seats of both-way will be assigned at the time of purchase.
  • Stopover is not permitted except at Okayama.
  • This ticket availability is limited.
  • Changes of travel dates and trains are not permitted.

JR Central and JR West released the train schedule for October and November. According to them, 1,515 extra train on Tokaido Shinkansen and 400 on Sanyo Shinkansen will run for weekends and three-day weekends during the period. 91 Nozomi trains of series N700 cars runs a day at the end of September and they said 100 of N700 Nozomi will run at the end of November. The number of Hikari and Kodama trains of series 700 cars is also increased.

Nozomi trains of fighter jet-like series 500 cars are making 2 round trips everyday between Tokyo and Hakata. It will be one round trip a day after November 10, because Nozomi 51 for Hakata and Nozomi 28 for Tokyo will be changed to N700 on that day.

Westbound Nozomi Trains newly using Series N700 cars

• Nozomi 215, changed from series 700 cars to N700 on October 02 (Tokyo 09:00 → Shin-Osaka 11:36)
• Nozomi 219, changed from series 700 cars to N700 on November 24 (Tokyo 09:40 → Shin-Osaka 12:16)
• Nozomi 51, changed from series 500 cars to N700 on November 10 (Tokyo 17:30 → Hakata 22:44)
• Nozomi 255, changed from series 700 cars to N700 on October 01 (Tokyo 18:40 → Shin-Osaka 21:16)
• Nozomi 263, changed from series 700 cars to N700 on October 02 (Tokyo 20:00 → Shin-Osaka 22:36)

Westbound Hikari and Kodama Trains newly using Series 700 cars

• Kodama 695, changed from series 300 cars to 700 on November 02 (Shizuoka 06:38 → Shin-Osaka 09:03)
• Kodama 641, changed from series 300 cars to 700 on November 01 (Tokyo 08:56 → Shin-Osaka 12:56)
• Kodama 665, changed from series 300 cars to 700 on November 02 (Tokyo 14:56 → Shin-Osaka 18:53)
• Kodama 667, changed from series 300 cars to 700 on November 01 (Tokyo 15:26 → Nagoya 18:16)
• Hikari 483, changed from series 300 cars to 700 on November 01 (Tokyo 18:03 → Okayama 22:11)

Eastbound Nozomi and Hikari Trains newly using Series N700 cars

• Hikari 502, changed from series 700 cars to N700 on October 02 (Nagoya 06:38 → Tokyo 08:40)
• Nozomi 232, changed from series 700 cars to N700 on November 24 (Shin-Osaka 14:07 → Tokyo 16:43)
• Nozomi 28, changed from series 500 cars to N700 on November 10 (Hakata 12:00 → Tokyo 17:13)
• Nozomi 242, changed from series 700 cars to N700 on October 01 (Shin-Osaka 15:47 → Tokyo 18:23)
• Nozomi 250, changed from series 700 cars to N700 on October 02 (Shin-Osaka 17:07 → Tokyo 19:43)

Eastbound Hikari and Kodama Trains newly using Series 700 cars

• Kodama 802, changed from series 300 cars to 700 on November 02 (Mishima 06:56 → Tokyo 07:50)
• Hikari 470, changed from series 300 cars to 700 on November 02 (Okayama 10:26 → Tokyo 14:40)
• Kodama 662, changed from series 300 cars to 700 on November 01 (Shin-Osaka 13:50 → Tokyo 17:47)
• Kodama 690, changed from series 300 cars to 700 on November 02 (Shin-Osaka 19:50 → Mishima 22:44)
• Hikari 532, changed from series 300 cars to 700 on November 02 (Shin-Osaka 20:23 → Tokyo 23:10)

Nozomi Trains of Series 500 Cars Between Tokyo and Hakata After November 10

• Nozomi 29 (Tokyo 12:30 → Hakata 17:44)
• Nozomi 6 (Hakata 07:00 → Tokyo 12:13)

According to the schedule released recently, 6 Nozomi trains will be changed from series 700 cars to comfortable and energy-saving N700 by the end of September. And so 14 of Hikari and Kodama trains will also be changed from series 300 cars to 700.

All regular operated Nozomi trains will be shifted to series N700 cars by March, 2012 and 21 set (16 of JR Central and 5 of West) of N700 trains are thrown in the operation on Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen within fiscal 2009.

Westbound Nozomi Trains newly using Series N700 cars

• Nozomi 211, changed from Series 700 cars to N700 on August 07 (Tokyo 08:23 → Shin-Osaka11:16)
• Nozomi 235, changed from Series 700 cars to N700 on July 01 (Tokyo 15:00 → Shin-Osaka 17:36)
• Nozomi 247, changed from Series 700 cars to N700 on August 07 (Tokyo 17:47 → Shin-Osaka20:23)

Westbound Hikari and Kodama Trains newly using Series 700 cars

• Hikari 507, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 01 (Tokyo 09:33 → Shin-Osaka12:30)
• Hikari 467, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 01 (Tokyo 10:03 → Okayama 14:17)
• Hikari 515, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 02 (Tokyo 13:33 → Shin-Osaka16:30)
• Hikari 517, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 03 (Tokyo 14:33 → Shin-Osaka17:30)
• Kodama 671, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 01 (Tokyo 16:26 → Nagoya 19:16)
• Kodama 687, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 02 (Tokyo 20:26 → Nagoya 23:11)
• Kodama 807, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 01 (Tokyo 20:56 → Mishima 21:51)

Eastbound Nozomi Trains newly using Series N700 cars

• Nozomi 212, changed from Series 700 cars to N700 on August 07 (Shin-Osaka07:47 → Tokyo 10:23)
• Nozomi 228, changed from Series 700 cars to N700 on July 01 (Shin-Osaka12:07 → Tokyo 14:43)
• Nozomi 254, changed from Series 700 cars to N700 on August 07 (Shin-Osaka18:07 → Tokyo 20:43)

Eastbound Hikari and Kodama Trains newly using Series 700 cars

• Kodama 630, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 02 (Nagoya 06:46 → Tokyo 09:26)
• Kodama 810, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 01 (Mishima 08:49 → Tokyo 09:47)
• Kodama 648, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 03 (Nagoya 11:28 → Tokyo 14:17)
• Hikari 518, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 01 (Shin-Osaka13:13 → Tokyo 16:10)
• Hikari 526, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 02 (Shin-Osaka17:13 → Tokyo 20:10)
• Hikari 482, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 01 (Okayama 16:28 → Tokyo 20:40)
• Hikari 528, changed from Series 300 cars to 700 on August 03 (Shin-Osaka18:13 → Tokyo 21:10)

The schedule for Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen has been revised on March 14, 2009.

Since this revision, Nozomi trains have increased its frequency. 9 Nozomi trains between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka, 5 through to Hiroshima from Tokyo, and 4 through to Hakata from Tokyo are available in an hour. It is easier to get ticket and seat in the hours when you want to travel than before.

The frequency of Nozomi served with series N700 cars also gets expansion. 2 Nozomi trains of N700 run in an hour. 1 runs between Tokyo and Hakata, and the other between Tokyo and Hiroshima. It is easier to find an opportunity to travel by the latest comfortable vehicles.

Not only Nozomi, but some Hikari trains speed up and more Kodama trains service are offered.

In addition to the schedule for Shinkansen in itself, connection of Shinkansen and local trains has been modified. Then the whole destinations along Shinkansen lines get more accessible!

JR West announced that they would accept booking for series 0 cars farewell operation from the members of Express Reservation Service and online members of J-WEST in advance of the others.

• For Express Reservation Service members holding J-WEST Card "Express" issued by JR West or Express Card issued by JR Central:
  Booking for 50 seats in each trains (totally 200 seats) will be accepted during 2008/10/10 Fri. 10:00 - 10/15 Wed. 17:00.
• For J-WEST online members:
  Booking for 25 seats in each trains (totally 100 seats) will be accepted during 2008/10/17 Fri. 10:00 - 10/22 Wed. 17:00.

For that operation, series 0 cars will run as below:

• 12/06 Sat. Hikari 347, departing Shin-Osaka at around 14:56 and arriving at Hakata around 18:01 stopping at Okayama, Hiroshima, and Kokura.
• 12/13 Sat. Hikari 347, departing Shin-Osaka at around 14:56 and arriving at Hakata around 18:01 stopping at Kokura, Tokuyama, Hiroshima, Mihara, Okayama, and Himeji.
• 12/14 Sun. Hikari 340, departing Hakata at around 08:06 and arriving at Shin-Osaka around 12:05 stopping at Okayama, Hiroshima, and Kokura.
• 12/14 Sun. Hikari 347, departing Shin-Osaka at around 14:56 and arriving at Hakata around 18:01 stopping at Okayama, Hiroshima, and Kokura.

If they have too many applying, winners will be selected in a drawing. To take applicatons for priority booking campaign, access the special web page of JR-West [written in Japanese]. And for nonmembers, usual reservation procedures can be taken after 10:00 of the day of 1 month prior to the traveling date.

JR Central and JR West reported the availability of Shinkansen trains during the Bon from Aug. 8 to 17 as of Jul. 31. The report said the westbound rush would build towards a peak on Aug. 9 and 13 and the eastbound rush on Aug. 16 and 17. They said they still had enough seats except specific times and trains, because more than 30% of the seats remained available on even these peak days.

On the same day, they released that some additional Nozomi and Hikari trains would run on such peak days. Ofcourse this site Shinkansen Timetable provide you travel plan including these additional trains. Though enough seats still remain, you should book trains soon if you have your schedule already!

For more information, please check the page of news releases shown below [written in Japanese].