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Sanyo Shinkansen: landmarks and which side of the train

Last updated: 16 Oct 2026

This is a list of which side of the train each of the 3 landmarks we cover on the Sanyo Shinkansen (Shin-Osaka – Hakata, 19 stations, 553.5 km of track) is calculated to appear on, for each direction of travel. For an answer that matches your own section, date and time, use the tool on the top page.

Side by landmark

Seen = 2+ independent reports from the train + line of sight by calculation / Line of sight only = line of sight by calculation, fewer than 2 reports / Needs checking = reported but no calculated line of sight, cannot be judged by calculation alone, or neither reported nor in calculated line of sight (lakes and seas labelled Seen are shown as "Seen (hidden by noise barriers in places)")

Noise barriers, buildings, trees and cuttings are not in the calculation. Low features such as lakes, rivers and the sea may be hidden by barriers.

How to read it

The same landmark switches sides between trains toward Hakata and trains toward Shin-Osaka.

Himeji Castle is calculated to appear on the right toward Hakata and on the left toward Shin-Osaka, around Himeji Station. The right side toward Hakata matches travel records. Toward Shin-Osaka the line of sight only grazes the terrain (less than 10 m of clearance) and only one record applies to that direction, so it is labelled "Needs checking". The Seto Inland Sea is calculated to appear on the left toward Hakata around Tokuyama Station. Two travel records apply to that direction, one of them about the area around Tokuyama Station. Toward Shin-Osaka it would be on the right, but water is never labelled from the calculation alone, so it stays "Needs checking" until there are enough records that name the direction.

For Fukuyama Castle, no source for the height of the keep has been confirmed, so the calculation uses the ground height. The calculation could not confirm a line of sight from the track, so it is labelled "Needs checking".

Tunnels

From the difference between the height of the track and the height of the ground, we estimate 134 tunnels, about 45.3% of the track length. According to a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism document (checked 2026-10-16), tunnels make up about 51% of the Sanyo Shinkansen. To bring the terrain-based estimate closer to this figure, a smaller height difference is used to identify tunnels on the Sanyo Shinkansen only (see Methods and limits). Tunnel sections are estimated from terrain and may differ from the actual location and length.

Timing

Passing times are estimates that spread the fastest scheduled time between Shin-Osaka and Hakata, 141 minutes, in proportion to distance. On trains that stop at every station the error grows. If you enter your train's arrival time in the tool, it spreads the time again between that train's departure and arrival. The details are in Methods and limits.