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Shinkansen service2 min read

Toki

とき

Toki is a service on the Joetsu Shinkansen, the high-speed line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) between Tokyo and Niigata; some trains run only between Echigo-Yuzawa or Nagaoka and Niigata. Intermediate stops vary from train to train and include Ueno, Omiya, Takasaki and Echigo-Yuzawa.

It began with the opening of the Joetsu Shinkansen on 15 November 1982, when it became the name for the all-stations services, while the faster limited-stop workings were branded Asahi; both names were chosen before the line opened. The name is taken from the Japanese word for the crested ibis, for which Niigata is famous. The Sado Island ibis was already a Special Natural Monument and an internationally protected bird when the service began, and Toki was a familiar train name in Niigata Prefecture.

A JR East E4 series set P5 on the Max Toki 316 service from Niigata to Tokyo at Takasaki Station.
A JR East E4 series set P5 on the Max Toki 316 service from Niigata to Tokyo at Takasaki Station. · DAJF · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

History

The Toki and Max Toki names were discontinued from 1 October 1997, when the train names on the Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen were reorganised by operating section: all trains between Tokyo or Echigo-Yuzawa and Niigata became Asahi, and new all-stations Tanigawa services ran between Tokyo and Takasaki or Echigo-Yuzawa. Toki returned at the 1 December 2002 timetable revision after a five-year absence, replacing the name Asahi for trains between Tokyo or Echigo-Yuzawa and Niigata. Double-deck (bi-level) Max Asahi and Max Toki services began with the E1 series on 15 July 1994. After the 2002 renaming the Max Asahi trains became Max Toki, which ran until the E4 series left scheduled service on 1 October 2021, ending bi-level high-speed trains on Shinkansen services.

The current trains are E7 series twelve-car sets allocated to the Niigata depot and carrying Standard, Green and Gran Class accommodation, in use from March 2019; earlier stock included the 200, E1, E2 and E4 series. On 13 March 2004 the E2 series was withdrawn for a time and the maximum speed of all trains was raised from 210 to 240 km/h; the 200 series was retired in 2013. At the 18 March 2023 timetable revision the E2 series was withdrawn from Toki and the line's operating speed was raised from 240 to 275 km/h, the maximum at which it runs today. The name had earlier belonged to the Joetsu Line's first limited express, which ran between Ueno and Niigata via the Takasaki Line, the Joetsu Line and the Shin'etsu Main Line from 10 June 1962 until 14 November 1982, the day before the Shinkansen opened.

Timeline
  • 1962The Toki name is first introduced on 10 June 1962 for limited express services on the conventional Joetsu Line between Ueno and Niigata; this service runs until 14 November 1982, the day before the Joetsu Shinkansen opens.
  • 1982With the opening of the Joetsu Shinkansen on 15 November 1982, Toki becomes the name for the line's all-stations Shinkansen services, while the faster limited-stop workings are branded Asahi.
  • 1997From October 1997 the Toki name is discontinued in a reorganisation of Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen train names by operating section, which also introduces new all-stations Tanigawa services between Tokyo and Echigo-Yuzawa.
  • 2002The Toki name is reinstated from December 2002 to replace Asahi for Tokyo-to-Niigata trains, returning after a five-year absence.
  • 2004On 13 March 2004 the E2 series is withdrawn and the maximum speed of all trains is raised from 210 to 240 km/h; on 23 October 2004 the Chuetsu earthquake derails the Toki 325 service (200 series set K25) near the Takiya tunnel between Urasa and Nagaoka, the first in-service derailment of a Shinkansen train in Japan.
  • 2019E7 series twelve-car sets enter service on Toki in March 2019; they remain the current rolling stock.
  • 2021The E4 series is retired at the beginning of October 2021, ending scheduled Max Toki services and the operation of bi-level high-speed trains on the Shinkansen network.
  • 2023At the 18 March 2023 timetable revision the E2 series is removed from Toki services and the line's operating speed is increased from 240 to 275 km/h.

Sources

Last updated 16 October 2026.

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