Doctor Yellow set T5 is due to finish its inspection work in January 2027, yet the day it last runs will not be announced. JR West does not publish its inspection-run schedule, apart from events, and the final run is part of that schedule. If you would rather not wait by the tracks, the lead car of the retired set T4 stands in SCMAGLEV and Railway Park (リニア・鉄道館) in Nagoya, and you can see it on any day the museum is open.
The T4 lead car at SCMAGLEV and Railway Park, Nagoya
When set T4 retired, its lead car, car 7, stayed at SCMAGLEV and Railway Park, JR Central’s railway museum. JR Central announced on 15 January 2025 that car 7 of the seven-car set would go on display, and the display opened on 14 June 2025. This single lead car is the only new arrival. It stands where car 7 of set T3 used to be; the T3 display ended on 26 May 2025.
Car 7 (number 923-7) is the lead car of a non-passenger shinkansen train built on the 700 series, which checks overhead lines, signals and track while running at speed. The museum’s display notes say the nickname Doctor Yellow comes from the colour of the body.
| Hours | 10:00 to 17:30 (last entry 30 minutes before closing) |
| Closed | Tuesdays (the following day when Tuesday is a public holiday) and 28 December to 1 January. Some Tuesdays are open, so check the museum’s opening calendar |
| Admission (individual) | Adults ¥1,200, elementary to high school students ¥500, children aged 3 and over not yet in school ¥200 |
| Nearest station | About 2 minutes’ walk from Kinjo-futo Station on the Aonami Line |
The second-floor collection gallery is running the museum’s 15th special exhibition, on the maintenance and service vehicles of the Tokaido Shinkansen, from 25 March 2026 to 25 January 2027. The museum’s notice says it uses “a variety of maintenance and service vehicles” to maintain the track and equipment, and the exhibition covers the history of that work and what each vehicle does. On the day you see car 7, you can also see the vehicles that look after the line.
Getting there from Yokohama or Shin-Yokohama
Shin-Yokohama is one of the regular stops of the Nozomi, the fastest Tokaido Shinkansen service. Our guide to choosing between the Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama (Japanese) covers the options. JR Central Tours gives about 1 hour 40 minutes from Tokyo to Nagoya on the Nozomi, with Shin-Yokohama on the way. At Nagoya, change to the Aonami Line for the 24-minute ride to Kinjo-futo; the museum is about 2 minutes’ walk from the station.
To be there when the doors open at 10:00, you can stay in Nagoya the night before. Nagoya Station is where the Aonami Line starts, so in the morning you can go straight to Kinjo-futo.
Ride events with announced dates
The ride events that left on 9 and 13 October 2026 have already run. JR West has announced dates for seven more, listed below. The four in December were added in its release of 26 October 2026, which also named the 10 January event and set out who can ride it. The 30 October and 2 November departures have now passed.
| Departure | Route and content | How to apply |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 30 Oct 2026 | Ride from Shin-Osaka to Shin-Iwakuni, or from Shin-Iwakuni to Okayama, and tour a shinkansen maintenance depot not normally open to the public | A tour sold by tabiwa Travel, JR West’s travel site. Announced as a lottery; no phone bookings |
| Mon 2 Nov 2026 | J-WEST Card members only. Tour the train from Okayama to Shin-Osaka | Members invited by lottery; details to be given on a dedicated page, according to the announcement |
| Fri 4 Dec, Tue 22 Dec 2026 | The third and fourth “Thank You Doctor Yellow” inspection-run tours (「ありがとうドクターイエロー 夢の検測走行車内見学」). A small group rides and watches inspection work as it happens. Shin-Osaka to Hakata | A tour sold by tabiwa Travel. First come, first served, planned to open at 13:00 on 4 November |
| Sat 5 Dec, Wed 23 Dec 2026 | The same tour, Hakata to Shin-Osaka | As above |
| Sun 10 Jan 2027 | The T5 farewell ride (「ありがとー！ さよならー！ T５編成体験乗車」). JR West calls it the last chance to ride set T5 while it is in service. Riders are lottery winners from tabiwa Travel and from JR Central’s Tetsu-oshi programme (「鉄推し！」) | Tour details and lottery method to be announced in mid-November |
The 30 October and 2 November events were both tours of the train’s interior. JR West’s announcement of 7 August said that on both, the inspection equipment would not be seen in operation. The four December departures are described in the 26 October announcement as tours where riders watch actual inspection work. JR West is also considering a Doctor Yellow event at the Hakata General Rolling Stock Depot from 11 to 17 January 2027, with details due in early December. JR West’s farewell site, “The Last Run 2027” (in Japanese), shows whether applications are still open, the deadlines, when winners are told, and prices.
Inspection-run days are not published
Doctor Yellow is the nickname of the shinkansen’s electric and track inspection train, which runs on lines in service and checks the state of the power supply and the track. JR Central’s set T4 from September 2001, and JR West’s set T5 from its debut in 2005, took turns inspecting the line between Tokyo and Hakata about once every 10 days (JR Central’s announcements of 2024 and 2025).
Set T4 finished its inspection runs in January 2025 and retired. Set T5 has carried on, and JR West’s announcement of 22 June 2026 put the end of its runs in January 2027. That is the current plan, and it may change, for example after major timetable disruption.
On the Tokaido Shinkansen, the work passes to “Doctor S,” N700S passenger trains fitted with inspection equipment. In its announcement of 16 October 2025, JR Central named the effort needed to inspect a dedicated inspection train as a drawback of the old approach. Its announcement of 16 April 2026 says the equipment is due to start operating in January 2027, on four 16-car trains in all.
JR West’s announcement of 22 June says it will not publish the inspection-run schedule, including the last day of service, apart from events (「イベントを除き、最終運行日も含めた検測運転の計画は公表いたしません」). The only dates published in advance are event trains like the rides above.
Car 7 of set T5 goes to Etajima
After retirement, car 7 of set T5 will be preserved in Etajima, Hiroshima Prefecture. On 17 September 2026 JR West announced that it will be displayed from around September 2027 in a new railway maintenance exhibition building on the grounds of the Etajima Training Center (江田島研修センター～み・ら・い～), the training site of its group company Kosei Construction. The center exists to train employees and build their skills; whether members of the public can visit is not confirmed.