Originally Posted by RichardInSF
If you are content riding a Hikari, the next fastest shinkansen, which basically runs about as fast as the Nozomi on this sector, you could probably do a trip from Tokyo - Shizuoka and back, about 1 hr 10 minutes each way, for Y6180 each person each way. This could be done with either a 3 or 63 minute layover time in Shizuoka. Three minutes IS theoretically possible, but maybe best you go get a cup of coffee and go for the longer layover!
Better yet, you
should take the 63 minute layover. In the intervening hour, 3-4 Nozomis in either direction will pass by Shizuoka without the slightest interest in slowing down through the center track between the two platforms. The sight of a 400 ton train flying by at 280 km/hr 5 meters from you is enough to give you the shivers.
Also, you should take one of the hikaris that goes non-stop from Tokyo/Shinagawa to Shizuoka. That'll give you a good feel for the speed of the thing.