How to Book Shinkansen Tickets 2026: Seats, Bags & Boarding

How to book shinkansen tickets in 2026: use the rail company’s own site for your line (smartEX for Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka; JR East’s eki-net for Tohoku, Niigata, Nagano and Kanazawa; JR West’s online reservation for the Sanyo and Hokuriku lines), or walk up to a station ticket machine and press the English button. Outside peak holidays you can usually book on the day, but a big suitcase or a holiday date changes the rules.

Below: which site for which line, seat types, the suitcase rule by line, the gates, the best seat letters, Suica and ICOCA, and the JR Pass after its 1 October 2026 price change. Route fares are in our other guides, linked below.

How to book shinkansen tickets: the 7-step version

1. Find out who runs your line. It decides which website you use.
2. Pick reserved, non-reserved or Green. Reserved is the safe default.
3. Measure your biggest bag. Add height, width and depth. Between 161 and 250 cm on the Tokyo–Osaka–Kyushu lines, you must book a bag seat.
4. Book on the operator’s site, or at a machine.
5. Choose your seat letter. E for Mt Fuji on the Tokaido line, A or E for a window, D–E for a couple.
6. Choose how to board. A QR code on your phone, an IC card linked to the booking, or paper tickets from a machine.
7. At the station: check the departure board, go through the shinkansen gate, find your car number on the platform and queue at the marker.

Where to book shinkansen tickets online: use the operator for your line

There is no single national booking site. Each JR company runs its own, and they overlap only in places. Agents resell the same seats with a fee; the official sites are in English and free to join.

Line (main stops)	Run by	Book online on	How you board
Tokaido (Tokyo, Shinagawa, Nagoya, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka)	JR 도카이	smartEX	QR code, linked IC card or paper ticket
Sanyo (Shin-Osaka, Okayama, Hiroshima, Hakata)	JR 서일본	smartEX or JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION	smartEX: QR or IC card. JR West: collect paper tickets
Kyushu (Hakata, Kumamoto, Kagoshima-Chuo)	JR 규슈	smartEX or JR-KYUSHU Train Reservation	As above
Tohoku, Hokkaido, Akita, Yamagata, Joetsu	JR East (JR Hokkaido north of Shin-Aomori)	JR-EAST Train Reservation (eki-net)	e-ticket on your IC card, or paper ticket from a machine
Hokuriku (Tokyo, Nagano, Kanazawa, Tsuruga)	JR East, then JR West	JR-EAST Train Reservation or JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION	Depends on the site used

smartEX: Tokyo to Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka

smartEX is the official Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu shinkansen booking service, covering Nozomi, Mizuho, Hikari, Sakura, Kodama and Tsubame trains. You pay by credit card when you book. The app only downloads in the US, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand, according to JR 도카이; elsewhere, use the website in a phone browser.

• Booking window: from 5:30 one year before travel, up to 4 minutes before departure (smartEX). Seats sold that early are limited and booked against a provisional timetable; the exact train and seat number are confirmed one month before travel, after 8:00, by email.
• Changes: free and unlimited, up to 4 minutes before departure, as long as you have not gone through the gate or collected paper tickets. The new date must be within 3 months of the original one.
• 환불: ¥320 for an ordinary reserved seat cancelled before departure.
• Season pricing: ordinary reserved seats cost ¥200 less in off-peak periods, ¥200 more in peak periods and ¥400 more in the busiest.
• Discounts: EX Hayatoku 21 is a cheaper Nozomi fare on the Tokyo–Hakata line if you book between one month (10:00) and 21 days (23:30) before travel. Seats are limited, you cannot switch trains, and it is not sold for Golden Week, Obon or New Year (smartEX). The smartEX round-trip discount ended on 31 March 2026.

Japan Pro Tip: since you pay at booking and changes are free, book a reserved seat as soon as you know your travel day, then move it to an earlier or later train on the day. Prices for the Tokyo–Kyoto run, including the Platt-KODAMA deal, are in our Tokyo to Kyoto guide.

JR-EAST Train Reservation (eki-net): Tohoku, Niigata, Nagano, Kanazawa

JR East’s English booking site sells tickets for Hayabusa, Komachi, Tsubasa, Toki, Kagayaki and the other eastern trains, in nine languages. Its shinkansen e-ticket is the easiest way to ride: link a Suica, PASMO or Welcome Suica to the booking, one card per person, and tap through the shinkansen gate. If you prefer paper, collect the tickets at a reserved-seat ticket machine.

• Three months ahead: since 31 October 2025, eki-net takes a limited number of early bookings on Hayabusa, Yamabiko, Komachi, Tsubasa, Toki and Asama from 14:00 three months before travel, closing 1 month and 8 days before. You can’t pick a seat; numbers arrive one month ahead at 8:00 (JR East press release, 25 September 2025).
• Welcome Suica Mobile: the iPhone visitor app links to the same site, but each app can only hold a booking for one person (JR 동일본).
• JR Pass holders: the site says reservations cannot be made with a Japan Rail Pass. Use a machine or ticket office instead.

JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION: Sanyo and Hokuriku

JR 서일본의 booking service (e5489) covers the Sanyo and Kyushu shinkansen, the Hokuriku shinkansen from Kanazawa to Tokyo and JR West’s limited expresses. Reservations open at 10:00 Japan time one month before travel, and you pay by credit card at booking.

The catch: you collect paper tickets at a machine with the e5489 mark, using the same physical credit card (virtual cards are refused), your reservation number and four-digit ID. Machines run 4:30 to 23:20 (JR 서일본).

Station ticket machines and ticket offices

No account? Every shinkansen station has reserved-seat ticket machines with English and other language menus (JR 도카이), plus a staffed JR ticket office (midori-no-madoguchi). You usually get two tickets: a basic fare ticket and a super express ticket. Keep both until you exit.

Reserved, non-reserved or Green Car: which shinkansen ticket to book?

The seat type is the first choice in any guide on how to book shinkansen tickets. Non-reserved is slightly cheaper and flexible, but you might stand. Reserved guarantees a seat. Green Car is first class, with wider seats.

Seat type	볼 수 있는 것	Book it when
Non-reserved (jiyuseki)	Any free seat in the non-reserved cars. Nozomi: cars 1–2. Hikari: 1–5. Kodama: 1–6 and 13–16 (JR Central, subject to change)	Short hops, off-peak, travelling light
Reserved (shiteiseki)	Your own numbered seat; the only way to get a bag seat	Most trips, families, any holiday date
Green Car	Wider seats, outlet at every seat; on Tokaido Nozomi and Hikari you can order snacks from your phone	Long rides, work on board
Supreme Class (from 1 October 2026)	Private cabin on some Tokaido Nozomi: car 7 for up to two, car 10 for one	Special occasions; Tokyo–Shin-Osaka from ¥42,390 (one guest)

Car numbers from JR 도카이. Supreme Class (regular season, as of 17 June 2026): ¥60,790 per adult for the car 7 cabin, ¥42,390 for car 10, Tokyo–Shin-Osaka, smartEX only (JR 도카이).

Three rules most guides skip. Some trains have no non-reserved seats at all: Hayabusa, Hayate, Komachi and Tsubasa are all-reserved (JR 동일본). Every Nozomi between Tokyo and Hakata goes all-reserved over holidays; for the 2026–27 New Year that is 25 December 2026 to 5 January 2027 (JR 도카이). And if you miss your reserved Tokaido train, you can still ride the non-reserved cars of a later train the same day (JR 도카이).

Children aged 6–11 pay half the adult fare, but Green Car fees are the same for adults and children. Up to two children aged 5 or under travel free with each paying passenger, unless they take their own reserved seat (JR 도카이). Golden Week and Obon 2027 dates are in our 2027년 일본 공휴일 가이드에 더 있습니다.

Shinkansen luggage rules: the 160 cm limit, line by line

Add the height, width and depth of each bag. Up to 160 cm goes on the overhead rack, at your feet or in the baggage storage area by the doors. On the Tokaido, Sanyo, Kyushu and Nishi-Kyushu shinkansen, a bag of 161–250 cm counts as oversized and needs a seat with an oversized baggage area, which costs nothing extra (JR 도카이).

Bag size (H+W+D)	Tokaido, Sanyo, Kyushu, Nishi-Kyushu	JR East lines (Tohoku, Joetsu, Hokuriku etc.)
Up to 160 cm	Rack, feet or deck storage. No booking	Rack or feet. No booking
161–250 cm	Book an oversized-baggage seat. Without one: ¥1,000 fee on board, and the conductor decides where it goes	No bag-seat system; use the luggage racks, which some trains lack
Over 250 cm, or longer than 200 cm	Not allowed	Not allowed as personal luggage

JR East column: Travel Watch, 1 May 2026.

• Where the bag seats are: the last row of certain cars, with the space behind shared by those five seats. On Tokaido trains that means ordinary cars 3–6 and 12–16 and Green cars 8–10. Non-reserved cars have none.
• How many: a Nozomi has 57 such seats, a Hikari 42 and a Kodama only 17, so book early with a big case, especially on Kodama.
• Free allowance: two pieces, up to 30 kg in total, each up to 250 cm and no longer than 200 cm. Strollers, musical instruments and sports equipment are exempt from the oversized rule.
• Booking it: pick the oversized-baggage option online, at a reserved-seat machine or at the ticket office; JR Pass holders too.
• Skip the problem: JR Central’s paid LUGGAGE EXPRESS delivers bags up to 200 cm to your hotel the same day.

How to board the shinkansen, step by step

This is where first-timers lose minutes: the shinkansen has its own gates inside the JR station.

1. Read the departure board. It alternates between Japanese and English: train name, time, destination, platform. On the Tokaido line, Nozomi is shown in yellow, Hikari in red and Kodama in blue.
2. QR ticket: hold your phone’s QR code over the gate reader. A seat information slip comes out. Keep it, but it is not a ticket, so don’t feed it into the exit gate.
3. Paper tickets: stack the fare ticket and the super express ticket and insert them together. Take them back at the far end of the gate; the exit gate keeps them.
4. IC card (smartEX or eki-net e-ticket): tap the linked card. On smartEX an “EX usage slip” prints; keep it for the conductor and don’t insert it anywhere.
5. Coming from a JR local line on paper: at the transfer gate, insert your local ticket first, then tap your IC card, or insert both paper tickets together.
6. Find your car on the platform. Car numbers are signed along the platform; stand at the marker for your car number and queue in line.
7. Board and stow. Big bags go in your booked space behind the last row.

Gate steps from JR 도카이 및 smartEX’s IC card guide.

Japan Pro Tip: machine queues at big stations eat your buffer in the morning rush. Collect paper tickets the evening before, or board with a QR code or linked IC card.

Which shinkansen seat should you pick when you book?

Ordinary cars have five seats per row: A-B-C on one side, D-E on the other, with A and E at the windows. Green Cars have four, A to D. On the Tokaido line between Tokyo and Kyoto, Mt Fuji is on the E side (D in the Green Car), according to JR 도카이.

• Couple: D–E, so nobody climbs over a stranger.
• Big suitcase: a last-row oversized-baggage seat in the right car (see above).
• Charging: on N700S trains every seat has an outlet; on older N700A trains ordinary-car outlets are only at window seats and the front and back rows (JR 도카이). If you can’t tell which train you have, pick a window.
• Avoid: rows 12–13 (seats A, B, D, E) in car 11 of an N700S, which are slightly narrower.
• Food: no trolley in Tokaido ordinary cars, so buy an ekiben before boarding. Wi-Fi is free.

Can you ride the shinkansen with Suica, PASMO or ICOCA?

Yes, but not like a local train: usually the card has to be linked to a booking.

• smartEX: register Suica, TOICA, ICOCA or SUGOCA and tap at the gate. The shinkansen fare is charged to your credit card at booking, not to the card balance; any local train before or after is deducted from the balance (smartEX).
• JR East e-ticket: link Suica, PASMO or Welcome Suica when you book on JR-EAST Train Reservation; one card per person (JR 동일본).
• Touch de Go! Shinkansen: with Welcome Suica Mobile you can tap straight onto non-reserved seats on parts of the JR East network, such as Tokyo–Niigata, and the fare comes off at the exit. It does not work on all-reserved trains or trips through Morioka or Fukushima, and JR East warns the fare can be higher than a paper ticket (JR 동일본).

Take the linked card out of your wallet; two cards confuse the gate. Which card to buy: our IC card Japan guide.

Is the JR Pass still worth it for the shinkansen after the 2026 price change?

Since 1 October 2026, Japan Rail Passes bought through overseas agencies cost more: ¥53,000 for 7 days ordinary, up from ¥50,000. The 공식 웹사이트 still sells at ¥50,000 “for a limited time”, and JR will announce when that ends (JR Group announcement, 9 April 2026).

• Covered: Hikari, Kodama, Sakura and the JR East shinkansen, reserved seats included.
• Not covered: Nozomi and Mizuho, unless you buy the pass-holder add-on ticket for each ride: ¥4,180 Tokyo–Nagoya, ¥4,960 Tokyo–Kyoto or Shin-Osaka, ¥6,500 Tokyo–Hiroshima. Buy it at JR machines or ticket offices from one month before travel; seats for it are capped (재팬 레일 패스).
• Reserving seats: only passes bought on the official website can reserve seats online before you collect the pass (재팬 레일 패스). Everyone else books at machines or ticket offices in Japan.

For most Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka trips, booking single shinkansen tickets is cheaper than the pass. We ran seven itineraries in JR 패스, 본전 뽑을까?, so check your route there before you buy.

What changes for shinkansen fares in 2027?

Two dates matter. Nozomi and Mizuho reserved seats get more expensive for tickets bought from 1 July 2027, and Green Car fees rise for travel from 15 December 2027; non-reserved seats and Hikari/Kodama reserved seats are not part of the increase. Our shinkansen fare increase 2027 guide has the route-by-route tables.

Full trip budget: see our 일본 여행 경비 가이드.

How to book shinkansen tickets: FAQ

출처와 확인 방법

Every rule, price and date in this guide to how to book shinkansen tickets was checked on 2 November 2026 against the linked official sources: smartEX, JR Central, JR East, JR West and the official Japan Rail Pass site, plus Travel Watch for JR East’s luggage rules. Rules change with timetable revisions, so check the operator’s page before you travel; JNTO covers wider trip planning.