On the morning of March 14, 2026, the first-ever "Nozomi" Shinkansen train originating in Kyoto and bound for Tokyo departed from the northbound platform of JR Kyoto Station in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City.

Station staff celebrate the start of the Nozomi Shinkansen service departing from Kyoto Station by holding up banners and seeing off the train (6:03 a.m., March 14, Kyoto Station, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City, Tokaido Shinkansen line).

At 6:03 AM, as passengers carrying large luggage boarded one after another, "Nozomi 548" departed, waved off by station staff holding banners celebrating the start of service.

Kyoto Station staff pose for a commemorative photo holding a handmade banner to mark the start of Nozomi Shinkansen service departing from Kyoto Station (5:57 AM, March 14, Kyoto Station, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City, Tokaido Shinkansen line).

This service was newly introduced by JR Central as a special service to coincide with the spring timetable revisions of all JR companies. According to JR Central, "there was demand for early morning departures from the Kansai region, including Kyoto, to the Tokyo metropolitan area, and there were also reports of difficulty in obtaining reserved seats due to the surge in passengers after the COVID-19 pandemic subsided."

Station staff celebrate the start of Nozomi Shinkansen service departing from Kyoto Station by displaying a handmade banner (5:58 AM, March 14, Kyoto Station, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City, Tokaido Shinkansen line).

A 49-year-old company employee from Konan City, Shiga Prefecture, who was heading to Tokyo with his wife for a trip, said with a smile as he boarded the "first train," "I wanted to get to Tokyo as quickly as possible, so I booked the first train, and I was surprised to hear that it was a train that was just starting service today." The train operates on Mondays, Saturdays, and the day after holidays.