Hokkaido Shinkansen

The Hokkaido Shinkansen (北海道新幹線) is a shinkansen line that connects Aomori on Japan's main island of Honshu with Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido via the Seikan Tunnel. It is operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company, commonly known as JR Hokkaido. The Hokkaido Shinkansen is scheduled to be extended to Sapporo in the 2030s.

Most trains along the Hokkaido Shinkansen provide through-service with the Tohoku Shinkansen, i.e. they operate all the way between Tokyo and Hakodate. The fastest trains complete the one way journey in about four hours. Note that Hakodate's terminal station, Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, is located far outside of central Hakodate. A relay train service provides access to/from Hakodate Station in the city center in 20 minutes.

Most trains along the Hokkaido Shinkansen are Hayabusa trains that operate all the way between Tokyo and Hakodate. The Hayabusa is one of the few shinkansen trains without non-reserved seating. A seat reservation is mandatory. When all seats are booked out, standing tickets can be purchased. Besides ordinary seats (3x2 seats per row) and a Green Car (2x2 seats per row), the Hayabusa carries one Gran Class car, the first class service by JR with 2x1 seats per row.

Note: For simplification, some rare train compositions and stopping patterns are omitted.