There are three types of services on the line: from fastest to slowest, they are the limited-stop Nozomi, the semi-fast Hikari, and the all-stop Kodama.

[4][5] The predecessor for the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines was originally conceived at the end of the 1930s as a 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge dangan ressha (bullet train) between Tokyo and Shimonoseki, which would have taken nine hours to cover the nearly 1,000-kilometer (620 mi) distance between the two cities.

This project was planned as the first part of an East Asian rail network serving Japan's overseas territories.

The beginning of World War II stalled the project in its early planning stages, although three tunnels were dug that were later used in the Shinkansen route.

Even after its electrification the next year, the line was still the busiest in Japan's railway network by a long margin, with demand being around double the then capacity.

[7] In 1957, a public forum was organized to discuss “The Possibility of a Three-hour Rail Trip Between Tokyo and Osaka.”[6] After substantial debate, the Japanese National Railways (JNR) decided to build a new 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge line alongside the original 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) one to supplement it.

[8] The president of JNR at the time, Shinji Sogō, started attempting to persuade politicians to back the project.

[13] On October 1 that same year, the line was officially opened, with the first train, Hikari 1, traveling from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka with a top speed of 210 km/h (130 mph).

Profits from the Tokaido Shinkansen were used to offset the lines which were running at a loss which resulted in a lack of development and faster service over a 15-year period.

Labor issues during that time steered away any attention from JNR executives, further complicating the possibility for research initiatives.

This resulted in the debut of the 300 Series and the Nozomi, the line's fastest service which took two and a half hours to traverse the route with a top speed of 270 km/h (168 mph), on March 14, 1992.

Trolley service on the Tokaido Shinkansen was discontinued on October 31st, 2023, due to falling sales and labor shortages.

Passengers can scan a QR code on the back of their seat to purchase refreshments, which would then be brought by a cabin attendant.

[3] By 2016, the route was carrying 452,000 passengers per day on 365 daily services making it one of the busiest high speed railway lines in the world.