Tohoku Shinkansen & Hokkaido Shinkansen

The Tohoku Shinkansen is 674.9 km in length. It connects Tokyo and Shin-Aomori in northern Honshu through Omiya, Fukushima, Sendai, Morioka, and other cities. Compared to the Tokaido Shinkansen and Sanyo Shinkansen, population density along the Tohoku Shinkansen line is generally lower and rail traffic is not as high.

However, many trains operate in the Tokyo-Omiya section because the Joetsu Shinkansen and Hokuriku Shinkansen use the same tracks. One distinguishing feature of the Tohoku Shinkansen is that Yamagata Shinkansen and Akita Shinkansen are coupled to the Tohoku Shinkansen trains regularly and operate on the same tracks. 

The Yamagata Shinkansen trains are uncoupled from the Tohoku Shinkansen trains at Fukushima and the Akita Shinkansen trains are uncoupled at Morioka to continue to their respective destinations. In the densely built-up area north of Tokyo Station, construction was delayed, and when the Tohoku Shinkansen was inaugurated in 1982, trains ran only from Omiya to Morioka. South of Omiya, close to the metropolitan core, the line was tunneled underground to Ueno. 

This part of the line became operational in 1985. Then in 1991 the line was finally extended to Tokyo Station, where the Tokaido Shinkansen Line begins. The Morioka to Hachinohe section opened in 2002, taking the line further north, followed by another extension northerly, from Hachinohe to Shin-Aomori, in 2010.

Maximum speed differs by track section: 110 km/h between Tokyo and Omiya, 275 km/h between Omiya and Utsunomiya, 320 km/h between Utsunomiya and Morioka (currently the fastest in Japan), and 260 km/h between Morioka and Shin-Aomori. The line is operated by JR East.

Hokkaido Shinkansen

The Hokkaido Shinkansen began running in 2016 between Shin-Aomori and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, using the Seikan Tunnel under the Tsugaru Strait between Honshu and Hokkaido. The undersea tunnel is the world's longest. The approximately 82 km section that includes the tunnel also accommodates freight trains designed for 1,067 mm narrow-gauge track, so three-rail dual gauge track was constructed for both freight and Shinkansen passenger trains.

Safety is ensured by setting the maximum speed to 140 km/h. Other sections of Shinkansen track have a maximum speed of 260 km/h. The line is operated by JR Hokkaido. Existing line Shin-Aomori "Hayabusa" trains mainly link Tokyo with Shin-Aomori and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto. They also link Sendai with the latter station. "Hayate" runs primarily between Morioka and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, and between Shin-Aomori and the latter station. "Yamabiko" runs mainly between Tokyo and Sendai, or between Tokyo and Morioka, while the short-distance type "Nasuno" links Tokyo with Nasushiobara and Koriyama. "Hayabusa" plays a major role on the two lines.

The Series E5 (H5 for JR Hokkaido) has a maximum speed of 320 km/h. It is used for "Hayabusa" services, while the Series E2 is used mostly for "Hayate", "Yamabiko" and "Nasuno" services. Some time ago, all-double-decker Series E4 trains were introduced to satisfy the demand of growing numbers of Greater Tokyo commuters, but due to maximum speed considerations the E4 was replaced by the E2 and E5, with E3 and E6 trains for Yamagata and Akita Shinkansen services coupled to them to make 17-car trainsets. All Series 200 rolling stock, which was placed in service when the Tohoku Shinkansen was inaugurated, has since been retired.