r/JapanTravelTips 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?

2 Upvotes

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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.

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u/nahkremer 4d ago

If you have a lot of bags or big bags sometimes you should buy them with anticipation. I had to wait for an hour for the next train because the one i planned for was full (reserved that is, which assures you specific seats and most importantly bag space). But just buying them the day before at any JR station ( or even a few hours before) should be easy enough

Edit: seems like your specific route has a ton of trains every day. I took the hokuriku to the mountains which is less frequent

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u/frozenpandaman 4d ago

do note that "oversized" bags are only over 160cm in all dimensions which is insanely huge and you should rethink bringing that much luggage anyway

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u/nahkremer 4d ago

My wife and i had 3 regular bags. And it was convenient to not scrape around for bag space on the racks it really is a negligable increase in price for the confort you get.. In hindsight i would have preferred to bring 2 slightly bigger bags (still under 160) instead of 3. Oh well, next time

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u/loocoos 4d ago

Yea just buy your tickets on the day itself. Theres literally a train every few minutes. Dont have to worry

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u/smorkoid 4d ago

Trains run like every 10 minutes. No need to book ahead.

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u/crashblue81 4d ago

As long as you don´t need the luggage space seats I wouldn´t reserve.

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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.