[8][9] Ordered in February 2014, a total of four 10-car sets were built by Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries at a cost of approximately ¥18 billion (US$169.9 million).

[9][14]As of 26 March 2016[update], E5 series and H5 trainsets work with each other,[15] and are used on the following services on the Tohoku and Hokkaido Shinkansen lines:[16] E5 series trainsets were first introduced on the new Hayabusa services between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori from 5 March 2011, initially operating at a maximum speed of 300 km/h (186 mph).

[17] From the start of the revised timetable on 17 March 2012, E5 series sets were also introduced used on some Nasuno all-stations services.

The exterior design of the trains is broadly based on the experimental Fastech 360S train, with a colour scheme of "Tokiwa" (常盤) green for the upper body and "Hiun" (飛雲) white for the lower body, separated by a "Hayate" pink stripe.

[3] The carpet in the H5 series's Gran Class car is blue with a pattern intended to evoke images of Hokkaido's sea and lakes.

[23] The carpet in the H5 series's Green car is dark grey with a pattern depicting the ocean with fragments of drift ice.

[22] The interior of the H5 series's ordinary-class cars is intended to evoke images of snow and the night view of Hakodate.

[12] The pre-series set, S11, was delivered to Sendai Depot in May 2009 ahead of extensive test running on the Tohoku Shinkansen.

[42][43] The E5 series trains with red and grey livery have been chosen for use on the under-construction ₹1.08 lakh crore (US$12 billion) Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor in India,[44] scheduled to open in June-July 2026.

[45][46][needs update] Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries started talks with Indian Railways on design changes such as the modification of the air conditioning system in order for it to operate efficiently at temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius.

One of the goals of Indian Railways is to replace the high-end technical offerings on Japan's train sets with indigenous bio-toilets.

[47][48] A thorough technical study was commissioned by National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited with HKC Consortium in Japan.

The goal was to determine the adjustments needed for the rolling stock to run efficiently under Indian climatic conditions.

The existing HVAC systems are usually sufficient, but a few minor layout adjustments are needed to maximize performance.

The heavier weight of the cooling equipment was a hurdle throughout the redesign phase since it could affect energy efficiency.

The power needed to maintain high speeds rises with weight, which may have an impact on the train's overall performance.