It ran on the Tōkaido, Sanyō, Kagoshima, and Nagasaki main lines.

Due to falling passenger numbers, both the Naha and Akatsuki services ceased following the March 15, 2008, timetable revision.

It was operated between Shin-Ōsaka and two destinations in Kyūshū, namely Nishi-Kagoshima (present-day Kagoshima-Chūō) and Nagasaki.

Its maximum operation was 14 services (7 round-trips) a day in the mid-1970s, and all of them were connected with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen.

At the end of the 1970s, the number of Akatsuki services was reduced due to decreasing ridership.