The West Hikari livery had a similar colour pattern to the newer 100 series rolling stock, most of which were allocated to JR Central when the Japanese National Railways (JNR) was privatised in 1987.

[4] The 100 series V sets were designed to be operated at 275 km/h,[5] but due to noise complaints, JR West had to reduce its maximum speed to 230 km/h on the San'yō Shinkansen (compared to 220 km/h for other Hikari services).

[7] First appearing in the summer of 1995, these seasonal services operated between Shin-Ōsaka and Hakata during holiday periods using special 6-car 0 series sets (R2 and R24) which included a children's play area in car 3.

[citation needed] JR West began operating the Hikari Rail Star service from the start of the new timetable on 11 March 2000.

This service is limited to the Sanyo Shinkansen line, and uses special 8-car 700-7000 series trains with a distinctive livery and a maximum speed of 285 km/h.

[8] Before and during World War II, Hikari was the name of an express train operated by Japan from Busan in Korea to Changchun in Manchuria.

From the start of the revised timetable on 17 March 2012, Hikari Rail Star services using 700 series 8-car E sets became entirely no-smoking.

Most Hikari trains pull over at intermediate stations such as Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, Toyohashi, Maibara or Himeji to allow faster Nozomi services, to pass through without stopping.