田沢湖線
Following the success of the Yamagata Shinkansen conversion, a scheme was proposed to construct a second mini-shinkansen route from Morioka in Iwate Prefecture, then the northern terminus of the Tohoku Shinkansen, with Akita in Akita Prefecture. This involved regauging the 75.6 km Tazawako Line from Morioka to Ōmagari and 51.7 km of the Ōu Main Line from Ōmagari to Akita. This opened on 22 March 1997 with "Komachi" services using new E3 Series Shinkansen trains.