The San'yō Shinkansen connects Hakata with Osaka in two and a half hours, with trains operating at a maximum speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) for most of the journey.

[2] Some Nozomi trains operate continuously on San'yō and Tōkaidō Shinkansen lines, connecting Tokyo and Hakata in five hours.

Download coordinates as: All stations on the San'yō Shinkansen are owned and operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the exception of Shin-Osaka station, which is run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central).

100 series trains, introduced in 1989, boosted maximum speed to 230 km/h (140 mph) and reduced travel time to 2 hours 49 minutes.

From the start of the revised timetable on 12 March 2011, new Mizuho and Sakura inter-running services commenced between Shin-Ōsaka and Kagoshima on the Kyushu Shinkansen using new N700-7000 and N700-8000 series 8-car trainsets.

JR West began offering discounted advance purchase fares on this route in July 2013 in an effort to compete for market share with new low-cost airlines such as Peach.