Tōkaidō Main Line in the context of "Taiheiyō Belt"

Tokyo Station (Japanese: 東京駅, Hepburn: Tōkyō-eki; pronounced [to̞ːkʲo̞ːe̞kʲi]) is a major railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is not far from the Ginza commercial district. Due to the large area covered by the station, it is divided into the Marunouchi (west) and Yaesu (east) sides in its directional signage.

The station opened in 1914 as an integrated terminus for the present-day Tōkaidō Line, Tōhoku Line, and later the Chūō Line, which previously had separate termini in Tokyo. Since then, it has served as the main terminus for inter-city trains departing Tokyo westwards. The station was badly damaged during the Bombing of Tokyo on 25 May 1945 but soon resumed service. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen, the world’s first dedicated high-speed rail system, opened between the station and Osaka in 1964. With the extension of northbound Shinkansen lines from Ueno in 1991, the station also became a gateway to northeast Japan.

The Chūō Main Line (Japanese: 中央本線, Hepburn: Chūō-honsen), commonly called the Chūō Line, is one of the major trunk railway lines in Japan. It connects Tokyo and Nagoya, although it is the slowest direct railway connection between the two cities; the coastal Tōkaidō Main Line is slightly faster, and the Tōkaidō Shinkansen is currently the fastest rail link between the cities.

The eastern portion, the Chūō East Line (中央東線, Chūō-tōsen), is operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), while the western portion, the Chūō West Line (中央西線, Chūō-saisen), is operated by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). The dividing point between the two companies is Shiojiri, where express trains from both operators continue north onto the Shinonoi Line towards the cities of Matsumoto and Nagano. Compared to the huge urban areas at either end of the Chūō Line, its central portion is lightly traveled; the Shiojiri-Nakatsugawa corridor is only served by one limited express and one local service per hour.

Ueno Station (上野駅, Ueno-eki) is a major railway station in Tokyo's Taitō ward. It is the station used to reach the Ueno district and Ueno Park—which contains Tokyo National Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo University of the Arts and other famous cultural facilities. A major commuter hub, it is also the traditional terminus for long-distance trains from northern Japan, although with the extension of the Shinkansen lines to Tokyo Station this role has diminished in recent years. A similar extension of conventional lines extended Takasaki Line, Utsunomiya Line and Jōban Line services to Tokyo Station via the Ueno-Tokyo Line in March 2015, using existing little-used tracks and a new viaduct; the Ueno-Tokyo Line connects these lines with the Tōkaidō Main Line, allowing through services to Shinagawa, Yokohama, Odawara and Atami stations.

Ueno Station is close to Keisei Ueno Station, the Tokyo terminus of the Keisei Main Line to Narita Airport Station.

The Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and occasionally as JR Tokai (Japanese: JR東海). The term Tōkai refers to the Tōkai region (the southern portion of Central Japan), in which the company chiefly operates.

JR Central's operational hub is Nagoya Station, and the company's administrative headquarters are located in the JR Central Towers above the building. The busiest and longest railway line operated by JR Central is the Tōkaidō Main Line between Atami and Maibara; this largely parallels the company's high-speed rail service, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, which runs between Tokyo and Shin-Ōsaka. JR Central is additionally responsible for the Chūō Shinkansen – an under-construction maglev service between Tokyo and Osaka, which is due to start operation between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2034.

Ōmi beef (近江牛, Ōmi ushi, Ōmi gyū) is a regional variety of wagyū (Japanese beef) originating in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The Ōmi in “Ōmi beef” refers to Ōmi Province, the traditional name for the area which became Shiga prefecture. Ōmi beef is generally considered one of the three top brands of wagyū, along with Kobe beef and Matsusaka beef.

Ōmi beef is said to be the oldest beef brand in Japan. In the Azuchi–Momoyama period, Takayama Ukon, who was associated with Ōmi Province, treated the warlords to beef. In the Edo period, miso-marinated beef was sold and presented to the Tokugawa shogunate as a sustaining medicine by the Hikone Domain. In 1880s, Ōmi beef was sold as "Kobe beef" because it was shipped to Tokyo via Kobe Port. Since the completion of the Tōkaidō Main Line railway between Shiga and Tokyo, the "Ōmi beef" brand has gradually established itself as a brand distinct from Kobe beef.

The Keihin–Tōhoku Line (Japanese: 京浜東北線, Hepburn: Keihin-tōhoku-sen) is a railway line in Japan which connects the cities of Saitama, Kawaguchi, Tokyo, Kawasaki, and Yokohama. It is part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) network. The line's name is derived from the characters for Tokyo (Japanese: 東京), Yokohama (Japanese: 横浜) and the Tōhoku Main Line (Japanese: 東北本線). The line runs parallel with the Tōkaidō Main Line between Yokohama and Tokyo and the Utsunomiya Line (part of the Tōhoku Main Line) except between Ueno and Akabane stations where the two lines are physically separate and thus alternate routes.

Most Keihin–Tōhoku Line trains have a through service onto the Negishi Line between Yokohama and Ōfuna stations. As a result, the entire service between Ōmiya and Ōfuna is typically referred to as the Keihin-Tōhoku–Negishi Line (Japanese: 京浜東北・根岸線) on system maps and in-train station guides. Keihin–Tōhoku–Negishi Line trains are recognizable by their light blue stripe (the line's color on maps is also light blue).

The Ueno–Tokyo Line (Japanese: 上野東京ライン, romanized: Ueno–Tōkyō Rain), formerly known as the Tōhoku Through Line (Japanese: 東北縦貫線, romanized: Tōhoku-Jūkan-sen) is a railway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), linking Ueno Station and Tokyo Station, extending the services of the Utsunomiya Line, the Takasaki Line, and the Jōban Line southward and onto the Tōkaidō Main Line and vice versa. While on official maps the line is purple, rolling stock and signage show the line as orange stacked on green, the colours used by the lines it connects. The project began in May 2008 and was opened with the 14 March 2015 timetable revision, costing about JPY 40 billion.

Direct travel was expected to ease congestion on the Yamanote Line and Keihin–Tōhoku Line, and the travel time was reduced by around 7 to 10 minutes because of through trains between the lines of Utsunomiya and Takasaki and the Main Line of Tokaido in addition to through trains that pass the Shinagawa Station on the Joban Line.