Does the Shinkansen get fully booked?

You must order at least 3 days in advance before the day of travel. I would advise you to book your shinkansen tickets as far in advance as you can, during peak season like Christmas and New Year, cherry blossom season (April) and fall foliage season (November). It gets extremely busy and trains are often fully booked.



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Note that for the Shinkansen, you need a “super (limited) express” ticket in addition to the basic fare ticket for that route (we sell these as a set). Do Shinkansen tickets sell out? Yes, especially for weekend travel and during peak seasons, Shinkansen services can be fully booked.

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You can easily book reserved seats on the Shinkansen from one month before right up to the departure time of your chosen train. However, during peak national holidays such as the Golden Week, New Year, or Obon, we recommend booking 3-4 days in advance.

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The official rule is that you can still travel but have to use a non-reserved seat. Though JR Staff generally will issue new reservations for you if a train is not crowded. There is no penalty for missed trains or for re-booking a ticket.

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Out of the 16 carriages, the 3 carriages (Car 1 ~ 3) at the end of the whole train are designated as non-reserved seats, and the other 13 carriages (Car 4 ~ 16)are designated as reserved seats.

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3. Booking Shinkansen tickets at the JR Station ticket machine. You may also choose to book your tickets directly while you're at the JR Station. All you have to do is find the ticket machines, which come with an English language option.

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Instead, what makes the Shinkansen (and any Ltd. Express train) more expensive then regular trains is a hefty standard surcharge: the supplementary special-express ticket, which covers the premium experience of traveling on the nice fast trains. And yes, you have to pay it even if you have to stand.

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Therefore, if you are planning on taking a seat at a Non – Reserved seat, you should line up at Car 2, on the closer side to Car 3, because that way you will have a high chance at getting a seat in Car 3 and even if you couldn't, you can always go to Car 3 and maybe there find an open seat.

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Some trains do not have non-reserved seats (all seats are reserved). There are no Green Cars on most “HIKARI” and “KODAMA” trains on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line (Shin-Osaka—Hakata), or on Series 800 trains on the Kyushu Shinkansen Line.

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Does the JR Pass cover Nozomi and Mizuho trains? The JR Pass is valid on all Shinkansen services in all the Shinkansen lines, except for the Nozomi and Mizuho services on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines. You will not have access to the trains with the fewest stops on the Tokaido and Sanyo lines.

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Baggage with overall dimensions of less than 160 cm You can put baggage whose overall dimensions are less than 160 cm (the same size as the baggage that can be carried for free in airplane holds) * on the overhead baggage rack of the Shinkansen.

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Eating and drinking on Japanese trains You should eat on trains only when taking a long-distance train, such as the Shinkansen. These types of trains have a tray and cup holder at every seat, and snacks are sold from a vendor trolley. When taking this type of train, it is also acceptable to bring your own food.

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Throughout Japan, rush hour typically lasts from 7 AM to 9 AM each morning, and 5 PM to 7 PM each evening. These are the times when many residents and going and coming from secular employment. The morning rush hour tends to be a bit heavier than the evening rush hour.

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In some Shinkansen lines, trains go directly through conventional railway lines and the Shinkansen is easily influenced by the disruption of those lines. Punctuality of the Shinkansen is supported by hardware, software and humanware.

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