Shinkansen

The Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu lines form a continuous corridor along the Pacific side from Tokyo to Kagoshima. From Tokyo, the Tohoku line runs north to Shin-Aomori and continues through the Seikan Tunnel as the Hokkaido Shinkansen; the Joetsu line crosses the mountains to Niigata, and the Hokuriku line runs via Nagano and Kanazawa to Tsuruga.

Two 'mini-shinkansen', the Yamagata and Akita lines, use converted conventional tracks, so trains run at lower speeds beyond Fukushima and Morioka. The Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen links Takeo-Onsen with Nagasaki. A separate maglev line, the Chuo Shinkansen, is under construction between Tokyo (Shinagawa) and Nagoya.

On each line, trains with different names stop at different numbers of stations. On the Tokaido line the Nozomi stops only at major stations, the Hikari at some more and the Kodama at every station. The fastest services, Nozomi and Mizuho, are not covered by the Japan Rail Pass without a supplementary ticket.

Typical fastest journey times from Tokyo are about two hours and fifteen minutes to Kyoto, two and a half hours to Shin-Osaka and to Kanazawa, around four hours to Hiroshima, about ninety minutes to Sendai and about four hours to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto.

Trains have unreserved cars (jiyūseki), reserved cars (shiteiseki) and a first-class Green Car with wider seats. Some Tohoku, Hokkaido and Hokuriku trains add Gran Class, a small premium cabin. Some of the fastest trains are fully reserved.

On the Tokaido line, seat E in a standard car (on the right when travelling from Tokyo towards Osaka) gives the best chance of a view of Mount Fuji on a clear day.

A Shinkansen journey needs a basic fare ticket plus a limited express ticket; for reserved seats, the reservation is included in the express ticket. Tickets are sold at JR ticket offices and machines and through the JR companies' online services, some of which are available in English to overseas users and allow boarding with a QR code or registered IC card.

Trains leave precisely on time and stop only briefly; passengers board at the car numbers marked on the platform. Eating a station bento (ekiben) on board is a Shinkansen tradition.

Each passenger may take two pieces of luggage. On the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu lines, bags whose length, width and height add up to more than 160 cm (up to 250 cm) require a reservation for a seat with an oversized-baggage area; boarding with such luggage without a reservation incurs a fee. Smaller cases fit in the overhead racks or in the space behind the last row, which is often part of the same reserved area.

Many travellers avoid the issue by forwarding large suitcases to their next hotel.