The article uploaded last month showed that Tokaido Shinkansen became faster and more frequent in the last 50 years. It is not hard to imagine how have trips between Tokyo and Nagoya, Osaka and Okayama become easier.
Then, how about travelling from Tokyo to Tohoku region and vice versa? Today, there is Tohoku Shinkansen, the fastest high-speed rail in Japan whose trains can run at a speed of 320 km/h (200 mph), but it was still under construction in 1973. Thus, train journeys relied on Tohoku Main Line and other relevant lines. This article looks into six prefectural capitals in the region, namely: Fukushima, Sendai, Morioka, Yamagata, Akita and Aomori. Note that all tables below show regular services only.
The trains in 1973 started from or terminated at Ueno station, which was about 10 minutes from Tokyo station. The official timetable recommended all passengers arriving at Tokyo and taking another train from Ueno to take a 30-minute time allowance.
Fukushima, Sendai and Morioka
 |
| JR East E2 series bullet train |
Today, Hayabusa and Yamabiko call at Sendai and Morioka, while Fukushima is served by Yamabiko and Tsubasa.
Number of services and duration from Tokyo to three destinations are as follows. Fastest patterns are listed below, and Yamabiko surpassed by Hayabusa are not included. There are more services available between Tokyo and Sendai if you do not mind spending 10-20 more minutes on a train.
| Duration (fastest) | Services |
|---|
| Fukushima | 1 hr 21 mins | 42 per day |
| Sendai | 1 hr 30 mins | 35 per day |
| Morioka | 2 hrs 10 mins | 22 per day |
In 1973, there were various limited express and express services, and those who wish to go to Fukushima, Sendai or Morioka could take trains listed below. The table does not include night trains to avoid making it even more complicated.
| Limited Express |
|---|
| Hatsukari | (Ueno - Aomori) |
| Hibari | (Ueno - Sendai) |
| Tsubasa | (Ueno - Akira via Fukushima) |
| Yamabato | (Ueno - Yamagata via Fukushima) |
| Yamabiko | (Ueno - Morioka) |
| |
| Express |
|---|
| Azuma | (Ueno - Fukushima) |
| Iwate | (Ueno - Morioka) |
| Matsushima | (Ueno - Sendai) |
| Oga | (Ueno - Akita via Fukushima) |
As described before, limited express services provided faster and more comfortable accommodation than express services, though tickets were more expensive. There were trains between Ueno and Sendai via Joban Line, which this article refers to later.
The number of regular services per day and duration of trains from Ueno to three destinations were as follows. Express trains surpassed by limited express trains are not included.
| Duration (fastest) | Services |
|---|
| Fukushima | 2 hrs 57 mins | 26 per day |
| Sendai | 3 hrs 53 mins | 21 per day |
| Morioka | 5 hrs 55 mins | 8 per day |
It is obvious that bullet trains significantly changed everything. The capacity of a train was not so different from that of today (a 12-car 485 series was 752 passengers while E5/H5 series is 723 passengers), but it should not be forgotten that bullet trains boosted capacity by providing more frequent services.
Yamagata
 |
| JR East E3 series bullet train |
Today, Yamagata is served by Tsubasa, and a part of Ou Main Line between Fukushima and Yamagata is also known as Yamagata Shinkansen. Many Tsubasa trains join to Yamabiko between Tokyo and Fukushima.
There are 16 services from Tokyo to Yamagata (hourly service during off-peak times) and half of them go as far as Shinjo. The fastest service (Tsubasa 131) takes 2 hours and 26 minutes, though most trains take around 2 hours and 40 minutes.
 |
| JNR 485 series |
In 1973, Limited Express Yamabato ran between Ueno and Yamagata, while Limited Express Tsubasa and Express Oga ran between Ueno and Akita via Yamagata. Tsubasa and Oga were either diesel multiple units or hauled by diesel locomotives as Ou Main Line was not fully electrified at that time.
There were only nine services including night trains, as follows:
| Oga 1 | Ueno (7:10) → Yamagata (13:15) |
| Tsubasa 1 | Ueno (7:27) → Yamagata (12:01) |
| Yamabato 1 | Ueno (10:05) → Yamagata (14:32) |
| Tsubasa 2 | Ueno (12:05) → Yamagata (16:34) |
| Yamabato 2 | Ueno (13:05) → Yamagata (17:30) |
| Yamabato 3 | Ueno (17:05) → Yamagata (21:33) |
| Tsugaru 1 | Ueno (19:35) → Yamagata (1:29) |
| Tsugaru 2 | Ueno (22:20) → Yamagata (5:01) |
| Dewa | Ueno (23:06) → Yamagata (5:36) |
During holidays, there were also additional services including overnight Tsubasa and Yamabato (both of them were seated coaches only, no beds). Even so, there were far fewer services than today, making it difficult for businesspeople and tourists to visit there.
Akita
 |
| JR East E6 series bullet train |
Today, Komachi services connect Tokyo and Akita. Akita Shinkansen technically consists of Tazawako Line and a part of Ou Main Line (between Omagari and Akita). There are 14 services from Tokyo to Akita (every hour in most cases), and the fastest one (Komachi 45) takes 3 hours and 37 minutes.
 |
| JNR KiHa 181 series |
It is worth noting that journeys between Tokyo and Akita were very much different in 1973. Unlike Akita Shinkansen, trains between Ueno and Akita did not take the Morioka-route. Instead, there were two routes: Ou Main Line route (via Fukushima and Yamagata) or Uetsu Main Line route (via Takasaki and Niitsu near Niigata).
There were Limited Express Tsubasa (daytime), Akebono (night) and Express Oga (daytime) on the former route, while Limited Express Inaho (daytime), Express Amanogawa (night) and Chokai (night) on the latter route.
| Ou Main Line Route (via Yamagata) |
|---|
| Oga 1 | Ueno (7:10) → Akita (16:56) |
| Tsubasa 1 | Ueno (7:27) → Akita (15:10) |
| Tsubasa 2 | Ueno (12:05) → Akita (19:43) |
| Tsugaru 1 | Ueno (19:35) → Akita (5:56) |
| Akebono | Ueno (22:00) → Akita (7:17) |
| Tsugaru 2 | Ueno (22:20) → Akita (9:31) |
| | |
| Uetsu Main Line Route (via Niitsu) |
|---|
| Inaho 1 | Ueno (10:30) → Akita (17:59) |
| Inaho 2 | Ueno (14:30) → Akita (22:03) |
| Chokai | Ueno (21:05) → Akita (8:32) |
| Amanogawa | Ueno (22:39) → Akita (10:25) |
Ou Main Line route and Uetsu Main Line route are completely different. Nevertheless, duration of limited express services between Ueno and Akita was almost the same. In fact, the distance was not so different: 586 km and 570 km, respectively.
Aomori
 |
| JR East E5 series bullet train |
Shin-Aomori has been well-known as a bullet trains station since 2010, but very few people remember that this station actually opened in 1986. It was initially a small unstaffed station, but it became a large station when Tohoku Shinkansen was extended. Aomori station is approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) east of Shin-Aomori station.
Today, there are 16 Hayabusa services, and the fastest one from Tokyo to Shin-Aomori (Hayabusa 7) takes 3 hours and 58 minutes. This section is perhaps the most impressive change seen in the last 50 years.
 |
| JNR 583 series |
In 1973, there were two main routes between Ueno and Aomori: Tohoku Main Line and Joban Line. Tohoku Line was the most popular one as it was the shortest among all routes. The trains were heavily used by passengers going to and from Hokkaido using ferry service between Aomori and Hakodate.
There were so many services that this article cannot list all of them up. Instead, the table below shows limited express trains (including sleeper limited express) on the two routes.
| Tohoku Route (via Fukushima, Sendai & Morioka) |
|---|
| Hatsukari 1 | Ueno (8:05) → Aomori (16:29) |
| Hatsukari 2 | Ueno (11:05) → Aomori (19:30) |
| Hatsukari 3 | Ueno (11:33) → Aomori (20:05) |
| Hatsukari 4 | Ueno (16:00) → Aomori (0:15) |
| Hakutsuru | Ueno (22:30) → Aomori (7:10) |
| | |
| Joban Route (via Mito, Sendai & Morioka) |
|---|
| Michinoku | Ueno (14:48) → Aomori (23:45) |
| Yuzuru 1 | Ueno (19:50) → Aomori (5:03) |
| Yuzuru 2 | Ueno (20:00) → Aomori (5:08) |
| Yuzuru 3 | Ueno (21:40) → Aomori (7:05) |
| Yuzuru 4 | Ueno (23:00) → Aomori (9:25) |
| Yuzuru 5 | Ueno (23:05) → Aomori (9:55) |
Tohoku Route is approximately 735 km, while Joban Route is 750 km. Interestingly, unlike daytime limited express trains, Sleeper Limited Express services between the two stations mostly ran via Joban Line. Probably Tohoku Main Line was so busy even at night (not only night trains but also freight, parcel and mail trains) that JNR preferred Joban Line to Tohoku Main Line when it comes to direct trains to Aomori.
In addition, there were Limited Express Inaho 1 (Ueno 10:30 → Aomori 20:35) via Uetsu Main Line and Sleeper Limited Express Akebono (Ueno 22:00 → Aomori 10:19) via Ou Main Line. However, there should have been few passengers who dared to choose Inaho.
Personal Views
Not to mention the journey duration, it is intriguing that there were fewer services in 1973 despite railway was more heavily used than it is today. In other words, Shinkansen must have contributed to more demands. Even with extensive motorway networks and modern airports across the country that we see today, high-speed rails clearly play an important role.
However, night trains do not exist today because there are cheap bus services and even decent business hotels everywhere. As the time passed, night trains became an obsolete option and therefore they were mostly discontinued by the 2000s.
Types of Rolling Stock (2023 and 1973)
Finally, types of rolling stock for abovementioned services were as follows.
2023
1973
*There were also locomotives and coaching stock that I have never seen (as they were withdrawn before the privatisation of JNR).
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