The limited express Shinano: Inter-city express connecting Nagoya and Nagano

shinanoLimited Express
Limited Express "Shinano"
The limited express Shinano operated by 383 series.

The limited express train Shinano runs between Nagano (長野) and Nagoya (名古屋). When you go to Japan Northern Alps, take this train to Matsumoto (松本), and transfer to a local train on Oito line bound for Shinano-Omachi (信濃大町), Hakuba (白馬) and Minami-Otari (南小谷). And also this train goes through the Kiso vallery which has some small histrical post towns, such as Tsumago, Magome

I will explain about this train in this article.

Route, schedule and trip time

It takes about 3 hours to get to Nagano from Nagoya. Most of Shinano depart from both side Nagoya and Nagano once every hour at :00.


View Limited Express Shinano in a larger map

Stations

Nagoya (名古屋)x
Kanayama (金山駅)*
Chigusa (千種)x
Tajimi(多治見)x
Ena (恵那)*
Nakatsugawa (中津川)x
Nagiso (南木曽)*
Agetsu (上松)*
Kiso-Fukushima (木曽福島)x
Shiojiri (塩尻)x
Matsumoto (松本)x
Akashina (明科)*
Hijirikogen (聖高原)*
Shinonoi (篠ノ井)x
Nagano (長野)x
x:All trains stop *:some trains stop

Seat and facilities

The limited express Shinano has Green car seat on car #1 with huge panoramic windows.

The Shinano is serviced by 383 series. The seat configuration is 2+2 for both Green and Ordinary. Green car is car#1. It has a huge glass window at the cockpit. If you get a seat at the very front row when you go to Nagano, you will enjoy beautiful sceneries. The seat pitch is 1,160mm in Green class and 1,000mm in an ordinary class. 1,000mm in Ordinary is bigger than the standard of an ordinary class.

*Sonic Rail Garden has copyright for all images of accommodations below.

Train formation

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GRRRNRNR
*G=Green seat R=Reserved seat NR=Non reserved seat
Smoking is not allowed on this train.
Extra cars may be added for peak seasons.

Images

Green seat

Ordinary seat

Sanitary space

Shinano 383 series sanitary space Shinano 383 series sanitary space Shinano 383 series sanitary space Shinano 383 series sanitary space Shinano 383 series sanitary space Shinano 383 series sanitary space

At last

I got on this train from Nagoya to Matsumoto and dropped by Magome. Please see the link below to find my trip report:

This train is fully covered by Japan Rail Pass with no restriction.

I hope you will enjoy a trip on this train to Nagano and Matsumoto.

Comments

  1. Balu says:

    Planning 6n Dec 3-9,2016 flying mla-nagoya-mla to do daytrips. Is a JR pass all we need to explore some nearby towns like Mie, Inuyma, Imai, Naramachi, Kobe..

    • Hi Balu,

      You can visit Kobe by JR pass. Inuyama is not covered by JR train. You have to take Meitetsu railway that is not covered by JR pass.
      Regarding Mie, which part of Mie do you mean? And if you mean that Naramachi is southern area of Nara near Koriyama station, that is covered. If you mean just Nara, it’s covered anyway.
      I don’t understand where Imai is.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  2. Amai Marcojos says:

    Hi good evening.

    We are planning to travel to Japan from August 9-24. And we have purchased a JR Pass already. On August 14, we will be travelling from Osaka to Nagano. From the map I have seen, and from previous discussions here, it looks like we can take the Shinano Limited Express train. Is that covered by our JR Pass?

  3. Valerie Tan says:

    Hi
    Pls advise how to go from Nagoya airport to Nagano? We will be arriving into Nagoya at 0815hrs on 16 Dec 2016. Do we need to buy our tickets in advance? If yes, how much? Where can we buy them? Does it operate hourly?
    Thanks,
    Val

  4. Louts says:

    Hello,
    Am planning a trip to Kyoto, Kanazawa and tateyama-kurobe-alpine-route in Apr 2016. We plan to make use of the Kansai Hokuriku Area JR Pass but wondering if it covers all the routing below:
    Day 1 – Kyoto – Yoshinoyama (Kintetsu)
    Day 2 – Kyoto – Kagaonsen (Ltd. Express Shirasagi)
    Day 3 – Kanazawa – Toyama, to start the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine tour.
    Day 4 – Tour drop off at 17:00 at Matsumoto, looking to travel all the way back to Kyoto. Wondering if the Ltd. Exp Shinano and Shinkansen Hikari are covered by the Pass.
    Day 5 & 6 – Kyoto – city center and Airport.

    Appreciate your help!

  5. Scott says:

    Trying to get to Nagoya airport to Shiga Grand Hotel
    〒381-0401 Nagano-ken Shimotakai-gun Yamanouchi-machi Hirao 7149-16 Shiga Kogen Ichinose. What is the best and fastest route.

  6. Jasper says:

    Hello.

    We are hoping to catch the shinano #16 from Matsumoto to Osaka on Thursday 14th of January. Would you be able to tell us the cost of a standard seat.

    Thank you very much.

  7. Andy Siu says:

    Hi,
    Would you mind provide me the timetable and fee table of JR Wide View Shinano Limited Express from Nagoya to Matsumoto and JR Otto Line from Matsumoto to Hakuba Valley? Thanks a lot!
    Regards,
    Andy

  8. Jon Page says:

    Hello, we would like to take our family from Osaka to Nagano on the Wide View. It’s a long trip but that’s okay. Is there a meal service on the train or just snack foods? Also, we will have suitcases. Where do we put those on this train? Thank you.

  9. BSan says:

    Hello Tak San,

    ON June 15th I arrive back from Koyasan to Osaka.
    June 16th-17th I want to take the kids to see Togakushi and JIgokudani for (ninja museum and monkey onsen view)

    Can you suggest possibilities if we leave early from Osaka on 16th and stay overnight in Nagano area somewhere or even in Togakushi village. http://www.ninjamura.com

    DO you suggest to do this or visit another Ninja museum 2 hours from Kyoto in a day trip. The advantage of Nagano is to see Jigokudani as well.

    The plan is then to goto Sapporo from Osaka on 17th or 18th. We can adjust based on your suggestion.

    Thanks

    • JPRail says:

      Hi BSan,
      I think you can take your kids to Togakushi. But it will be a long trip from Osaka. It takes about 4 hours from Osaka to Nagano by Shinkansen and Ltd Exp Shinago (Nagoya-Nagano). And then take a bus from Nagano to Togakushi for another one hour. So you will spend 5 hours to get there. If you leave Osaka around 7 am, you will be there around noon. You still have half day to enjoy Togakushi.
      I cannot compare Kyoto Ninja village and Togakushi Ninja village because I have never been both of those.
      If you and your kids are okay to take 5 hours trip, you can go for it.
      Cheers,
      Takeshi / JP Rail

  10. virginblock says:

    Hello! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I truly enjoy reading your blog. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same topics?

    • JPRail says:

      Hello,
      I have never seen the blog that tells us about Limited express Shinano in English. But if you need some info about the rail travel in Japan, this blog shows you some info.
      Takeshi / JP Rail

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