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If you’re visiting Tokyo Disney and Universal Studios Japan on your trip, here’s a fun way to ride between the two – a new Fantasy Springs-themed shinkansen is running on the Tokaido Shinkansen route between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka station. Here’s what you need to know to ride it.
The train called the Wonderful Dreams Shinkansen, begins service on February 21st and is scheduled to run until September. There are 16 cars on the train, each of which will have details relating to one of the three big rides at Fantasy Springs.
Cars 4, 7,10, 12 and 14 are the Frozen Kingdom area, cars 2, 5, 8, 11 and 15 are Rapunzel’s Forest, and cars 3, 6, 9 and 13 are Peter’s Pan’s Neverland. Because you can walk between the cars of the Shinkansen, you will be able to see the different cars if you walk along the train (although remember, non-Disney fans will be using it to go to work and things so, try to avoid singing Let it Go as you arrive).
Cars 1 and 16 have designs that cover all three lands at once.
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It’s not going to be like the Hello Kitty shinkansen, don’t expect giant Olafs in the corridor or a shop, but the headrests will have unique Disney designs, special Disney stickers will be found on the tray table – and the whole train is wrapped in a Fantasy Springs design on the outside with character drawings beside every door.
The Press Release says it will also play a jingle based on A Bright Future from Tangled. Now I’m writing this listening to the Tangled soundtrack – and there’s not a song called that on the English version, so I think it might be a little bit lost in translation. I guess it’s I See The Light, but we’ll all find out when it starts running.
Make sure you’re on the platform early when the train comes in, and stick around when it leaves so you can see the whole thing.
Where Does It Stop?
The two terminal stations are Tokyo and Shin-Osaka, but the train will not be running the express ‘Nozomi’ route to Shin-Osaka, instead it will be labelled as a Hikari or Kodoma service. These stop at more stations between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka, although the train itself still reaches impressive bullet train speeds in between.
Some of the stops it also makes that are good for tourists include Kyoto, Nagoya, Odawara (for Hakone), Mishima (for buses to Mount Fuji), Shin-Yokohama and Shinagawa.
The extra stops do slow things down a little; it will take between 3 and 4 hours to go between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka (or vice versa), depending on the exact stops for your service. This is compared to around 2 hours and 30 minutes on the speedy Nozomi, which only makes 3-4 stops.
Need Extra Planning Help?
Our Japan trip planners can help. You might like our First-Timers Japan Planner, which will help you plan your trip to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka step-by-step, including tips on everything from picking hotels to sightseeing and dining. Or our super-duper Tokyo Disney Planner makes arranging your park trip MUCH easier. Find them in our Planners store – printable and digital versions are available.
What Time Does It Leave?
There are up to four services a day. On a four-service day, the train will run as follows:
Hikari 636 – From Shin-Osaka to Tokyo
Leaves Shin-Osaka at 6.42 am and arrives in Tokyo at 9.42
Kodama 715 – From Tokyo to Shin-Osaka
Leaves Tokyo at 9.57 am and arrives at Shin-Osaka at 1.51 pm
Kodama 736 – From Shin-Osaka to Tokyo
Leaves Shin-Osaka at 2.54 pm and arrives in Tokyo at 6.48 pm
Hikari 659 – From Tokyo to Shin-Osaka
Leaves Tokyo at 7.03 pm and arrives at Shin Osaka at 10.03 pm.
Only the first two services above (Hikari 636 and Kodama 715) will run on a two-service day.
The number of services a day varies by date, so check on the website to see which schedule will be running on the day you want to travel.
If your date is marked with A, there are four services. If it’s marked B, there are only two. Also, double-check the departure times above, as schedules can change.
If you want to get on the train at another station, you’ll need to brush up on your kanji a little bit – or, use Google Translate, as the more detailed timetable is only written in Japanese.
To find the operating times without using Japanese, you can also look for the train service number (ie Kodama 736 or Hikari 636) on the Japan Travel by Navitime app (one of our essential apps for Japan).
Note though trains will run under those numbers daily, but they might not be the Disney train so also check the schedule above for your date so you’re not disappointed.
So, that’s what we know so far. If you have further questions, check the JR Central website above, which might help (you will need to translate it), or head over to the Tokyo Disney and USJ group on Facebook and ask there.
