How to Ride the Shinkansen: Tickets, Seats and Luggage

Riding the shinkansen is simple once you know four things: buy a ticket that includes the express fee, choose a reserved seat on busy routes, reserve a space in advance for large suitcases, and be on the platform a few minutes early, because trains leave exactly on time. This guide walks through each step.

Buying a ticket

A shinkansen ticket has two parts, the basic fare and the limited express fee, usually sold together. You can buy them at the ticket machines and JR ticket offices in major stations, or online through the JR companies' booking services, which let you pick seats in advance. Rail pass holders reserve seats at the machines or offices, or online where the pass allows it. The standard Japan Rail Pass covers Hikari and Kodama trains; the fastest Nozomi and Mizuho trains need an extra supplement ticket.

Reserved or unreserved

Most trains have both reserved and unreserved cars. Reserved seats are worth it in busy periods, for groups who want to sit together, and on the Tokyo to Osaka line, where unreserved cars fill quickly. During the New Year, Golden Week and Obon holiday peaks, Nozomi trains on that line are all reserved. Our guide to shinkansen seat classes compares the ordinary, Green and Gran Class cars.

Large luggage

On the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu shinkansen, a suitcase whose length, width and height add up to more than 160 cm needs a reserved seat with an oversized baggage area, booked when you buy the ticket. Smaller cases fit on the overhead racks. For families and groups, the easiest option is to forward luggage between hotels and travel with a day bag.

At the station and on board

Put your tickets into the shinkansen ticket gate together; the machine returns the ones you still need. On the platform, the car numbers and door positions are marked on the floor or on signs, and passengers queue in lines. Doors open and close quickly, so be ready. On board you can eat and drink, and many travellers buy an ekiben at the station. Keep your voice down and take phone calls in the area between the cars.

Seeing Mt Fuji

Travelling from Tokyo towards Kyoto and Osaka, Mt Fuji appears on the right-hand side of the train, from E seats in ordinary cars and D seats in the Green Car, around Shin-Fuji station, between Shin-Yokohama and Nagoya. It is clearest on dry winter mornings.