Kodama (Shinkansen)
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Kodama is one of the three train services running on the Tōkaidō/Sanyō Shinkansen.
Kodama trains stop at all stations, making Kodama the slowest Shinkansen service for trips between major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. The Kodama trains are used primarily for travel to and from smaller cities such as Atami. Travelers between major cities generally take the Nozomi or Hikari services, which make fewer stops.
Kodama trains generally run over shorter distances than Nozomi and Hikari trains. Typical Kodama runs include Tokyo - Nagoya, Tokyo - Shin-Osaka, Shizuoka - Shin-Osaka, Shin-Osaka - Okayama, Shin-Osaka - Hiroshima, Okayama - Hakata and Hiroshima - Hakata, as well as some shorter late-night runs.
The trainsets used for Kodama service are the same 300 Series and 700 Series trains used for the Hikari and Nozomi services. Older 0 Series and 100 Series trains are also used for Kodama services on the Sanyō Shinkansen.
Most Kodama trains have both reserved and non-reserved cars; however, some morning Kodama trains to Tokyo and evening trains departing Tokyo have non-reserved cars only to accommodate commuters living in Kanagawa and Shizuoka.
The word kodama, written in Japanese as こだま by Japan Railways [JR] on station platform information signs, means "echo".