Know Your Trains: Yamagata and Akita Shinkansen

Update 11 August 2018: Updated with new maps.

A red E6-series train (front) coupled with a green E5-series (rear).
By Sukhoi37 [CC BY-SA 3.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

As you know, the Tohoku Shinkansen is a high-speed line travelling north along the north-eastern half of Honshu, also known as Tohoku.  After it was completed, two branch lines were developed that connect to stations on the Tohoku Shinkansen.  These are colloquially called "Mini-Shinkansen", for instead of using newly-built lines, they consist of former narrow-gauge lines that were converted to the standard gauge used by Shinkansen trains.

Mini-Shinkansen services consist of two trains coupled together.  Both trains are capable of running at full speeds along the Tohoku line, up to 320 km/h (200 mph).  At a certain point, one continues along the Tohoku line, whereas the other diverges onto the branch line.  The latter train is narrower, and as such all seating is arranged 2+2 across.  Unlike the purpose-built main lines, these branch lines are shared by conventional trains, and as such, Shinkansen services run more slowly along them, the maximum speed being 130 km/h (80 mph).

The first of these lines is the Yamagata Shinkansen (山形新幹線).  It was opened in 1992 between the cities of Fukushima and Yamagata, and was later extended to Shinjo in 1999.  Trains serving the Yamagata Shinkansen are called "Tsubasa", and are coupled with a Yamabiko service between Tokyo and Fukushima.  Travel time is 3 hours and 40 minutes from Tokyo to Shinjo, or 2 hours from Fukushima to Shinjo.  Tsubasa trains depart once per hour, with every other service making the full trip to Shinjo, and the other half terminating at Yamagata.  Tsubasa services are labelled in gold on signboards.

Name (English)	Name (Japanese)	Prefecture	Yamabiko	Tsubasa
Tokyo	東京	Tokyo	X	X
Ueno	上野		O	O
Omiya	大宮	Saitama	X	X
Utsunomiya	宇都宮	Tochigi	O	O
Koriyama	郡山	Fukushima	O	O
Fukushima	福島		X	X
Yonezawa	米沢	Yamagata	To Morioka	X
Takahata	高畠			O
Akayu	赤湯			O
Kaminoyama-Onsen	かみのやま温泉			O
Yamagata	山形			X
Tendo	天童			O
Sakurambo-Higashine	さくらんぼ東根			O
Murayama	村山			O
Oishida	大石田			O
Shinjo	新庄			O

Legend
X: All trains stop at this station.
O: Some trains stop at this station.
I: No trains stop at this station.

Notable stops

• Fukushima: The capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, and the point where the Tohoku Shinkansen branches off.
• Kaminoyama-Onsen: Hot springs and fruit farms at the base of Mt. Zao.
• Yamagata: The capital of the eponymous prefecture.
• Oishida: The closest station to Ginzan Onsen.

An E3-series "Tsubasa" train, approaching Kita-Yamagata Station.
ttzshirasawa [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Seat class arrangements for Tsubasa services, and their corresponding Yamabiko trains, are as follows.

Service	Total Cars	Non-Reserved Cars	Reserved Cars	Green Cars	GranClass Cars
Yamabiko	10	4-6 (Cars #4-3/6)	3-5 (Cars #5/7-8, 10)	1 (Car #9)	0
Tsubasa	7	2 (Cars #16-17)	4 (Cars #12-15)	1 (Car #11)	0

The Toreiyu Tsubasa, a special-edition E3-series train.
By ttzshirasawa [CC BY 3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons

But that's not all!  Since July 2014, JR East has also been running a special service on the Yamagata Shinkansen line, called the Toreiyu (とれいゆ).  Named after the English word "train" and the French "soleil" (rendered in Japanese as "torein" and "soreiyu"), the Toreiyu features tatami-style seating, a lounge/bar area serving sake, wine, and other drinks made locally in Yamagata Prefecture, and even a footbath!  The Toreiyu runs between Fukushima and Shinjo stations, once in each direction on weekends.  Unlike regular Tsubasa services, it does not directly depart from or terminate at Tokyo.

Station	Toreiyu 1 for Shinjo	Station	Toreiyu 2 for Fukushima
Fukushima	10:02 AM	Shinjo	3:00 PM
Yonezawa	10:36 AM	Oishida	3:16 PM
Takahata	10:44 AM	Murayama	3:28 PM
Akayu	10:50 AM	Sakurambo-Higashine	3:34 PM
Kaminoyama-Onsen	11:08 AM	Tendo	3:40 PM
Yamagata	11:26 AM	Yamagata	4:13 PM
Tendo	11:37 AM	Kaminoyama-Onsen	4:23 PM
Sakurambo-Higashine	11:45 AM	Akayu	4:45 PM
Murayama	11:50 AM	Takahata	4:52 PM
Oishida	12:00 PM	Yonezawa	5:07 PM
Shinjo	12:16 PM	Fukushima	5:41 PM

The footbaths in the last car of the Toreiyu Tsubasa.
By Cheng-en Cheng (DSC_1711) [CC BY-SA 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons

All seating on the Toreiyu is reserved.  The footbath is also reserved separately.  If you wish to use it, ask for a footbath ticket when reserving your seat, and if it's available, you will be assigned a 15-minute time period in which to use it.

Service	Total Cars	Reserved Cars (Regular)	Reserved Cars (Tatami)	Lounge/Bar	Footbath
Toreiyu Tsubasa	6	1 (Cars #11)	3 (Cars #12-14)	1 (Car #15)	1 (Car #16)

For more information on the Toreiyu, visit its page on JR East's website (English) (Japanese).

---

The second of the mini-Shinkansen lines is the Akita Shinkansen (秋田新幹線).  Opened in 1997, it diverges from Morioka to serve towns in Akita prefecture, terminating at the eponymous city.  Trains serving this line are called "Komachi", and are coupled with a Hayabusa service between Tokyo and Morioka.  Travel time is 4 hours and 45 minutes from Tokyo to Akita, or 90 minutes from Morioka to Akita, and trains depart in each direction once per hour.  Komachi services are labelled in pink on signboards.

Name (English)	Name (Japanese)	Prefecture	Hayabusa	Komachi
Tokyo	東京	Tokyo	X	X
Ueno	上野		X	X
Omiya	大宮	Saitama	X	X
Sendai	仙台	Miyagi	X	X
Morioka	盛岡	Iwate	X	X
Shizukuishi	雫石		To Shin-Aomori	O
Tazawako	田沢湖	Akita		X
Kakunodate	角館			X
Omagari	大曲			X
Akita	秋田			X

Legend
X: All trains stop at this station.
O: Some trains stop at this station.
I: No trains stop at this station.

Notable stops

• Morioka: The capital city of Iwate Prefecture, and the point where the Tohoku Shinkansen branches off.
• Tazawako: A caldera lake with nearby onsen towns.
• Kakunodate: A former samurai town with hundreds of weeping cherry blossom trees.
• Akita: The capital of the prefecture, and host of the Akita festival in August.

An E6-series train on the Akita Shinkansen line.
By Cheng-en Cheng (DSC_3796) [CC BY-SA 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons

As with the Hayabusa and Hayate, there is no non-reserved seating on Komachi services, so seat reservations are required with all tickets.  Seat class arrangements for Komachi services, and their corresponding Hayabusa trains, are as follows.

Service	Total Cars	Non-Reserved Cars	Reserved Cars	Green Cars	GranClass Cars
Hayabusa	10	0	8 (Cars #1-8)	1 (Car #9)	1 (Car #10)
Komachi	7	0	6 (Cars #12-17)	1 (Car #11)	0

Trivia

• In Japan, regular train lines are built to narrow-gauge standards (1,067 mm / 3 ft 6 in between rails), whereas the Shinkansen network uses standard gauge (1,435 mm / 4 ft 8½ in).  Regular trains on these lines were modified to use the standard instead of narrow gauge.
• Both the Yamagata and Akita Shinkansen (between Omagari and Akita) share tracks with the Ou Main Line.  The rest of the Akita Shinkansen (between Morioka and Omagari) shares tracks with the Tazawako Line.
• Komachi trains reverse direction at Omagari Station, due to the junction of the Ou Main Line and Tazawako Line at that station.
• Mini-Shinkansen trains are narrower than regular Shinkansen trains due to the smaller loading gauge of regular trains on the same lines.  "Loading gauge" is the maximum height and width for train cars to fit in tunnels, under bridges, etc.
• The slower speed limits on the mini-Shinkansen lines, at most 130 km/h (80 mph), are required due to the lines going through level crossings, which does not occur on main Shinkansen lines.
• The name "Tsubasa" (つばさ) means "wing" in English.  It was previously used for a limited-express service between Ueno and Akita stations, from 1962 until 1992, when the Yamagata Shinkansen was opened.
• The name "Komachi" (こまち) refers to Ono-no-Komachi (小野 小町), a 9th-century poet from modern-day Akita prefecture.  She was renowned as much for her poetry as for her beauty, and even today the name Komachi is a word used to describe a female beauty.