Slower than the premier Nozomi but faster than the all-stations Kodama, the Hikari is the fastest train service on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen that can be used with the Japan Rail Pass, which is not valid for travel on the Nozomi or Mizuho trains except through a special supplementary ticket.

The Nozomi is the fastest service on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines. In 2026, a Nozomi train can travel from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka in approximately 2 hours and 22 minutes, making only the most essential stops at major cities like Nagoya and Kyoto. The Hikari is the second-fastest tier; it serves more intermediate stations, resulting in a travel time of roughly 2 hours and 53 minutes for the same Tokyo-to-Osaka route. The key difference for 2026 travelers is that the Japan Rail Pass covers the Hikari for free, whereas using the Nozomi with the pass requires a significant "supplementary" ticket purchase. Both trains reach the same maximum operating speeds of 285 km/h (177 mph) on the Tokaido line and 300 km/h (190 mph) on the Sanyo line; the Nozomi's "speed" advantage comes purely from its limited stopping pattern and the fact that Hikari trains often have to pull over at stations to let Nozomi trains pass by.