The Tokaido Shinkansen: Tokyo to Kyoto Along the Old Road

The route

In the Edo period the Tōkaidō was the main road of Japan, running from Nihonbashi in Edo to the Sanjō bridge in Kyoto, nearly 500 kilometres, with 53 post towns on the way. Walkers took 13 to 17 days. Hiroshige travelled it in 1832, and his 55 prints of its stations were published in 1833 and 1834. The train passes many of the places he drew: Odawara, Mishima, Hara with Fuji behind it, Hamamatsu.

The Shinkansen, the world’s first high-speed railway, opened on 1 October 1964, just before the Tokyo Olympics. JR Central reports no train accident causing a passenger death or injury since it opened. Every train stops at Shinagawa, Shin-Yokohama, Nagoya and Kyoto. The Nozomi usually stops nowhere else on the way; the Hikari calls at some of the stations between; the Kodama calls at all of them.

What the rail journey is like

The journey begins on the platform. Passengers queue at painted marks for their car, and before anyone boards, staff turn every row of seats to face the way the train will go. The crew point and call before the doors close, and the train leaves on the minute.

The first stretch is city, and passengers often remark on how little green there is. The ticket collector bows on leaving each car. Beyond Odawara the sea opens out on the left towards Atami, and then the tunnels begin.

About four minutes after Mishima comes the stretch that passengers on the right-hand side wait for. On a clear day Fuji stands whole above the plain near Shin-Fuji, and those who see it count it the highlight of the ride. It does not last: a few glimpses at speed, and it falls behind.

Often it stays hidden. Passengers write of a summit lost in grey cloud, of foothills and nothing more, or of a mountain only half there through cloud. About a third of the accounts we read missed it altogether, most often in summer and autumn.

West of Shizuoka come tea fields with their frost fans, large solar farms, villages of wooden houses and factory towns. The train crosses Lake Hamana on a bridge, with water on both sides, and runs on through Nagoya and the Sekigahara gap, white in winter. Then it slows into Kyoto, where Tō-ji’s pagoda tells you that you have arrived.

Not everyone is thrilled. Some find that once aboard it feels much like any other train, and passengers who know China’s high-speed trains can find it slow. What people praise most is the comfort, the food from the platform and trains that run to the minute. Some wish the ride were longer.

The stages

Distances are from Tokyo. Right means seat E; left means seat A.

Stops worth breaking the journey for

Of these four, the Nozomi normally calls only at Nagoya, so take a Hikari or Kodama and check that your train stops where you want. The Shinkansen part of an ordinary ticket is valid for one train only, so each leg needs its own; we understand that a single smartEX booking cannot be broken at all. We have not confirmed how the Japan Rail Pass treats stopovers, so check its terms.

Odawara

The gateway to Hakone: trains run on to Hakone-Yumoto, where the Hakone Tozan Railway climbs into the hills. Odawara Castle, rebuilt in 1960, is about ten minutes’ walk from the station.

Mishima

The Mishima Skywalk, a 400-metre footbridge (Japan’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge in 2020), looks out to Fuji and Suruga Bay. Allow half a day, and come on a clear morning.

Nagoya

Atsuta Jingu, a shrine said to be about 1,900 years old, keeps a sacred sword that is never shown. SCMaglev and Railway Park has 39 trains, from steam to maglev; closed Tuesdays. Check whether Nagoya Castle’s keep is open.

Maibara

One stop on the local line to Hikone, then 15 to 20 minutes on foot to Hikone Castle, one of five whose original keep is a National Treasure, looking out over Lake Biwa. Allow half a day.

Planning the journey

Where to sit

Going west, sit on the right: seat E in an ordinary car, the window on the two-seat side, or seat D in the Green Car. That side has Fuji, the tea fields, Mount Ibuki and Hikone Castle. Seat A, on the left, has the sea before Atami and the river crossings. You choose your seat when you book, from a seat map, so ask for E. Coming back to Tokyo, Fuji is on the left. One guide says seat E still faces it, another says A, so check the map when you book.

Nozomi, Hikari or Kodama?

All three run on the same line and see the same view; the difference is the stops. Take the Nozomi if you want Kyoto quickly. Take a Hikari or Kodama if you want to stop on the way, or if the Nozomi is full. With a Japan Rail Pass the Hikari is covered. You can also take the Nozomi on a pass by buying a special ticket: ¥4,960 from Tokyo to Kyoto, from machines and ticket offices in Japan up to a month ahead.

Classes and what they include

Booking, passes and fares

Stations sell seats from 10:00 one month before travel, and JR Central’s smartEX service now sells some seats up to a year ahead. By JR Central’s published fare table, a reserved Nozomi seat from Tokyo to Kyoto costs ¥14,170 in the regular season, and a non-reserved one ¥13,320. We could not load a current fare page, so check when you book. JR Central and JR West plan to raise Nozomi reserved fares for tickets bought from 1 July 2027: Tokyo to Shin-Osaka goes from ¥14,720 to ¥15,420, and no Kyoto figure has been published.

On a Nozomi only cars 1 and 2 are unreserved, and at holidays every Nozomi is all-reserved: the next periods are 21 to 23 November 2026, 25 December 2026 to 5 January 2027, 9 to 11 January and 20 to 22 March 2027. A suitcase over 160 cm in total needs a booked baggage seat. Our guide to getting around Japan covers booking, the baggage rule and IC cards in full.

One way or there and back?

Kyoto is possible as a long day from Tokyo (the first Nozomi, at 6:00, arrives at 8:08), but Kyoto repays two nights or more.

Travelling with a mobility need, and luggage

Wheelchair spaces are in car 11 of every train, at seat E, with an accessible seat at B and a companion seat at A. Each is booked separately, on smartEX or by phone. The smartEX site takes bookings until four minutes before departure, but JR Central’s own page asks for two days’ notice, so book early.

Some newer N700S trains have six wheelchair spaces, and the N700S has a multipurpose room. A Japanese access database shows step-free routes from the entrance to the platforms at both Tokyo and Kyoto, and step-free boarding at the car 11 door on Tokyo’s platforms 16 to 19. It marks Kyoto’s platforms as not step-free, and we could not find out what that means in practice; ask the station in advance.

Bags up to 160 cm in total go in the racks or the deck. Larger ones need the booked baggage seat, or ¥1,000 on board, and you can send cases ahead by courier instead.

If the journey breaks down

Delays are rare: JR Central puts the average at 1.6 minutes a train, natural disasters included. When things go wrong it is usually the weather:

• Heavy rain and typhoons stop trains, sometimes for hours: in August 2023 a typhoon cancelled more than 200 and delayed over 400.
• Snow at Sekigahara slows trains in winter; sprinklers along the track damp it down.
• JR Central’s earthquake alarm system uses trackside and ocean-floor seismometers to give early warning of earthquakes.

Check JR Central’s operating-status page before you set out, and leave a buffer before a flight.