When you take the Shinkansen or the limited express train, you may have to book a seat because some trains require you a seat reservation. Though some limited express trains have some non-reserved cars, you should book a reserved seat if you can.
Especially if you use JR Pass, Hokkaido Rail Pass, JR East Pass, Tokyo Wide Pass, Sanyo San’in Area Pass and Kyushu Rail Pass, these passes cover a reserved seat fee. Use this benefit to ride a train with a peace of mind.
I also strongly recommend you to secure a seat if you travel in the peak seasons, such as late April to the first week of May (a.k.a. Golden Week), August 10 to 20 (It is called “Obon” which is a summer break.) and the year-end/New Years holiday (December 29th to the first week of January.)
I would like to explain you how to book a reserved seat in this post
Before you make a reservation
If you intend to use Japan Rail Pass (a.k.a. JR Pass), JR East Pass, Tokyo Wide Pass, Sanyo Sanin Area Pass, Takayama Hokuriku Area Pass, Hokkaido Rail Pass and Kyushu Rail Pass, you MUST turn in your exchange order to the actual Pass before booking your seat. You have to show your pass when you make a reservation. Exchange order does not work to book a train seat. Once you turned in, you can go ahead to make a reservation at any reservation windows and anytime. But if you use JR Easts’ online reservation, you can book a seat in advance before exchanging an actual pass. I will explain about this online reservation site later in this post.
Explaination by movie
You can watch the movie below which explains you about the booking in the station:
If you buy the JR Pass on the official reservation site, you can book a seat online. I explain how to use this site in the movie below:
I explain how to use JR East online booking step by step in the movie below:
Where you can book
First of all, I would like to tell you how to book a seat at the station. I will explain you about online booking later in this post.
You can book a seat at the ticket reservation office that is called “Midori no Madoguchi (みどりの窓口)”. You can find “Midori no Madoguchi” very easily. You will find a big green sign easily like the images above and below.
“Midori no Madoguchi” is located at most of major JR stations. If you are in major cities, such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama, Fukuoka, Sapporo, you cannot miss “Midori no Madoguchi”. 99% of JR stations in these cities have “Midori no Madoguchi”. Some major stations have a few Midori no Madoguchi.
The signage is different in JR Central area.
If you travel in JR Central (JR東海) area, you cannot find Midori no Madoguchi. Because “Midori no Madoguchi” is JR East’s trademark and JR Central avoids to use it. In JR Central area, such as Nagoya, Mishima, Shizuoka, Gifu, Takayama, it is shown as “Shinkansen and JR Line Tickets (新幹線・JR線きっぷうりば)” like image below.
JR Central operates the Tokaido Shinkansen between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. JR Central has a ticket office outside JR Central operation area, such as Tokyo, Shin-Yokohama, Kyoto and Shin-Osaka. In these stations, you can find two different kinds of the ticket office, “Midori no Madoguchi” and “Shinkansen and JR Line Tickets”. But you can use either ticket office to book any JR train tickets. This difference does not matter.
What kind of information you need
Please make sure the following information before you make a reservation:
- Date and time
- Train name and number
This is not required. But if you want to take the specific train, please tell the train name and number. It is much easier to make a reservation for the staff and you can save your time. All Shinkansen trains and most limited express trains have the combination of the name and number. e.g. “Hikari 246”. - Departure and Arrival Stations
- Smoking or Non Smoking
Smoking seat is still available on a few trains. If you really want to have a seat in the smoking car, you may ask a staff to look for. If you do not mention, usually you will be assigned a seat on non smoking car. If a seat is available on only smoking car, usually a staff let you know and make sure that you accept it or not. - Passport
If you use JR Pass or other JR passes, you always have to carry your passport. You may be asked to show it by a station officer or a conductor when they want to check it.
When you can start booking
You can make a reservation anytime within one month prior the departure date. The ticket is on sale one month prior to departure date at 10:00am
e.g.
Departure date — August 23 at 10:00 am. the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka
Ticket is on sale at 10:00 am on July 23.
e.g.
Departure date — August 24 at 00:34 am. Sunrise Seto from Osaka to Tokyo
Ticket is on sale at 10:00 am on July 23, not July 24. Because this train originally depart from Takamatsu at 21:26 on August 23. Overnight trains are very few in Japan currently. But if you book a seat on overnight booking, please check the departure date at the original departure station.
The reserve seat on most trains can be reserved at Midori no Madoguchi only. So you have to be in Japan when you book. Online booking is still very limited.
Online booking
Japan Rail Pass official site
If you buy the JR Pass at the official site, you can make a booking through this website.
Japan Rail Pass official reservation website
You can book a seat on most JR trains. However the price of JR pass is higher than the prices at the authorized dealers. If you buy the JR pass at the authorized dealer, you cannot book a seat on this site.
JR East Train Reservation
This online reservation system is operated by JR East. Unfortunately this JR East Shinkansen Reservation is only English online reservation for the traveler who use JR Pass, Hokkaido Rail pass and JR East Passes. If you intend to use a regular ticket, you can use this site too.
This site offers a seat reservation for the trains which run in JR East and JR Hokkaido areas. So you CANNOT make a reservation for the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen (Tokyo-Kyoto or Osaka) and other limited express trains which does not run in JR East and JR Hokkaido area. And also there are some restrictions. The biggest restriction is the ticket pick up. You must pick up a ticket one day before the travel date. You cannot pick up a ticket on the day of travel. Please read Guide (FAQ) before you make a booking.
Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen Reservation App “EX”
This app is available in a few countries only. And also this app is available for a regular ticket user only. You cannot use this app to book a seat for JR Pass or other rail passes. However any rail passes do not meet your trip plan and this app is available in your country, this is very convenient. You can book it in advance from your smartphone.
JR West Online Train Reservation
JR West has launched the online reservation site. However this online booking system does not cover any train pass user. You can use this online reservation as the regular ticket user only.
If you use a regular ticket, this online site may be a good choice. This online booking covers most of JR trains.
Eki-net (えきねっと)
I have received a comment from one of my readers, Tak. He mentioned me that we can use this Japanese online reservation system even for Japan Rail Pass or other travel passes users. This online reservation is in Japanese. So unfortunately this is not available for all of you. However some of my readers asked me that we can use a friend in Japan to make a reservation for Japan Rail Pass user in outside of Japan. You can do it with your friend in Japan and use this site.
This reservation system covers all over Japan. You can book for the Shinkansen between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka which is not available on JR East Train Reservation.
How to reserve a ticket from outside Japan in advance
As you saw, online reservation does not cover all trains. I really wish Japan Railway have full online reservation system.
If you want to secure your seat before departure, the local travel agent may be able to help you. This is only way to reserve a ticket before you depart from your country.
One of my frequent visitors, James in Australia, left a comment. He did this way many years ago. But I would like to share this information:
*JTB actually charge MORE than $55 Australian dollar($56 US dollar March 2011 currency) per ticket, in fact JTB charge $75 Australian dollar(US$76) per ticket.
The $75 came from $55 service fee plus $20 courier fee to deliver your ticket to your hotel in Japan, $55+$20=$75 Funny my ticket for SL-Yamaguchi express is only $60 therefore altogether I need to pay $135 to get SL-Yamaguchi express ticket!
So, all I can say is, if you want to get a JR train ticket before you get to Japan, make sure you are ok with paying at least $75( $76 US dollar), it helps if you really need to get on a particular train that is very hard to book or if you are travelling during peak season. But if you are not in a hurry, travelling in leisure pace across Japan, perhaps think twice.
I hope is worthy many people told me SL-Yamaguchi express is the best steam train experience ever in Japan.
Unfortunately this is only way to do it. You can find Japan Rail Pass authorized agent at JR Pass official site. They may be able to reserve a ticket for you too. But some of the agent do not want to reserve your seat. They want to book whole things, like hotel, air ticket, attraction tickets. Because it is too small profit to make a reservation for only train ticket.
Comments
Hi!
I am traveling to Japan between the 5th and the 22nd of August (middle of obon >.<), so I'm thinking of reserving most of the ticket I will be using the moment I get to Japan (I going to Kamakura, Kyoto, Takayama and more). I'm thinking of getting a JR Pass.
I have some questions:
1) How much in advance should I reserve a seat? How much of a problem will be traveling on thos dates?
2) Does the Midori no Madoguchi staff speaks english? My japanese is awfully basic.
Thanks in advance!!
Regards!
Bruno
Hi Bruno,
1. Ticket will be sold one month before departure date. So try to book it as early as possible after ticket starts to sell.
In this year, these dates are expected to be the busiest.
Aug 9 (Fri), Aug 10 (Sat) From Tokyo/Osaka and other major cities to outside. Because everybody will go back to hometown.
Aug 16 (Fri), Aug 17 (Sat) Other direction. Everybody will be back.
So try to avoid these dates and direction.
2. Major stations in Tokyo, like Tokyo station, Shinjuku station, Narita will be okay. They know how to communicate with the tourist from outside of Japan. You will be fine at other stations. Even if they cannot speak English fluently, they will try to communicate. Things will be easier than what you think.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Hi,
I have a JR pass for me and my wife but as per advise by local travel agent, I dis not buy a JR pass for my 5 years old kid as the ticket is not required for kids less than 5 year old.
Please let me know can we make reservation of seats for us or do we have to travel unreserved as I heard that if w etravel reserved, my kid’s tickets will have to be bought alongwith reservation.
Can you please advise?
Hi Prashant,
I visited Japan with my wife and my 4 years old daughter. I faced same situation but I bought child pass for my daughter.
As your travel agent said, child under 6 years old travelling with adult is free. But basically you have to share your seats. If you take non reserved seat and there are lots of empty seats, you can use three seats. Of course, nobody knows you will get three seats or not. If you book reserved seat, you can book only two seats. That means sharing two economy class seats among three people, you, your wife and your kid. I think 5 years old kid cannot share the seat with one of the parents.
The choice is yours. But if you want to secure seats for all part of your trip, I recommend you to buy one more pass for your kid.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Hi Takeshi-san,
Great informative site!
I am travelling during the Golden Week peak season. (Yikes!!) I am very scared that I won’t be able to get on any of the trains I wanted at specific times!
I noticed you mentioned eki-net. I have relatives in Japan. Can they make my bookings for me now even though I have not exchanged my pass yet? (Just bought the voucher yesterday) Or is the website for only JR Pass already exchanged passengers?
Because I am travelling during the peak days, I’d like to plan as advanced as possible as I am arriving on the 27th of April to Tokyo. By then I’m assuming the trains are all already reserved with everyone planning their holiday travel already!
Please let me know, thank you!!!!
Lily
Hi Lily,
Thanks for you comment about this website.:)
I am not 100% sure you can ask them. Technically you can ask your relatives to book it before your get the pass. As long as ticket is already sold, you can ask them to book it anytime.
But when you pick up the ticket, they need to be with you because they have to show credit card to verify the booking. When they make a booking, they have to make an account on Eki net and register credit card information. Eki net do not charge to credit card until you pick up the ticket. I am worry about that Japan Rail Pass holder is different from person who booked. If JR East accept it, they can give the tickets to you. But if they want holder and booking person to be same, they don’t give the tickets at free of charge.
The best way is that you give your credit card information to them and ask to make your account. And then they can book it under your account. Once they’ve done it, they don’t need to be with you because you can show your credit card by yourself.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Hi Takeshi,
When I look up fare for shinkansen Nozomi 225 (Tokyo-Shin osaka) using Hyperdia; It shows Total:¥ 14,250(Fare:¥ 8,510 Seat Fee:¥ 5,740).
Is it the total fare using the reserved seat?? How much for non reserved ?
Thanks,
Yul
Hi Yul,
It is total fare that you need to pay. If you take non reserved, the fare is 500 yen cheaper than reserved in normal season, 300 yen in peak season, 700 yen in shoulder season.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
hi, i need to buy one ticket from odawara to kyoto and from kyoto to kansai airport…can i buy directly in japan? thanks
Hi Stefano,
Yes, you can. Just go to station and purchase it.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Hi,
Can I purchase online ticket for below infor copy “Osaka-Takayama”new line?
And also we have one more round trip between Osaka (大阪) and Takayama via Gifu and Gero. As of December 2012, the timetable is the following:
Osaka 08:02 -> Takayama 12:13
Takayama 15:36 -> Osaka 19:51
I’ve check the fare using Hyperdia but don’t know how to make reservation. Arriving 12 Apr, traveling 13 Apr, to Takayama, worry too short of time to purchase upon arrival or not seat available as it’s only 1 train per day. Also still trying to book my 2nd night (14 Apr) accommodation.
Thanking in advance.
Hi Veronica,
As I wrote above, only Odekake net is available for Wide View Hida. They said there are some staff who can speak English, but I think not always available. There is no online reservation available. Only speaking with them over the phone is the way that you can make.
If you cannot make it, there are some non reserved seat. You may be able to get a seat in non reserved seat. Show up the station 30 minutes before departure time. It will be fine.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
If I have a seishun 18 kippu and I want to make a reservation for Moonlight Echigo… Do I need to pay at the time of reservation?
Hi Samara,
If you book it at Midori no Madoguchi, you have to pay. If you use Ekinet, it is charged when you pick up the ticket.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Your help is so valuable, Takeshi! Some questions on Reservations:
(1) Can you ask for a window seat whem making a reservation? (2) Can you ask for either left side or right side of the train–for rides along the sea,etc? (3) If you have a Green Car Pass, must you always sit in Green, or can you take an unreserved seat elsewhere if it happens to be a preferred location when you see it on the train?(4) For travel April 10-20, are the resrvation lines very long? What is a good time to avoid crowds at the ticket office?
“Arigato”
Hi Gary,
1. Yes.
2. Yes. But you need to know which side will be along the sea before booking. They know which side will be right or left. But they don’t have all information about scenery.
3. Of course, you can take reserved/non reserved ordinary seat with Green Pass. Because there are lots trains that do not have Green class.
4. It depends on the station. Usually around 10:00 am is the busiest. But you don’t need to worry about it. You can go there anytime. I have never waited the line for more than 10 minutes. Usually you can book it in less than 5 minutes.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Hi there what a wonderful website. I have just seen that the 3,4,5 ,6 of may are public holidays. I need to travel from Tokyo to takayama on the 3rd. Do you think I will be able to reserve a seat when I arrive in Japan on the 30th of April or should I pay the fee and get a travel agent to reserve a seat. Thanks.
Hi Lizzie,
It is hard to say. Maybe 50:50. If I were you, I don’t ask the agent. I will try to book it after arrival. If I cannot make it, I will take non reserved seat.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Takeshi-san,
Excellent website! This may be a dumb question, but I cannot find the link on JR East Shinkansen Reservation homepage to create a membership. Would you show me where to click?
http://jreast-shinkansen-reservation.eki-net.com/PC/English/Common/Menu/Menu.aspx
Domo arigatoo gozaimasu!
Mi
Hi Mi,
Thanks for your commnet about my site.
You can register your account at the following link:
https://jreast-shinkansen-reservation.eki-net.com/PC/English/User/Registration/MemberAgree.aspx
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Takeshi-san,
Domo arigato gozaimasu!
I think JR East Rail’s website may be down temporarily, as I get the following error from your link in Internet Explorer and Firefox:
An error occurred in the entered contents. Please read the following message, and return to the previous screen. We apologize for the inconvenience, but please wait a while and try again.
And I also get this error in Google Chrome:
An error occurred in the entered contents. Please read the following message, and return to the previous screen. The login verification failed. 0001UPP0017
I can’t seem to find a way to notify JR East Rail of the error. Takeshi-san, would you notify JR East for me? Or maybe the error is because I’m based in the USA? I’ll try again another day!
Mi
Hi Mi,
Please try to make a booking without registration. On the first page, you will choose one of three options, Japan Rail Pass, JR East Pass, or No pass. Just choose it and keep going. You will be asked about registration at the last page. You will not be charged as long as you complete to book. Don=’t worry. Just keep going.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail