Going from Ueno to Sapporo, trains called at Ōmiya, Utsunomiya, Kōriyama, Fukushima, and Sendai.

The Hokutosei ran on the following lines: Trains reversed and swapped locomotives at Aomori and Hakodate stations.

The Hokutosei's dining car, called the "Grand Chariot", served various foods and beverages.

Passengers who wished to have either course had to make a dinner reservation at a Midori no Madoguchi ticket office up to three days prior to departure.

During Pub Time the dining car opened to all passengers and various à la carte meals, snacks, and beverages were available for purchase.

[4] A public ballot was held to decide on the name for the new train service, and approximately 24,000 votes were received.

The name Hokutosei was officially chosen on 6 November 1987, although it had ranked in 108th place in the public ballot with just 15 votes.

The first place suggestion, Kaikyo, was later used as the name for the limited-stop "rapid" services connecting Aomori with Hakodate via the Seikan Tunnel.

[5] Until 1990 the service ran with two trains daily in each direction, and an additional third round-trip route being run irregularly.

[2] From the start of the revised timetable on 17 March 2012, smoking was banned in the restaurant cars of Hokutosei services.

[7] A 24 series dining car (number SuShi 24-504) formerly used on Hokutosei services was purchased for use as a restaurant in Kawaguchi, Saitama in April 2016.