#n700s

Now when I say I don't know exactly what those trains were, it kind of doesn't really matter: both trains are technically N700A (Advanced) variants, like this one seen in Okayama. The nitty-gritty part is whether or not the trains were N700As to begin with. The original N700s were all upgraded to A-spec with a few technical improvements (this is why it doesn't matter), but it is still possible to tell whether a particular train is one of the older batch. We have the windscreen markings again, X & K for the original batch, and F & G for the As (with the letters also telling us which JR owns that particular train), but the easiest is to spot the logos on the sides of the carriages. On the above N700A, we see a large A logo in the top-left corner of the picture. And below, we have the logo of the original N700 series, pictured on the prototype on display at the SCMaglev Railway Park in Nagoya.

These sets were upgraded to A-spec, and, rather than re-decorate this part of the carriage, they just added an "A" sticker to the existing logo.

But neither these logos nor the windshield number are visible in yesterday's photo. Original poster hekiqoo tagged Atami as the location of the photo, which means that the two trains can only be of one of the above types due to the shape (we'll get to the newer type soon), but I can't tell exactly which.

Moving on, because there's more...

This N700 variant can only be found west of Osaka. It runs the fast services to and on Kyushu. It can obviously be recognised by its specific livery, a very nice blue-grey base rather than white, and it's shorter. While Tokaido trains have 16 carriages, this version only has 8, leading to station signs at half the gates that say "this train does not stop at this neighborhood". I know these trains are long, but wow!

Of course, we have to mention the most recent addition to the lines: the N700S (Supreme, seen at Himeji). These have new logos on the side, a "heron beak" added to the stripes at the ends, but can also be physically distinguished from its N700A predecessors with different headlights and more boxy fenders. Some friends have said it looks like a hippo!