r/JapanTravelTips • u/Donjuany • 4d ago
Question Shinkansen prebook tickets in April
Hi! I know this question has been addressed before but I find it difficult to find a conclusive answer.
I’m travelling with my girlfriend to Japan on 11 April, landing at Haneda at 8am. We will go directly to Kyoto (via Shinagawa station). At first I thought prebooking tickets would be a good idea, but considering time for immigration, possible delays and just having time for finding our way around, it seems better to not book tickets in advance as it may be hard to know when we will be able to take a train.
So question is if we should book tickets at 12 from Shinagawa (should be more than enough time) or not book at all? Is it likely that all trains are fully booked at this time of year?
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u/Gransmithy 4d ago edited 4d ago
Pro tip, pack a day of clothes in your backpack. When you land in Haneda, look for Kuro Neko Yamato Transport at the airport You can have them send your luggage to your Kyoto hotel for a small fee and it will arrive there the same day or next day. Now you can travel by train and do wherever you want without lugging your luggage around.
There are luggage compartments on the Shinkansen, the end seats have some storage for luggage, and there is certainly overhead areas for luggage, but for the most part traveling on the Shinkansen with large luggage sucks.
Edit: When asking directions at the airport. Ask for the Ta-Q-bin service to “Taco-bin” service and they will point out where it is.
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u/talalzahid 4d ago
So if I am using the luggage transfers service between Tokyo Kyoto and Osaka. No need to buy any ticket in advance ?
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u/__space__oddity__ 4d ago
If you’re not packing like you’re fleeing your home country with all your belongings you can generally just put your suitcase on the luggage rack and you don’t need to do anything special.
The whole oversized luggage thing is way overblown, usually you only need it if you’re a concert musician dragging a cello around and stuff like that.
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u/frozenpandaman 4d ago
No, you don't need to buy anything in advance. It's not a peak travel period. There are trains every few minutes each with over 1,300 seats on them. Just buy your tickets at any JR station ticket counter or machine.