JR Central and West released that they will extend the selling period and travel dates of Nozomi Hayatoku Oufuku Kippu (のぞみ早特往復きっぷ). That will be good until January 6, 2011. But the ticket of Green Car option, exclusively targeted from Hiroshima to Tokyo, Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama, will not be available after October.

Overview of Nozomi Hayatoku Oufuku Kippu

• Name of the ticket: Nozomi Hayatoku Oufuku Kippu (のぞみ早特往復きっぷ meaning Nozomi Early Booking Discount Round Trip Ticket)
• Travel dates: from October 1,2010 through January 6, 2011
  Final departure date is December 31, 2010.
• Priod of selling: from September 10, 2010 through December 24, 2010
  Tickets are available 21 - 7 days before the departure.
• Maximum period of travel: seven days
• Effects of the ticket: This ticket allows roundtrip by Nozomi train's assigned seats.
• Major available sectors and prices (e.g.)
  Shown discount rates are against regular season's fare and calcurated with assuming "Tokyo, Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama" is Tokyo and "Hakata and Kokura" is Hakata.
  Local stations in the cities are included in the available sectors, like stations in Nagoya city are described as "Nagoya" and Fukuoka city as "Hakata" above.
  
  • from/to Naoya to/from Kokura and Hakata (RT): JPY 25,000, saving about 26%
  • from Okayama to Tokyo, Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama: JPY 26,000, saving about 18%
  • from Hiroshima to Tokyo, Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama: JPY 30,000, saving about 14%
  • from Hakata and Kokura to Tokyo, Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama: JPY 32,000, saving about 24%
  • from Yonago, Matsue, Izumoshi to Tokyo, Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama: JPY 30,000, saving about 17-19%
• Purchasable at: a major JR station, travel center and a major travel vendor around the departing area
• Remarks:
  • The trains and seats of both-way must be assigned at the time of purchase. Changes are not permitted.
  • If Nozomi trains don't stop at the destination or home station, second class non-reservation seats on Hikari or Kodama trains are available.
  • Tickets from Sanin area allow traveling by limited express train's reservation seats between home station and Okayama.
  • This ticket's availability is limited on a train-to-train basis.

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 West said trains arriving/departing at platform 12 of Hakata Station will be moved to platform 14 on June 27, 2010, due to construction of Kyushu Shinkansen.

JR West said trains arriving / departing at platform 14 will be moved to platform 12 on March 31, due to construction of Kyushu Shinkansen.

Some new ekiben was started to sell in this October. Firstly, 3 ekibens in Hakata Station.

Fufu Oshidori Bento

• "夫婦おしどり弁当" meaning Lovebirds Box
• Purchasable at: Hakata Station
• Price: JPY 1,600
• Release Date: October 1, 2009
• Features: limited production to 20 sets a day, for 2 persons of traveling lovebirds

Umaka Makunouchi Bento

• "うまか幕の内弁当" meaning Yummy Lunchbox
• Purchasable at: Hakata Station
• Price: JPY 1,100
• Release Date: October 1, 2009
• Features: packed rice and locally picked side dishes
• Fillings: Saikyo-style grilled spanish mackerel, chikuzen-ni, mentaiko with red pepper, etc.

Tanaka Ekicho Osusume Bento

• "田中駅長おすすめ弁当" meaning Box Produced by Station Manager Mr. Tanaka
• Purchasable at: Hakata Station
• Price: JPY 1,100
• Release Date: October 1, 2009
• Features: supervised by Mr. Tanaka, the 8th station manager of Hakata on Sanyo Shinkansen

The shinkansen's railcar shop of Hakata depot (博多総合車両所) in Fukuoka will be opened to the public as the Day of Shinkansen Getting To Know (新幹線ふれあいデー) on 18 October, 2009. It is the second event at Hakata depot, following the first last year.

Overview of the event

• Date and Hour: October 18, 2009, 10:00 to 16:00
• Location: Hakata depot (博多総合車両所) of JR West (Nakabaru Higashi 2-1-1, Nakagawa-cho, Fukuoka [map])
• Access: 15 min. walk from Hakata-Minami Station
• Admission Fee: Free
• Registration: No Need
• Events:
  • Display of Shinkansen Cars
    • Series N700 and 500 cars (Cockpit visiting is available)
      # Numbered tickets distributed at the site are required to visit a cockpit.
      # Actual displayed cars may be subject to change due to the condition.
    • New cars of Series N700 S-Set for Sakura trains which runs through Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen
    • Inspection vehicle called "Doctor Yellow"
    • High speed test produced car WIN350
    • Double-deck restaurant car of series 100
  • Panel exhibition introducing Shinkansen history
  • Introduce of Technology for Safety
    • Truck wheel checkup apparatus
    • Vehicle jack-up
    • Emergency couplers handling demonstration
    • Hands-on experience of pantagraph's folding/extension
  • Others
    • Riding on Mini-Shinkansen, etc.
      # No real Shinkansen train test-riding events are scheduled.

JR Central and West announced that they would keep selling Nozomi Early Reservation Round Trip Special Ticket (のぞみ早特往復きっぷ) beyond the April.

Name of the ticket

Nozomi Haya-toku Oufuku Kippu(のぞみ早特往復きっぷ meaning Nozomi Early Reservation Round Trip Special Ticket)

Period of selling

March 11, 2009 through September 23
Tickets are available 21 - 7 days before your departure.

Travel dates, departing on

April 01, 2009 through September 30

Maximum period of travel

7 days

Available sectors

from Chugoku district to Tokyo area

• Departing at: Okayama, Mihara, Shin-Onomichi, Fukuyama, Hiroshima (within the city), Shin-Yamaguchi, and Sanin area
• Arriving at: Tokyo metropolitan district, and Shin-Yokohama (within Yokohama city)

from Kyushu area to Tokyo area

• Departing at: Hakata (within Fukuoka city), and Kokura (within Kita-Kyushu city)
• Arriving at: Tokyo metropolitan district, and Shin-Yokohama (within Yokohama city)

from Kyushu area to Tokai area

• Departing at: Hakata (within Fukuoka city), and Kokura (within Kita-Kyushu city)
• Arriving at: Nagoya (within the city), Mikawa-Anjo zone (between Nishi-Kozakai and Mikawa-Anjo), Toyohashi zone (between Toyokawa and Toyohashi and Futagawa), and Hamamatsu

from Tokai area to Kyushu area

• Departing at: Nagoya (within the city), Mikawa-Anjo zone (between Nishi-Kozakai and Mikawa-Anjo), Toyohashi zone (between Toyokawa and Toyohashi and Futagawa), and Hamamatsu
• Arriving at: Hakata (within Fukuoka city), and Kokura (within Kita-Kyushu city)

Purchasable at

a major station or travel vendor around your departing area

Remarks

• You can take 2nd class reservation seats (or Green-car seats if you have the special tickets for Green-car) on outward and back Nozomi trains with this ticket.
• Your trains and seats of both-way will be assigned when you purchase this ticket.
• If Nozomi trains don't stop at your destination or home station, you can take 2nd class non-reservation seat on Hikari or Kodama train.
• Seat availability is limited for this ticket.
• You must take trains you reserved. Changes are not permitted.

For Kyushu Shinkansen extension to Hakata, additional Shinkansen platforms are now being built at Hakata Station and track numbers for Sanyo Shinkansen will be changed on 14 March.

You know series 0 cars will finish their regular running on 30 November and 4 irregular service will be held as special operation in December. Because that was in high demand, JR West released that they would add 2 trains to the farewell operation. Added trains are shown below;

• Hikari 356: departing Hakata at 10:12 and arriving Hiroshima at 11:45, on Sat. 13 Dec.
• Hikari 355: departing Hiroshima at 14:42 and arriving Hakata at 16:30, on Sat. 13 Dec.

Both trains have 6 carriages of series 0 cars with 400 seats. The booking for such trains will be accepted since 13 November at JR trains booking counters (みどりの窓口) throughout the country.

The shinkansen's railcar shop in Fukuoka (Hakata Depot) will be opened to the public as the Day of Shinkansen Getting To Know (新幹線ふれあいデー) on 26 October, 2008. The factory will be opened from 10:00 to 16:00 and its admission will be free.

On that day, you will see below.

• Shinkansen cars (series N700, 500, high speed test produced car WIN350, double-deck restaurant car of series 100, examination vehicle Doctor Yellow, and other maintenance cars)
• Cockpits of series N700 and 500 cars (required numbered tickets)
• Panel exhibition introducing shinkansen history
• Jacked-up cars
• Emergency couplers handling demonstration, etc.

JR West said that they would distribute 山陽新幹線「2枚きっぷ」 (Sanyo Shinkansen Doubled Ticket) continuously until 31 March 2009.

With the ticket, you can "go and return" or "travel with another" between Shin-Osaka or Shin-Kobe and Kokura or Hakata by Nozomi, Hikari, or Kodama trains. Tickets are sold from 14 up to 3 days prior to the travel date and their price depends on the date of purchased. Lowest price is 25,000 JPY for 2 sheets (12,500 JPY for a sheet).

For more information, please check the page of news release of JR west [written in Japanese].