How to Ride the Shinkansen in Japan

Japan’s iconic high-speed trains, known as the shinkansen or “bullet trains,” are renowned for their punctuality, comfort, and speed. Whether you’re gliding past Mount Fuji on the Tokaido line or zipping through scenic landscapes toward Hiroshima, riding the shinkansen is a must for any visitor to Japan. This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know, from buying tickets to navigating the stations, ensuring you can confidently and smoothly experience one of Japan’s best travel options. Here are THE NINE QUESTIONS you need to ask yourself in order to incorporate a ride on the shinkansen into your itinerary.

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TLDR 🫣 
Shinkansen Overview: 
- Japan’s bullet trains are fast, punctual, and a must-try for travellers. 
- This guide covers how to navigate the system, from buying tickets to riding with ease.
JR Rail Pass vs Individual Tickets: 
-The JR Rail Pass offers unlimited travel for foreign tourists, but it may not be cost-effective unless you plan frequent long-distance trips. 
- Individual tickets are often cheaper, especially if your travel is spread out.
Buying Tickets: 
- You can purchase tickets through the Shinkansen smartEX app, where early bookings may offer discounts. 
- At stations, tickets can be bought from automated machines or JR counters, but only accept cash or credit.
Reserved vs Non-Reserved Seats: 
- Non-reserved seats are cheaper but first-come-first-serve, while reserved seats are more spacious and comfortable. 
- Booking early may even make reserved seats cheaper.
Shinkansen Types: 
- The Nozomi is the fastest train but not covered by the JR Pass. 
- The Hikari and Kodama are slower, with the Kodama being the cheapest and making more stops.
Luggage: Each traveler can bring two pieces of luggage, and oversized luggage may require specific reservations for designated spaces.
Onboard Amenities: 
- Expect spacious seating, restrooms, snack carts, and the option to eat onboard. 
- Some trains offer free Wi-Fi, though service may vary.
Pro Tips: 
- Arrive early, as shinkansens are extremely punctual. 
- Busy periods like Golden Week require advance seat reservations.

During our month-long trip to Japan (check out our blog: How to Spend 1 Month in Japan), we rode the shinkansen twice: once from Himeji to Hiroshima and another time from the Mt. Fuji area (Fuji) to Osaka. We’re sharing all of our Pro Tips, including advice on luggage, when and how to buy tickets, and more, to help make your shinkansen experience smoother and less confusing than ours! So, what should you be asking?

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Q1: DO I NEED TO BUY THE JR RAIL PASS?

The Japan Rail (JR) Pass is a special, all-you-can-ride train pass available exclusively to foreign tourists in Japan. It offers unlimited travel on the Japan Railways (JR) network, which includes high-speed shinkansen trains, local trains, buses, and ferries, for a specified period of 7, 14, or 21 consecutive days. As of October 2023, the cheapest pass is for the 7 day Standard Cart and will set you back 50,000 yen!

Since local trains and buses in Japan are quite cheap, we first looked into how much it would cost to travel longer distances (like from Himeji to Hiroshima or from Fuji to Osaka) to decide if using the shinkansen was necessary. Pro tip: If you’re considering the JR Pass because you think you’ll be riding the subway frequently in Tokyo, keep in mind that we mostly used the Tokyo Metro and Toei subway lines, rarely needing the JR Rail subway lines in Tokyo.

Once we identified the shinkansen routes for our long-distance trips, we compared the individual ticket prices for the Standard Class cars with the cost of the JR Pass. Spoiler alert: In most cases, it’s cheaper to buy the shinkansen tickets separately rather than purchasing a JR Pass, unless you’re planning to ride the bullet train every other day. And we wouldn’t recommend that—otherwise, you’ll spend more time traveling than exploring Japan!

Another thing to note is that the JR Pass is only valid for a set number of consecutive days, making it harder to justify its cost if your trips are spread out. For example, our first Shinkansen ride from Himeji to Hiroshima was on June 28, 2024, and our second from Fuji to Osaka was on July 18, 2024. To cover both trips, we would have needed a 21-day JR Pass, but that would have cost us about 5x more than buying individual shinkansen tickets.

Q2: WHEN SHOULD I BUY THE INDIVIDUAL SHINKANSEN TICKETS?

The first step is to download the Shinkansen smartEX app. This app lets you choose your starting point and destination, view departure and arrival times, select your type of car (either the Standard Blue Cart with non-reserved seats or the Fancier Green Cart with reserved seats), and see the total cost of your trip.

Here, you can also see if buying in advance will give you a discount! For instance, when we traveled from Himeji to Hiroshima, there was no discount for booking early, so we just bought our tickets at the station about 15 minutes before the next train. We liked this approach because it gave us the flexibility to leave whenever we were ready. We also didn’t have oversized luggage (more on that below) and didn’t mind having non-reserved seats (first come first serve; more on that below) since we were not boarding from a major station like Tokyo and it was in the middle of the day. However, for our trip from Fuji to Osaka, booking in advance did offer a significant discount. In fact, the cheapest option was for the more luxurious Green Cart, which includes reserved seating. Yes, we couldn’t believe that the Green Cart was cheaper than the standard Blue cart! Since we wanted to take advantage of the savings and try out the Green Cart, we estimated our departure time from Fuji and purchased tickets six days in advance. Pro Tip: It required a bit of advanced planning on our part, but it was worth it as we saved ~$30CAD per person.

Q3: HOW DO I BUY INDIVIDUAL SHINKANSEN TICKETS ON THE SPOT/AT THE STATION?

If you prefer to buy your ticket upon arrival, automated ticket machines at JR stations are easy to use and often have English language options. Alternatively, you can visit a JR ticket counter, where staff can assist you with reservations.

Pro Tip: Keep in mind that when we bought our shinkansen tickets to go from Himeji to Hiroshima, they only accepted cash and credit card (no IC card!). We paid by credit card and received three tickets – a credit card receipt, a regular receipt (proof of payment), and a shinkansen ticket (which you will insert into the turnstiles to enter the platform for your shinkansen).

Q4: HOW DO I GET MY SHINKANSEN TICKET IF I BOUGHT ONLINE IN ADVANCE?

When purchasing online, you’ll often need to collect your physical tickets from the station before boarding. We purchased our tickets in advance using the smartEX app 6 days before leaving Fuji. Once you get to the station, you can ask an attendant for assistance. After scanning our QR code, we were given just one ticket with our seat information.

Q5: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RESERVED AND NON-RESERVED SEATS?

When purchasing a ticket, you can choose between reserved seats (指定席, shitei-seki) and non-reserved seats (自由席, jiyuu-seki). Reserved seats guarantee you a specific seat, which is especially useful during busy travel seasons or long journeys. Non-reserved seats are cheaper but come with the risk of not finding a seat during peak travel times, especially if you’re boarding from a major station like Tokyo.

Non-reserved seats can be found in the Standard Blue Cart and have a 3 by 2 seating arrangement. We opted for the non-reserved seats for our Himeji to Hiroshima shinkansen because it was the cheapest fare, and as you can tell… it was not that crowded. We were able to find seats sitting together at the front of the train. Just be prepared that you will need to queue up for one of the non-reserved carts, usually carts 1-3. Non-reserved seating is first-come, first-served.

Reserved seats can be found in the Luxurious Green Cart and have a 2 by 2 seating arrangement. Seats are wider and there are generally less people. They also come with a foot rest and the recline is INSANE – it’s almost like a lie-flat seat! We sat in the green cart for our Fuji to Osaka shinkansen only because it was cheaper when booking on the smartEX app 6 days in advance.

Q6: DOES IT MATTER WHAT TYPE OF SHINKANSEN I TAKE? WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHINKANSEN TRAINS?

All shinkansens are wicked fast. So, no, it didn’t really matter to us which one we took. There are several types of shinkansen trains, each differing in terms of speed and the number of stops they make.

– Nozomi: The fastest service, and not covered by the JR Pass. It makes the fewest stops and connects Tokyo and Osaka in just over two hours. We took this train from Himeji to Hiroshima (~1 hour, 219 km).

– Hikari: Covered by the JR Pass, this train makes more stops than the Nozomi but is still fast and efficient.

– Kodama: The slowest Shinkansen service, stopping at all stations along the route. It’s the cheapest option but takes the longest to reach your destination. We took this train from Fuji to Osaka (~3 hours, 381km).

So, how fast does the shinkansen go? UM, REALLY FAST. We were continuously hitting 298 km/hour on the shinkansen from Himeji to Hiroshima.

Q7: CAN I BRING LUGGAGE ON BOARD THE SHINKANSEN?

This was one of the things that stressed us out most. We weren’t sure if we were going to be travelling with one or two luggages, whether they’d be considered oversized, and what the rules were. But, don’t sweat it!

– Each person can bring two luggages.

– Each car has overhead storage racks for smaller bags, while larger suitcases can be placed in designated areas near the doors or even in front of your feet if you’re seating in the first row. This is what we did on our Non-Reserved shinkansen from Himeji to Hiroshima; we found two free seats at the front of Cart 1 and we kept our carry-on size luggage in front of our feet, placed our day bags on top of the carry-on luggage, and our one larger green back pack in the overhead above our seat. Then, we enjoyed the hour long train ride without issue!

– If you have oversized luggage, you may need to reserve a seat in advance. Oversized luggage is when your luggage EXCEEDS 160cm when you add up the height, width, and length. It doesn’t cost extra to reserve a “seat with oversized luggage area” compared to a seat without it in the Green Carts, but these seats are limited! They’re located in the last row of each car, because there’s space to store your luggage behind the seats.

– Pro Tip: Since each car only has one back row, if you get a non-reserved ticket, you’ll have to try to be the first to board and hope the back row in the non-reserved cars is still available. In my photos below, you’ll notice that people are sitting in these non-reserved seats at the back row, but they did not bring any oversized luggage! So, you could kindly ask if you could use that space to store your oversized luggages if they aren’t using it.

– Pro Tip: You can also reserve a different type of shinkansen ticket called the “seats with an oversized baggage COMPARTMENT”. In this case, you wouldn’t store your oversized luggage behind you, but in between the carts next to the bathroom.

Q8: WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT ONCE ON BOARD THE SHINKANSEN?

The Shinkansen is known for its clean, quiet, and comfortable cabins. Here’s what you can expect during your ride.

Seating and Comfort

Seats on the shinkansen are spacious, with plenty of legroom, even in standard Blue class (普通車, futsu-sha). Each seat typically has a tray table, a power outlet (in most newer trains), and a footrest (in the Green Cart).

Amenities and Food

Onboard amenities include clean restrooms, drink and snack carts, and vending machines in some trains. You can also purchase ekiben (駅弁) – a boxed lunch that showcases local specialties from the regions you’re traveling through – from the train station before departing. It’s a great way to sample Japan’s regional cuisine. However, when we boarded from Fuji, there were no ekibens to purchase. Instead, we loaded up on convenient store snacks. Shinkansens are one of the only modes of transportation where you are allowed to eat on board! Just try to avoid foods with strong odours that may disturb other passengers. Also, be sure to take your trash with you when you leave the train, as trash bins are located in the compartments between cars.

Staying Connected

Many shinkansen trains now offer free wifi, allowing you to stay connected during your journey. However, signal strength can vary, especially in rural areas. We barely got any signal on either our of two rides. Just note that conversations should be quiet, and phone calls are typically made in the designated phone area between train cars.

Q9: WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT RIDING THE SHINKANSEN?

– Be sure to arrive at the train platform at least 10 minutes early and stand in front of your designated car! The shinkansen arrives and departs exactly on time. For example, when we traveled from Fuji to Osaka, we had reserved seats in Car 8. Ryan waited at the platform where Car 8 would pull up, while I walked to the end of the platform, near Car 16, to get a clear photo of Mt. Fuji in the background. After just one or two pictures, our shinkansen arrived as scheduled. I decided to enter through the doors of Car 16 and walk toward Car 8 inside the train. However, by the time I reached Car 10, the shinkansen was already leaving the station! Thankfully, I was already inside the shinkansen, but it just shows you how quickly they board and leave!

– Japan has several major travel periods when the shinkansen is extremely busy. These include Golden Week (late April to early May), Obon (mid-August), and the New Year’s holiday (late December to early January). If you’re traveling during these times, you should reserve seats as early as possible, as trains fill up quickly.

– Children under six can ride the shinkansen for free as long as they do not occupy a seat. However, during busy times, it may be wise to reserve a seat for them. Most trains also offer baby-changing facilities and family-friendly amenities.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

After worrying about the shinkansen in Japan, we managed to navigate it successfully. We hope this information helps you plan your next shinkansen trip and enjoy a stress-free experience! If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments. And if you’re interested in seeing how we spent 31 days in Japan, check out our blog, How to Spend 1 Month in Japan.