THANKYOU. I was really concerned about this aspect of travelling japan, especially the need to reserve suitcase seats. this video is clear and concise which I really appreciate
This together with all your other videos are going to make our first trip to Japan later in the year so helpful. I’m very savvy when it comes to booking and planning trips around the world but the Japan one has got my head spinning. I’ve compiled my own personal booklet due to the amount we need to know. I’ve got lots of your videos saved and I want to thank you for such clear concise advice and information on all of them…especially the trains! I’ve never seen such a complicated train map or process and this video is brilliant!! So once again thank you x
That's great to hear, thank you! I always try and include everything I wanted to know on my first trip to Japan - because I remember how many confusing things there were. The train map looks complex but it's really not that bad - the stations are huge but just keep following the signs and you'll be ok!
Very well explained Amy. As you said, there are various types of ticket machines you can use to reserve seats and in different parts of Japan the machines are different colours! They are normally bright colours such as orange, light blue, light green, etc. but the simple thing to look for is the bottom line on the screen says "JAPAN RAIL PASS" - if it says that then you can use it to reserve a seat. Back in October the machines actually asked if you were travelling with large luggage and you pressed a button for yes or no - that then gave you seats at the front or rear of a car. Only some of the machines have the passport scanner - on those you can press a button to type in the passport number instead, so on those you can either scan or type the number in, whichever you prefer. As you did, the only way to cancel or change a reservation is to go to any booking office (with the green seat logo). Knowing the Japanese phrase helps, but if you show them the ticket(s) and say "change" or "cancel" they generally know what you want to do. Fully agree with showing them a screenshot if you are making a reservation at a ticket counter, this always worked for me in the past even though the screenshot was in English - "Japan Travel by Navitime" is currently the best app to use. There used to be heaps of stations (both JR and other companies) with those stamps, but the number of them has decreased over time. Occasionally they will have a "stamp rally" (they have posters advertising them at stations, only in Japanese but Google Translate fixes that) where they have special stamps at specific stations and if you get a certain number of the stamps you get a small prize. There was one while I was visiting about 5 years ago and I collected a few stamps and got 2 postcards as a prize!
All good tips! There was a train stamp rally in Tokyo recently, I think it was a collab with Plarail, the toy train brand. It was really fun collecting stamps!
Thank you!! It's not too bad once you know what to expect! (Just don't press cancel or you could end up typing in your passport number many times...!) 😝
Great video as always. I could have used this when I was in Japan last week. I reserved tickets at the JR office using my JR Pass but was reserved on ordinary seats instead of green seats. I didn't realise this until I got to the platform on my first trip. Best to check your tickets before you leave the ticket office. This happened on two occasions. Had a great time in Japan and your videos and book was so helpful. Now looking forward to next years trip 😊
I bought our JR passes through JR mainly because I wanted to reserve seats on one of the Joyful Trains, specifically the Resort Shirakami, but it was not available on the main JR reservation website. I feel better now about spending the extra money. I reserved all our other seats online so the agent just printed them all out when we picked our JR passes. It looks like it would have taken quite a while to reserve them all at a machine whereas it was exciting doing it before our trip.
@@cakeswithfaces Yes! When we picked up our JR pass the staff booked the Resort Shirakami for us. It was lovely and we were able to get off along the way to visit a "quasi-national" park with really beautiful ponds and then get on a later Resort Shirakami.
@@Nemuimori That sounds wonderful! You never know how busy the Joyful Trains are going to be, so I'm so glad you could get a reservation and the staff were so helpful!
Hi Amy, thank you for the excellent video, which is a great help for JR Pass holders. These ticket machines can be mind-boggling or nerve-wracking, especially when you see people queuing behind you, even for Japanese speakers! Although you can also make seat reservations on-line if you buy JR Pass on-line, it is slightly more expensive than the one you buy from your local travel agents, and last time I used it, it seemed to focus on Shinkansen seat reservations only. So these ticket machines are still your buddy to talk to when you get around. One thing good to remember is that not every Shinkansen has got non-reserved carriages you can hop into (for example, on Hayabusa and Komachi for Tohoku and Aita regions, Kagayaki for Hokuriku region, all carriages are reserved seats only, so you cannot just hop onto these without making a seat reservation).
Yes, there are a few shinkansen that are reservation only. I always prefer making reservations anyway, just in case it's busy and I can't get the train I want to. I know what you mean about feeling the pressure at the machine if there's a queue behind you! Luckily there are quiet times sometimes when you can take your time! :-)
I'd like to add some information to this excellent video: Please note that the area behind the last seat in the train car is for "oversized luggage" (see floor sticker at 9:03 in this vid), which seem to be for luggage with a combined with+depth+height of 160 and 250 cm. If you have a smaller bag (like my Samsonite 102L/75cm which have a combined mesurement of 158cm), it's more considerate to other travellers to instead use overhead storage or place them in front of your seat, whichever works best for you.
Yes, you're right, while anyone can reserve it, it would be more considerate to leave it for those who need it most. My large yellow suitcase is a similar size to yours - just under the 160cm limit. It's the max size for any airline I've flown with, so if your luggage is a size that you can check into an airline, in most cases it wouldn't count as oversized luggage on the shinkansen.
excellent video! i only used the ticket machines for a 3 week vacation and it was relatively easy. only part that was hard was finding the correct shinkansen platform!!
Before I finish the book, I wanted to tell you how much I'm loving it. It's just full of everything I was hoping for. Excellently printed, I am loving the layout, the paper, and the choice of the pictures. Embellished by your drawings, it was so appreciated that I soon protected it with a cover. I hope to make this trip as soon as possible following your advices, maybe taking it with me in my backpack. Thanks thanks thanks.
@@riccardoantonelli1977 Thanks so much, I'm really happy you like it - that means a lot! If you take it to Japan you'll have to send me a pic with it there!
Thanka as always, it was so helpful and clear! Been stressing about reserving seats especially since we'll travel on the shinkansen train on the day after we arrive. This definitely helped my worries go away. Do you know if it's possible to book seats online before activating the JR pass?
You can only book seats online if you buy your pass from japanrailpass.net I haven't tried it that way myself so I'm not 100% sure, but I believe you'd be able to book before you travel, and before you activate your pass.
@@AirWhiteRose It looks like you can book them as soon as you've purchased your pass, once the date of the train trip is within 1 month: www.japanrailpass-reservation.net/HowTo
Thank you for going through everything so calmly & clearly, that is really useful! I was just wondering though if buying tickets without a JR pass could be done at such a machine as well? JR pass likely won't make sense for me to get when I go to Japan so I'll have to buy shinkansen tickets separately.
Yes, I believe you can! I haven't tried it myself but here's the process - it looks very similar to reserving a seat (but you have to pay at the end!) japantravel.navitime.com/en/area/jp/guide/NTJhowto0119-en/
Yes, when you select the time/train you want, you can tell which service it is by the name of the train, eg Nozomi, Hikari, Sakura, etc. You're right, currently the JR Pass isn't valid for some of the very fastest trains eg Nozomi. But when the prices go up in October, there'll be the option to pay an extra supplement if you want to book the Nozomi.
Oh that's very helpful information, thank you so much. We will be going after the price changes and will likely want to upgrade to the direct trains for the long journey from Fukuoka Hakata to Tokyo! :)@@cakeswithfaces
Great overview of the ticket machines! Some of the quirks you pointed out are good to know ahead of time for sure. Like having no backspace while typing and the limited keyword for the station search. They should definitely have Shin-Kobe show up when you type in Kobe or Shin-Osaka with Osaka. That’s like typing Godzilla on Netflix and not having Shin-Godzilla show up on the list 😂.
Thank you! Japanese plugs have two flat pins, the same as the USA. I don't know if it's the best but I have a universal plug adapter from Tessan that you can adapt for all countries. It has USB sockets which is really useful. I also have several really old worldwide adapters as there's always so much to charge with the cameras, pocket wifi & our phones, iPad, etc!
New to your Channel! Thank you so much! super helpful for my trip coming up. Especially with the full walkthrough. Subscribed~ Can you tell us how to find the train Number?
If you use an app like Japan Travel by Navitime to search for your route, in the results it has the train name and number - very useful so you can identify it easily at the station, and when you're reserving seats.
@@hudsonball4702 I tend to take the shinkansen rather than flying, but I did one time take a flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka, immediately when I arrived in Japan (the whole trip was booked together). It was pretty similar to taking any other flight really! :-) Just a smaller plane!
@@cakeswithfaces Well I do plan on Taking the Shinkansen for a bit then local/regional flights. Shinkansen -> Tokyo -> Fujinomyia. Then Fujinomyia -> Kyoto. From there I plan to take a flight from Kyoto -> Sapporo. And then another flight from Sapporo -> back to Tokyo. If i try to take the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Sapporo, the trip would take over 8 hours. But a flight would take only 1/12 hours and cost just as much as a Shinkansen ticket. Same for flying from Sapporo to Tokyo.
Friends and I gonna exchange our basic 7 day JR passes during a Wednesday in Sept trip so hopefully won't be too busy so we can get them to do it at the counter plus book the tickets hopefully so it'll be less headachey to do it with a person there we can walk through the times (we researched and catalogued already what times we wanna get) we wanna get shinkansen for (to get to other cities then back). Cause we gonna need 4 tickets it's gonna be less hassle to do through a person rather then fiddling with the machine for a good 10+ minutes having to repeat stuff haha edit: i mean 4 cities worth of tickets (to kyoto, to okayama, to osaka, back to tokyo) and 3 of us travelling. so yeahhhhhh lol
Yes that would be a lot of passport numbers to type in! Good idea to go on a weekday, avoid rush hour and it should be all good! Have a wonderful trip! 🎶
@@cakeswithfaces Thankies. Yeah one of our friends who hasn't ever flown internationally, this is his first time going out of Australia, wanted to just do a shorter version of the trip (less tokyo days and not going to kansai) so we were gonna chill in akiba (cause we staying in there for good price) for a bit longer due to his flight being around like 5:30pm meaning he won't need to leave from Akihabara station. Then ideally we see him off at station where he goes to airport while we go to Ikebukuro due to our American friend having gotten in 3 days earlier (sister's bday so he goes to that first then comes to Japan straight after) so we worked out we can get Ikebukuro for his first time on that Wed and get all 3 of us JR pass sorted and seats, hopefully won't be too busy mid afternoon as I figured people would have likely come earlier in the day to sort ticket stuff ^_^
Thank you so much for this Amy! Really helpful for our trip in September 😀 We're planning on getting the JR Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass to go from Hiroshima to Osaka, but we're not sure if we can do that, or if you're only allowed to use the pass if your starting point is in Osaka 🤔 We're also unsure if we can pick up our pass in Hiroshima, or again if it has to be in Osaka. Would you happen to have any advice?
Sounds like a great plan! Make sure you go Miyajika, it's really beautiful! 😍 Yes you can use the pass for that - you can travel freely as much as you want in the area covered by the pass, with any starting point you like. Here are the official details about where & how to purchase it: www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai_hiroshima/
@@cakeswithfaces Miyajima is defo on our list when we're in Hiroshima, we can't wait! 🤩 Amazing, thank you so much for confirming Amy!! That's the link I've been using too 👍
If you are booking seats for a journey where you have to change trains - e.g. going from Hakata to Nagasaki on the new Shinkansen line where you have to change trains at Takeo-Onsen - you can do it as one reservation. You select the start station for your journey and the final destination station and it will show you the various options and you pick the one you want. It will print out 1 seat reservation ticket for each person for each train.
Another great video. I am learning a lot. I will be buying our JR Pass soon. I was wondering if it is better to pay the little extra and buy my pass from the official JR site so that I can reserve seats online. I guess it would save the hassle of using the machines. I imaging it would simply be a matter of pressing a ' collect ticket ' button. Will they post the exchange voucher to me here in the UK? Hopefully your book will arrive today😊. Update. I have the book.
Glad your book arrived safely - hope you enjoy it! If you buy the pass directly from japanrailpass.net, you receive an email that you can then show in Japan to collect your pass. If you buy it from any other site (which are all agents), the exchange order is posted to you, which you then exchange for the actual pass in Japan. So it's not too different, but it takes a little longer as you have to wait for the exchange order to arrive in the post. Really it's up to your preference - being able to book seats online is a good benefit (you could also book them on your phone when you're in Japan), but you still need to pick up the reservation cards, either at the machine or at the counter. However if you're on a budget and prefer to save money, it's slightly cheaper to buy from an agent. After the price increase in October, it'll cost the same wherever you buy it from.
@cakeswithfaces I was aware of the price hike in October, hence going in September. We have booked 6 nights accommodation in Kobe, right next to the station and 4 nights in Shinagawa also next to the station. We can explore the regions from both places. Our flight arrives in Hsneda Airport at 17:00 hrs and we intend to head straight to Kobe, leaving Tokyo until last.
Sorry to bother you again. One quick question. Do you need to make seat reservations for short journeys? Example from Kobe to Osaka, Kyoto etc. We will have a green JR Pass. I assume we can also use ordinary class for short trips. Thanks in advance.
@@railvlogger1439 If you want to sit in the green car, you have to make a reservation. But yes, with a green car pass you're welcome to sit in the standard car if you want to, and jump onto the unreserved car. In fact I did that exact journey from Osaka to Kobe! I wanted to make the most of the green pass and sit in the green car as much as possible, so I just made a reservation at the machine when I got to the station and got straight on the train, and the same for the way back. The green car's usually much less busy than the standard car.
Something to be aware of is not all overhead luggage racks are big enough for the standard size luggage. We came unstuck with this when we got a Kodama Shinkansen and suddenly found the bags wouldn't fit!
Cakes - Day 12 of our Japan trip and your book/videos have saved us numerous times. One question - we picked up the 14 day Shinkansen pass, but every time we leave the station, our Suica Cards get errors. Is there a process in which we need to scan the Suica card so it doesn’t need tk be reset each time I use the Shinkansen?
So glad you're having a great time! When you use your JR Pass for a trip, you don't need to use your Suica card. Suica is really for local trains and the metro. The shinkansen's in a separate part of the station. When you take a train, then transfer to the shinkansen, you'll scan out of the regular part of the station at the ticket gates, then go through shinkansen ticket gates to enter the shinkansen section. You don't need to scan your Suica when you're entering/exiting the shinkansen section, just your JR Pass.
Something that happened to me in Japan last month when trying to buy my shinkansen tickets were that I would make it alll the way to the end and try to pay with my mastercard and i would get an error. I did it twice to see if it was user error but I still got the error. When i went to the ticket desk, wasn’t too bad of a line since it was just me but when we did the transaction, i used that same card and it went through perfectly fine! I couldn’t figure out why the ticket screen didn’t work for me and the lady did her best to explain in English but I still wasn’t sure what happened. So I guess I’m sharing this story to say you still might need to go to the desk anyway 😅 but maybe when I go back to Japan I’ll be able to use the ticket machine!
It's a new system that came in during the pandemic! 😊 But you can only reserve seats online if you buy your pass from japanrailpass.net (at the moment it costs slightly more, but after the prices go up in October it'll be the same price everywhere). There's a step by step guide here: www.japanrailpass-reservation.net/HowTo
It's from Neko Neko Post (run by Sharla in Japan & her friend Ushka): www.nekonekopost.com/shop/product/4724788271 It was so much fun collecting stamps!
Did anyone else notice that once you have selected a train, there is an option to change it (see 12:37)? Would it not be easier to use the change option rather than cancel the process?
Yes that would be easier! I think in the moment, (beig jetlagged and half-concentrating on filming too!) we just didn't think to use that option. I thought cancel would just cancel that step, but it cancels the whole process.
It's from Neko Neko Post, which is run by Sharla in Japan & her friend Ushka: www.nekonekopost.com/shop/product/4724788271 I'd definitely recommend stamp collecting, it's so much fun!
Great video How does it work when you say come from a JR station like shibuya You get the Yamanote line with a suica? And then how do you tap out to get the Shinkansen With the old paper onE you didn’t have that problem? Thanks Kev
When you exit the Yamanote line, you'd go through ticket gates to get out of that section of the station. Then you'd go through some other ticket gates to get into the shinkansen section of the station. So you'd tap out at the Yamanote exit, then use your JR Pass to get into the shinkansen section. The new JR Pass works just the same as the old paper one, you just put it through the machine at the gate instead of showing it to the attendant. Hope that makes sense!
@@cakeswithfaces That’s great I can’t remember but at Tokyo station you get off the Yamanote line but don’t exit a gate until you leave the station but I could be wrong, it’s been a while! Thanks Amy!
If you know the train number, it's easier to identify your train on the signs at the station and on the seat reservation machine, and you know you've got that exact right one. The train number is printed on your reservation card, and it's on all the signs. It's not essential to know it, I just find it quicker than checking all the times/destinations on the sign. The different types of shinkansen are also colour-coded on signs, which makes it quicker to find yours.
15 днів тому
Great video, can you please let me know if you are able to reserve seats for a return journey at the same time as reserving seats for an outbound journey or do you have to reserve seats from the destination station for the return journey when you get there or on the day you need to return, many thanks
Thanks for the video. If I have a 14-days Ordinary Seat JR Pass that I'd like to upgrade to Gran Class that'll take me from Tokyo to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, can I do that at the green ticket machine?
Gran Class looks amazing - I'd love to try it one day! I'm not sure if you can get the Gran Class surcharge ticket at the ticket machine; if not you'd definitely be able to get it at the counter. It looks like you may be able to purchase the surcharge ticket online before you go. With JR East you can make reservations online 1 month before you travel: www.eki-net.com/en/jreast-train-reservation/Top/Index
I think you need to go to the counter to cancel reservations. I did that once - I tried to just book a different seat reservation but the machine wouldn't let me, but they sorted it at the counter, no problems!
Great video very informative. A query, I bought JR East Tohoku Pass online and received a eticket passenger exchange voucher, can I use it to reserved seat and oversized luggage now?
For most passes, you wouldn't be able to unless you bought it from japan-rail-pass.net - but JR East has a different system, so yes - you can! I've used it before, so you can reserve your seats before you travel to Japan: www.jreast.co.jp/e/ticket/reservation.html
The price increase wouldn't stop me buying it if it's the best option for the trip. However, I'd look at regional rail passes, and compare the cost of purchasing tickets individually, as for many routes that may now work out a better option. I'd still take the train than domestic flights because it's better for the environment (obviously the long distance flight to Japan isn't eco-friendly, but in that case it's the only choice!). I'd also plan the itinerary carefully to fit the long distance travel into 7 days if I was going for a full JR Pass. I hope the price increase wont stop people exploring Japan beyond Tokyo.
Thank You so much for this video! I learned a lot! Concerning about the Japan Rail Pass, one of my friend here in the US was trying to purchase directly to Japan Rail Pass to buy a JR Pass for her and her family. For unknown reason it keeps rejecting her credit card payments (she tried two different cards both Visa and MC) the small screen is saying that it does not recognized either cards. When they arrived in Tokyo and went to a the Ueno JR ticket office the next morning to purchase the JR Wide pass they were informed that they do not accept credit card as payment only cash. I researched about this situation and found out that major card cards are now utilizing a security code called "3D credit card security". Major card companies announced about the new security code to all vendors both locally and internationally about these changes. According to the article that so many countries including Japan have not updated their system at all. Does anyone travelling to Japan right now are experiencing this problem? What about you? Any problems at all using your foreign credit card in Japan. Hopefully someone will respond and have an answer. Thanks!
That's useful info. Thankfully I've not had any problems using my UK credit cards in Japan. It's another reason to take cash with you - to make sure you have some money just in case of emergency!
QUESTION…. I bought tickets through smartEX for the bullet train. Do I need to pick up tickets at the machine when I get there? And I bought them from Kyoto to Tokyo, however now I need to get off at Shinagawa instead. Do I need to do anything to change that? I’m assuming we can just get off early, no big deal?
I've not used smartEX myself, but it looks like you can pick them up from a ticket machine with the smartEX logo, or from a ticket counter. You can pick them up within 7 days of your train trip: smart-ex.jp/en/entraining/ticket/place/ It looks there are also options to designate them to your IC card if you have one (eg Suica or Pasmo), or if you got a QR code when you booked, you can scan that at the ticket gates: smart-ex.jp/en/reservation/reserve_smart/sp/ I believe you can get off early; Shinagawa and Tokyo are the same price with shinkansen tickets so it should be no problem!
@@Lfischer5481 It should be fine then - if you arrive next Friday or Saturday, that's within 7 days of the 15th so you'll be able to pick them up any time after you arrive. :-)
Would JRPASS QR code on phone be able to be scanned by ticketing machine? I don't plan on losing the pass but was hoping to copy it to my phone as a back up!
You have to put it through a slot on the ticket gates, so you do need the actual pass. I was stressed about losing it too, as it says they won't replace lost or damaged passes, even if it's stolen! So you just need to be extra careful - we treated them like credit cards and put them away immediately after use.
The stamp book's from Neko Neko Post (run by Sharla in Japan & her friend Ushka): www.nekonekopost.com/shop/product/4724788271 There are stamps at tourist attractions too - it was so much fun collecting them and always exciting when I spotted one! 🎶
They haven't confirmed it (not too many details are announced yet about the price increase), but my thought is that it should be possible. What you're buying is a voucher to exchange for the actual pass, so if you buy it before the price goes up, it seems like it should still be valid. From some agents you can purchase it 3 months in advance, so if I was going after October, I'd buy it as early as possible.
Can you reserve your seats before you activate your JR pass? I am getting a 5-day Kansai-Hiroshima Region JR pass for my trip but won’t be activating it until the end of my trip, but I was hoping to reserve my Shinkansen seats before or at the start of my trip.
I've not used a regional pass from JR West, but with JR East it was possible to reserve seats online before activating the pass. It says here that you can reserve them online, so it may be possible: www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/all/#:~:text=Seat%20reservations%20are%20also%20available%20online%20for%20passes%20reserved%20via%20JR%2DWEST%20ONLINE%20TRAIN%20RESERVATION. Otherwise, just make your seat reservations when you arrive in Japan, on the first day of your trip. I've done that many times and it's been fine! :-)
I haven't tried it myself, but the shinkansen ticket machine does accept credit/debit cards: www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/ticket/purchase.html#:~:text=Credit%20cards%20can%20also%20be%20used. Most ticket machines (ie where you top up your Suica card or buy local tickets) don't accept cards though! It makes sense that they'd accept them for shinkansen tickets as they're more expensive.
If you know when you'll be travelling you can make all your reservations at the same time. However from Haneda Airport they even take seat reservations (it's always been fine and not too crowded), and for the N'Ex from Narita I've always been fine reserving seats when I buy the ticket, when I've arrived at the airport.
Japan Travel by Navitime is best as it has a JR Pass filter. It even tells you which platform you need! Otherwise you can just search on Google "xx Station to xx Station" ( but you can't filter by JR Pass).
Hi, We just arrived in Japan, was wondering do you know all the locations for all the JR pass reservation seats? I went to Shin-Imamiya and Dobutsen and they did not have th machine set up. :((
Can you buy tickets online and reserve in advance without the JR Pass? I don’t think the JR pass would be worth it for me as I am going to Osaka and Tokyo only.
Yes, you can book tickets via SmartEX (which is run by Japan Railways). I haven't used it myself but someone else here in the comments mentioned they had: smart-ex.jp/en/index.php
We aren't getting japan rail passes for our trip this year as the price difference is more than our train journeys are going to be. I'm confused about how the limited express train tickets work. We are doing almost the same journey you booked in this video ( kyoto to kinosaki onsen ) so do I have to book a separate ticket to travel on limited express trains instead of just tapping the Suica? and do I put that separate ticket in first before tapping the Suica or does the ticket completely cover it and I don't have to tap the Suica at all? I don't know why I'm so confused about this xD
I didn't use my Suica for that journey. I was using my JR Pass so I just made a seat reservation. If you don't have a JR Pass, you can buy a ticket from the ticket machine or ticket desk, and use that at the ticket gates. You can use Suica for limited express trains, but you still have to buy a ticket for the extra limited express fee. So I think it's less confusing to just buy the whole ticket separately. Suica is really for local trains and metro, not long distance trains. If you're not getting a JR Pass, it might be worth checking the regional train passes. I think one of them includes Kinosaki & Kyoto, so it's possible it might save you money
@@cakeswithfaces thank you! yes that’s a whole lot less confusing I didn’t realise you could buy the whole ticket separately I think that’s why I was getting so confused 🤣🤣 I think because a lot of people got the JR pass previously before the price increase that there’s not a whole lot of information about just buying regular tickets and how the limited express trains work. Thank you for your help 💕 I’ll definitely have a look at some regional passes
Just in case we've reserved a seat from Tokyo to Hakodate, then somehow we missed the train, can we reserve the next train on schedule? I mean will the system allows use to do that? Because practically we're using one pass to reserve two seats...
You'd need to go to the counter and tell them what happened so they can cancel the first reservation. I made a reservation once, then decided I wanted to go at a different time. When I tried to make another reservation for the same trip on the same day, it wouldn't let me. I had to go to the counter and they changed it for me, so I'm guessing a similar thing would happen if you missed a reservation.
Unless you're travelling around a LOT, the JR Pass often isn't worth it like it used to be - although the regional passes can still be good, depending on your plans. You'll probably be fine buying tickets at the start of your trip, because trains are very frequent on the popular routes. However if you're going at a busy time like cherry blossom season or Golden Week, I'd consider buying them in advance, especially if you want the seats with extra space for luggage. Also if you want to go on any of the special, luxury/novelty trains - you need to book them the minute tickets go on sale. There are also discounts on SmartEX for buying tickets in advance, if you know when you'll be travelling - I'll be covering them in a video this month!
Around Japan there are souvenir stamps that you can collect for free! They're at stations and tourist attractions. This is the first time I've collected them, and it was really fun! You can use any book you want (sometimes paper is provided). I bought this book from Neko Neko Post (run by Sharla in Japan & her friend Ushka), which was a lot better than stamping them on scraps of paper like I have done before! www.nekonekopost.com/shop/product/4724788271
Is it possible to upgrade to green car with ordinary JR Pass on the ticket machine or online when booking seats? Im looking to upgrade all my seats for the JR Pass to the green car. Thank you!
It says here that it's possible - you'll have to pay the Green Car charge: japanrailpass.net/en/use/conditions-for-use/#:~:text=If%20you%20ride%20in%20a%20Green%20Car%20using%20an%20ordinary%20car%20pass%2C%20you%20will%20be%20required%20to%20pay%20the%20Green%20Car%20charge%2C%20as%20well%20as%20the%20limited%20or%20regular%20express%20service%20charge I'm not sure if you can do that at the ticket machine - I'd give it a try and if it's not working, go to the counter and explain what you want.
@@cakeswithfaces thanks for the info however, i saw on another video that you cannot choose the green car with an ordinary tiket via the ticketing machine. Is this video correct? If so, do it have to go to the ticketing office to upgrade to the green car? Or is the video wrong and i can just upgrade my seat at the ticket machine? Sorry for the trouble.
@@csuryo I've never tried it myself - I've only ever booked Green Car seats with a Green Car pass, and standard seats with a standard pass. So they may well be correct that you can only book it at the counter. There's often a desk at the counter with an English speaker to help with JR Pass reservations, and they've always been very helpful when I've gone to the counter, so they'll certainly be able to help you.
Do you know if you can get tickets before your JR rail pass is active? So if I pick Thursday as the activation date, could I reserve tickets for Wednesday to use on Thursday?
You definitely can if you bought your pass directly from japanrailpass.net/en/ If you buy direct, you can reserve seats online before you go. If you buy from anywhere else, I believe you can reserve seats once you've exchanged your JR Pass ie if you've swapped your exchange order for the actual pass. (The date you exchange your pass doesn't have to be date you activate it). You might need to go to the counter to reserve seats before your activation date. At the ticket machine, you have to scan your JR Pass, so I'm not sure if it works before it's activated.
If I purchase my green car tickets online early through Japan NaviTime, can I come to these machines the day before my departure to select my seats? Really trying hard to see Mt. Fuji.
Do you mean the app Japan Travel by Navitime? I didn't think you can buy tickets through that, I just use it to check times. This video's about if you have a JR Pass, you can then reserve seats at the ticket machine. If you buy your shinkansen tickets on Smartex, for example, you can select your seat when book, as long as it's within a month of when you travel
@@cakeswithfaces I am unable to use the SmartEx app or website. It doesn't accept any of my American cards. Japan NaviTime has a website that I am booking through. From what I saw they select seats for you. Hopefully I'm lucky or hopefully I can change them at the station. But thanks for the input! Your channel is so helpful! I can keep you in the loop on how things turn out if you'd like?
@cakeswithfaces I was able to book tickets through their website (very similar to their app). They told me I need to go to the kiosk ahead of my departure time to get my physical tickets and at that time I can select seats.
@@jacobmontoya5384 Good to know you can select seats when you're there. I heard that some third party websites, like Klook, don't let you select seats, which can be a problem if you need the seat with space for luggage.
If you want to be able to make reservations online, you can buy it directly from www.japanrailpass.net/en/ (This costs slightly more - until October when the price goes up, then the pricing will be the same everywhere). Otherwise, you're right, there are so many overseas agents! Previously I've always bought mine from japan-rail-pass.co.uk, although now they're owned by Japan Experience, so I can't say if they offer the same service now as previously.
I'd still get one if it worked out a better deal than buying tickets individually - but I'd work it out first and compare the cost of separate tickets and regional passes.
@@cakeswithfaces it doesn't look like it'll be cheaper for me especially with the higher prices. Is the JR pass cheaper for anyone with the new higher prices?
@@CandiPinki Really it depends on your plans. You'd have to be travelling much more extensively or longer distances for it to be worth it. The current rule definitely won't apply any more (where if you're doing the popular Golden Route between Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto, it's worth getting the pass).
@@cakeswithfaces Aha - got you! I just under 2 weeks back from my amazing trip, those escalators near the Shibuya ticket office - was on those daily as we were in the Excel hotel in the building behind - Shibuya Stream!!
@@cakeswithfaces Lovely, they were really nice and kind, had slightly bigger rooms than typical Japanese room - so we did not mind paying that wee bit extra. The location suited us as that part of Shibuya is our base area (who "know" it now lol) and yes was great. This time we did 2 days in Osaka and went to JSJ, then came back to this hotel for rest oh holiday. Think will skip Japan in 2024 and go back 2025 - want to do the Osaka Worlds Fair / Expo that year
Only if the Length + Width + Height of your suitcase is more than 160cm. If so, you have to reserve the seats at the end of the carriage with the luggage space, or there's a fine. However, that's similar to the size limit for checked baggage for many airlines, so if you checked your luggage in, there's a good chance it'll be within the size limits. You can still use the luggage space anyway if you want to - but you have to reserve the seats at the end if you want to use it. There's a full explanation, and a look at the the luggage space, in this video: ua-cam.com/video/3_NCLOdzU_k/v-deo.html
You are a excellent concierge for foreign tourists visiting Japan. 🤗
Haha, I try my best! :-)
Great videos! This is exactly what i was looking for!
Thanks so much, hope it helps! I remember how many questions I had when I first went to Japan!
THANKYOU. I was really concerned about this aspect of travelling japan, especially the need to reserve suitcase seats. this video is clear and concise which I really appreciate
Thanks so much! I always try and answer all the questions I had before I first went to Japan! :-)
This together with all your other videos are going to make our first trip to Japan later in the year so helpful. I’m very savvy when it comes to booking and planning trips around the world but the Japan one has got my head spinning. I’ve compiled my own personal booklet due to the amount we need to know. I’ve got lots of your videos saved and I want to thank you for such clear concise advice and information on all of them…especially the trains! I’ve never seen such a complicated train map or process and this video is brilliant!! So once again thank you x
That's great to hear, thank you! I always try and include everything I wanted to know on my first trip to Japan - because I remember how many confusing things there were. The train map looks complex but it's really not that bad - the stations are huge but just keep following the signs and you'll be ok!
@@cakeswithfaces Thank you. That’s great to hear x
Awesome job Amy see you in two weeks.
Enjoy the video!
No problem
I am so looking forward to your next videos from your last trip to Japan! Cannot wait for more content 🎉❤
Thanks so much! I'm excited to edit them all - the next one's on Thursday! :-)
Very well explained Amy. As you said, there are various types of ticket machines you can use to reserve seats and in different parts of Japan the machines are different colours! They are normally bright colours such as orange, light blue, light green, etc. but the simple thing to look for is the bottom line on the screen says "JAPAN RAIL PASS" - if it says that then you can use it to reserve a seat.
Back in October the machines actually asked if you were travelling with large luggage and you pressed a button for yes or no - that then gave you seats at the front or rear of a car. Only some of the machines have the passport scanner - on those you can press a button to type in the passport number instead, so on those you can either scan or type the number in, whichever you prefer.
As you did, the only way to cancel or change a reservation is to go to any booking office (with the green seat logo). Knowing the Japanese phrase helps, but if you show them the ticket(s) and say "change" or "cancel" they generally know what you want to do. Fully agree with showing them a screenshot if you are making a reservation at a ticket counter, this always worked for me in the past even though the screenshot was in English - "Japan Travel by Navitime" is currently the best app to use.
There used to be heaps of stations (both JR and other companies) with those stamps, but the number of them has decreased over time. Occasionally they will have a "stamp rally" (they have posters advertising them at stations, only in Japanese but Google Translate fixes that) where they have special stamps at specific stations and if you get a certain number of the stamps you get a small prize. There was one while I was visiting about 5 years ago and I collected a few stamps and got 2 postcards as a prize!
All good tips! There was a train stamp rally in Tokyo recently, I think it was a collab with Plarail, the toy train brand. It was really fun collecting stamps!
Thank you for the video Amy, I was able to reserve a seat on the Shinkansen just a few moments ago using the ticket machine.
Excellent! Enjoy your shinkansen trip!
With Tokyo (and Japan) always changing it is great to see an updated vid of this subject.
Thanks! I think this is a relatively new process; a few years ago you couldn't use the ticket machines with a JR pass.
Such a great video, thank you for all your help explaining this part!
Hope it's helpful! ☺️
This video is so informative in a simple to follow way! One of the easiest JR pass guides I've seen, thank you!!
Thank you!! So glad you found it helpful!
This is such a helpful video thank you. Booking the trains seems quite overwhelming so I’ll definitely bookmark this!
Thank you!! It's not too bad once you know what to expect! (Just don't press cancel or you could end up typing in your passport number many times...!) 😝
Great video as always. I could have used this when I was in Japan last week. I reserved tickets at the JR office using my JR Pass but was reserved on ordinary seats instead of green seats. I didn't realise this until I got to the platform on my first trip. Best to check your tickets before you leave the ticket office. This happened on two occasions. Had a great time in Japan and your videos and book was so helpful. Now looking forward to next years trip 😊
Oh no!! Hope you got to enjoy the Green Car on other trips! It's so comfortable!!
I bought our JR passes through JR mainly because I wanted to reserve seats on one of the Joyful Trains, specifically the Resort Shirakami, but it was not available on the main JR reservation website. I feel better now about spending the extra money. I reserved all our other seats online so the agent just printed them all out when we picked our JR passes. It looks like it would have taken quite a while to reserve them all at a machine whereas it was exciting doing it before our trip.
It must have been a lot easier to make all the reservations at home! Did you manage to get on any Joyful Trains in the end?
@@cakeswithfaces Yes! When we picked up our JR pass the staff booked the Resort Shirakami for us. It was lovely and we were able to get off along the way to visit a "quasi-national" park with really beautiful ponds and then get on a later Resort Shirakami.
@@Nemuimori That sounds wonderful! You never know how busy the Joyful Trains are going to be, so I'm so glad you could get a reservation and the staff were so helpful!
This is such a useful video.
Thanks so much! I thought it'd help to see all the steps of the process. :-)
It’s a video like this that will help a nervous first time visitor to Japan have confidence to really give self travel a go.
@@pervykiwi I hope so! It's the same with my book - I try and include everything I wanted to know when I first went to Japan! 🙂
Hi Amy, thank you for the excellent video, which is a great help for JR Pass holders. These ticket machines can be mind-boggling or nerve-wracking, especially when you see people queuing behind you, even for Japanese speakers! Although you can also make seat reservations on-line if you buy JR Pass on-line, it is slightly more expensive than the one you buy from your local travel agents, and last time I used it, it seemed to focus on Shinkansen seat reservations only. So these ticket machines are still your buddy to talk to when you get around.
One thing good to remember is that not every Shinkansen has got non-reserved carriages you can hop into (for example, on Hayabusa and Komachi for Tohoku and Aita regions, Kagayaki for Hokuriku region, all carriages are reserved seats only, so you cannot just hop onto these without making a seat reservation).
Yes, there are a few shinkansen that are reservation only. I always prefer making reservations anyway, just in case it's busy and I can't get the train I want to.
I know what you mean about feeling the pressure at the machine if there's a queue behind you! Luckily there are quiet times sometimes when you can take your time! :-)
I'd like to add some information to this excellent video:
Please note that the area behind the last seat in the train car is for "oversized luggage" (see floor sticker at 9:03 in this vid), which seem to be for luggage with a combined with+depth+height of 160 and 250 cm.
If you have a smaller bag (like my Samsonite 102L/75cm which have a combined mesurement of 158cm), it's more considerate to other travellers to instead use overhead storage or place them in front of your seat, whichever works best for you.
Yes, you're right, while anyone can reserve it, it would be more considerate to leave it for those who need it most.
My large yellow suitcase is a similar size to yours - just under the 160cm limit. It's the max size for any airline I've flown with, so if your luggage is a size that you can check into an airline, in most cases it wouldn't count as oversized luggage on the shinkansen.
excellent video! i only used the ticket machines for a 3 week vacation and it was relatively easy. only part that was hard was finding the correct shinkansen platform!!
Hope you had a great time! Was it knowing which platform you needed, or locating how to get to it that was tricky?
My holiday is in three weeks so I'm catching up on all your helpful videos, feeling a lot more prepared and less anxious now
Glad to hear it! I remember when I first went to Japan, I was excited but also nervous!
super helpful video, came across while googling how to best reserve and plan my trip next month. thank you very much!
Thanks so much! Have a wonderful time in Japan! :-)
Awesome. Thank you 😁👍
Have a great time in Japan!
Thank you very much. Your videos are invaluable!
Thanks so much! 🙏
Just ordered your guide today. I really enjoy your videos.
Thanks so much! It'll be on the way to you in the post today!
🤩🤩🤩
Before I finish the book, I wanted to tell you how much I'm loving it. It's just full of everything I was hoping for. Excellently printed, I am loving the layout, the paper, and the choice of the pictures. Embellished by your drawings, it was so appreciated that I soon protected it with a cover. I hope to make this trip as soon as possible following your advices, maybe taking it with me in my backpack. Thanks thanks thanks.
@@riccardoantonelli1977 Thanks so much, I'm really happy you like it - that means a lot! If you take it to Japan you'll have to send me a pic with it there!
I’m visiting in February. This was very helpful
Have an amazing time!
I am also going back to Japan at the beginning of November.
I was last in 2019 before the virus.
The time has finally come for the next trip to Japan.
At last!! Hopefully it'll be worth the wait!
@@cakeswithfaces I hope... :)
Looking forward to the next one!
There's LOTS more to come! :-)
Love your videos! So helpful!
Thanks so much! I try & include everything as I remember how many questions I had when I first went to Japan!
super helpful! thank you!
Thanks! Glad you found it useful!
Thanka as always, it was so helpful and clear! Been stressing about reserving seats especially since we'll travel on the shinkansen train on the day after we arrive. This definitely helped my worries go away. Do you know if it's possible to book seats online before activating the JR pass?
You can only book seats online if you buy your pass from japanrailpass.net
I haven't tried it that way myself so I'm not 100% sure, but I believe you'd be able to book before you travel, and before you activate your pass.
@@cakeswithfaces Thank you, would be nice if it did at least. Will try it on our layover 🙂
@@AirWhiteRose It looks like you can book them as soon as you've purchased your pass, once the date of the train trip is within 1 month: www.japanrailpass-reservation.net/HowTo
@@cakeswithfaces Wow, that is great to hear. Also thank you for taking your time answering!
Thank you for going through everything so calmly & clearly, that is really useful!
I was just wondering though if buying tickets without a JR pass could be done at such a machine as well? JR pass likely won't make sense for me to get when I go to Japan so I'll have to buy shinkansen tickets separately.
Yes, I believe you can! I haven't tried it myself but here's the process - it looks very similar to reserving a seat (but you have to pay at the end!) japantravel.navitime.com/en/area/jp/guide/NTJhowto0119-en/
@@cakeswithfaces awesome, thank you so much for the reply! 💕
Useful tip!!!
Hope it's useful! :-)
just what i needed to know :-)
That's great to hear, glad I could show you the process!
Exactly what I was searching for! Great video! Thank you! :D
Was there an option to select the type of train as I think JR Pass cannot go on the fastest bullet train?
Yes, when you select the time/train you want, you can tell which service it is by the name of the train, eg Nozomi, Hikari, Sakura, etc. You're right, currently the JR Pass isn't valid for some of the very fastest trains eg Nozomi. But when the prices go up in October, there'll be the option to pay an extra supplement if you want to book the Nozomi.
Oh that's very helpful information, thank you so much. We will be going after the price changes and will likely want to upgrade to the direct trains for the long journey from Fukuoka Hakata to Tokyo! :)@@cakeswithfaces
I love how you have Sharla's stamp book
Just a small thank you for all her videos! And it was so much fun collecting stamps - they make a great souvenir. 🥰
Great overview of the ticket machines! Some of the quirks you pointed out are good to know ahead of time for sure. Like having no backspace while typing and the limited keyword for the station search. They should definitely have Shin-Kobe show up when you type in Kobe or Shin-Osaka with Osaka. That’s like typing Godzilla on Netflix and not having Shin-Godzilla show up on the list 😂.
Yes, absolutely! Not all systems are as user-friendly as you'd hope! 😅😅
Thanks!
Thanks so much, that's much appreciated! 🤗 Hope you enjoyed the video!
Hi great video regarding JR Pass! Following you for a while now. Not related but can you tell me which is best UK plug adapter for Japan please? 😀
Thank you! Japanese plugs have two flat pins, the same as the USA. I don't know if it's the best but I have a universal plug adapter from Tessan that you can adapt for all countries. It has USB sockets which is really useful.
I also have several really old worldwide adapters as there's always so much to charge with the cameras, pocket wifi & our phones, iPad, etc!
New to your Channel! Thank you so much! super helpful for my trip coming up. Especially with the full walkthrough. Subscribed~
Can you tell us how to find the train Number?
If you use an app like Japan Travel by Navitime to search for your route, in the results it has the train name and number - very useful so you can identify it easily at the station, and when you're reserving seats.
Most of the "Shin" stations are near places rather than in the centre which makes them like the Parkway stations in the UK
Yes, "shin" means "new", so they're new stations built for the shinkansen line in convenient locations for the line.
I'm hoping to go to Japan late next year so I need to save the video to study.
Hope it comes in useful!
@@cakeswithfaces thanks. Think you can make a video about taking local flights?
@@hudsonball4702 I tend to take the shinkansen rather than flying, but I did one time take a flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka, immediately when I arrived in Japan (the whole trip was booked together). It was pretty similar to taking any other flight really! :-) Just a smaller plane!
@@cakeswithfaces Well I do plan on Taking the Shinkansen for a bit then local/regional flights. Shinkansen -> Tokyo -> Fujinomyia. Then Fujinomyia -> Kyoto.
From there I plan to take a flight from Kyoto -> Sapporo. And then another flight from Sapporo -> back to Tokyo.
If i try to take the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Sapporo, the trip would take over 8 hours. But a flight would take only 1/12 hours and cost just as much as a Shinkansen ticket. Same for flying from Sapporo to Tokyo.
Where did you get the stamp book? My kids would enjoy.
It's from Neko Neko Post (run by Sharla in Japan & her friend Ushka) www.nekonekopost.com/shop/product/4724788271
Friends and I gonna exchange our basic 7 day JR passes during a Wednesday in Sept trip so hopefully won't be too busy so we can get them to do it at the counter plus book the tickets hopefully so it'll be less headachey to do it with a person there we can walk through the times (we researched and catalogued already what times we wanna get) we wanna get shinkansen for (to get to other cities then back). Cause we gonna need 4 tickets it's gonna be less hassle to do through a person rather then fiddling with the machine for a good 10+ minutes having to repeat stuff haha
edit: i mean 4 cities worth of tickets (to kyoto, to okayama, to osaka, back to tokyo) and 3 of us travelling. so yeahhhhhh lol
Yes that would be a lot of passport numbers to type in! Good idea to go on a weekday, avoid rush hour and it should be all good! Have a wonderful trip! 🎶
@@cakeswithfaces Thankies.
Yeah one of our friends who hasn't ever flown internationally, this is his first time going out of Australia, wanted to just do a shorter version of the trip (less tokyo days and not going to kansai) so we were gonna chill in akiba (cause we staying in there for good price) for a bit longer due to his flight being around like 5:30pm meaning he won't need to leave from Akihabara station. Then ideally we see him off at station where he goes to airport while we go to Ikebukuro due to our American friend having gotten in 3 days earlier (sister's bday so he goes to that first then comes to Japan straight after) so we worked out we can get Ikebukuro for his first time on that Wed and get all 3 of us JR pass sorted and seats, hopefully won't be too busy mid afternoon as I figured people would have likely come earlier in the day to sort ticket stuff ^_^
@@HProtagVtuber Sounds like a good plan! There's so much good stuff in Ikebukuro now, you'll love it there.
Thank you so much for this Amy! Really helpful for our trip in September 😀 We're planning on getting the JR Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass to go from Hiroshima to Osaka, but we're not sure if we can do that, or if you're only allowed to use the pass if your starting point is in Osaka 🤔 We're also unsure if we can pick up our pass in Hiroshima, or again if it has to be in Osaka. Would you happen to have any advice?
Sounds like a great plan! Make sure you go Miyajika, it's really beautiful! 😍 Yes you can use the pass for that - you can travel freely as much as you want in the area covered by the pass, with any starting point you like. Here are the official details about where & how to purchase it: www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai_hiroshima/
@@cakeswithfaces Miyajima is defo on our list when we're in Hiroshima, we can't wait! 🤩 Amazing, thank you so much for confirming Amy!! That's the link I've been using too 👍
Although "kono yoyaku shimashita - kyanseru kudasai?" will get the message across, the proper form is "kono yoyaku o kyanseru shitekudasai"
Thank you! My Japanese is at a level where I can make myself understood and get by, but it's not always perfectly correct, or the right grammar.
If you are booking seats for a journey where you have to change trains - e.g. going from Hakata to Nagasaki on the new Shinkansen line where you have to change trains at Takeo-Onsen - you can do it as one reservation. You select the start station for your journey and the final destination station and it will show you the various options and you pick the one you want. It will print out 1 seat reservation ticket for each person for each train.
Yes, that's very helpful!
Another great video. I am learning a lot. I will be buying our JR Pass soon. I was wondering if it is better to pay the little extra and buy my pass from the official JR site so that I can reserve seats online. I guess it would save the hassle of using the machines. I imaging it would simply be a matter of pressing a ' collect ticket ' button. Will they post the exchange voucher to me here in the UK? Hopefully your book will arrive today😊. Update. I have the book.
Glad your book arrived safely - hope you enjoy it!
If you buy the pass directly from japanrailpass.net, you receive an email that you can then show in Japan to collect your pass.
If you buy it from any other site (which are all agents), the exchange order is posted to you, which you then exchange for the actual pass in Japan. So it's not too different, but it takes a little longer as you have to wait for the exchange order to arrive in the post.
Really it's up to your preference - being able to book seats online is a good benefit (you could also book them on your phone when you're in Japan), but you still need to pick up the reservation cards, either at the machine or at the counter. However if you're on a budget and prefer to save money, it's slightly cheaper to buy from an agent.
After the price increase in October, it'll cost the same wherever you buy it from.
@cakeswithfaces I was aware of the price hike in October, hence going in September. We have booked 6 nights accommodation in Kobe, right next to the station and 4 nights in Shinagawa also next to the station. We can explore the regions from both places. Our flight arrives in Hsneda Airport at 17:00 hrs and we intend to head straight to Kobe, leaving Tokyo until last.
@@railvlogger1439 Great plan! I really enjoyed Kobe - the ropeway and hike back down to Nunobiki Waterfall is fantastic!
Sorry to bother you again. One quick question. Do you need to make seat reservations for short journeys? Example from Kobe to Osaka, Kyoto etc. We will have a green JR Pass. I assume we can also use ordinary class for short trips. Thanks in advance.
@@railvlogger1439 If you want to sit in the green car, you have to make a reservation. But yes, with a green car pass you're welcome to sit in the standard car if you want to, and jump onto the unreserved car.
In fact I did that exact journey from Osaka to Kobe! I wanted to make the most of the green pass and sit in the green car as much as possible, so I just made a reservation at the machine when I got to the station and got straight on the train, and the same for the way back. The green car's usually much less busy than the standard car.
Something to be aware of is not all overhead luggage racks are big enough for the standard size luggage. We came unstuck with this when we got a Kodama Shinkansen and suddenly found the bags wouldn't fit!
Oh no, good tip! Hope you managed to fit them by your knees ok.
Cakes - Day 12 of our Japan trip and your book/videos have saved us numerous times.
One question - we picked up the 14 day Shinkansen pass, but every time we leave the station, our Suica Cards get errors. Is there a process in which we need to scan the Suica card so it doesn’t need tk be reset each time I use the Shinkansen?
So glad you're having a great time!
When you use your JR Pass for a trip, you don't need to use your Suica card. Suica is really for local trains and the metro. The shinkansen's in a separate part of the station. When you take a train, then transfer to the shinkansen, you'll scan out of the regular part of the station at the ticket gates, then go through shinkansen ticket gates to enter the shinkansen section. You don't need to scan your Suica when you're entering/exiting the shinkansen section, just your JR Pass.
Something that happened to me in Japan last month when trying to buy my shinkansen tickets were that I would make it alll the way to the end and try to pay with my mastercard and i would get an error. I did it twice to see if it was user error but I still got the error. When i went to the ticket desk, wasn’t too bad of a line since it was just me but when we did the transaction, i used that same card and it went through perfectly fine! I couldn’t figure out why the ticket screen didn’t work for me and the lady did her best to explain in English but I still wasn’t sure what happened. So I guess I’m sharing this story to say you still might need to go to the desk anyway 😅 but maybe when I go back to Japan I’ll be able to use the ticket machine!
Oh no, that must have been a pain to put in all your details & go through the whole process again. 😅
OMG wait you can reserve tickets online?? We were told we could not!! Is there any way you can make a video showing us how to do that? Thank you!
It's a new system that came in during the pandemic! 😊 But you can only reserve seats online if you buy your pass from japanrailpass.net (at the moment it costs slightly more, but after the prices go up in October it'll be the same price everywhere).
There's a step by step guide here: www.japanrailpass-reservation.net/HowTo
Thank you! Where do you get the stamp notebook?
It's from Neko Neko Post (run by Sharla in Japan & her friend Ushka): www.nekonekopost.com/shop/product/4724788271 It was so much fun collecting stamps!
Did anyone else notice that once you have selected a train, there is an option to change it (see 12:37)? Would it not be easier to use the change option rather than cancel the process?
Yes that would be easier! I think in the moment, (beig jetlagged and half-concentrating on filming too!) we just didn't think to use that option. I thought cancel would just cancel that step, but it cancels the whole process.
Sorry 1 more thing, Where did you get the cute stamp book? My partner and I would definitely like to go around stamp collecting.
It's from Neko Neko Post, which is run by Sharla in Japan & her friend Ushka: www.nekonekopost.com/shop/product/4724788271 I'd definitely recommend stamp collecting, it's so much fun!
Thanks for the video! Do you know how far in advance you can reserve seats? I've read different things (some say 3 days, others say a month)
I believe it's 1 month in advance.
Great video
How does it work when you say come from a JR station like shibuya
You get the Yamanote line with a suica? And then how do you tap out to get the Shinkansen
With the old paper onE you didn’t have that problem?
Thanks
Kev
When you exit the Yamanote line, you'd go through ticket gates to get out of that section of the station. Then you'd go through some other ticket gates to get into the shinkansen section of the station. So you'd tap out at the Yamanote exit, then use your JR Pass to get into the shinkansen section.
The new JR Pass works just the same as the old paper one, you just put it through the machine at the gate instead of showing it to the attendant. Hope that makes sense!
@@cakeswithfaces
That’s great
I can’t remember but at Tokyo station you get off the Yamanote line but don’t exit a gate until you leave the station but I could be wrong, it’s been a while!
Thanks Amy!
Great video. Thank you. Can you use the same reserved ticket machine for travel on non-shinkensen trains or do they have separate machines?
You can use it for non-shinkansen too! (Provided they're run by Japan Railways). I've booked them at the machine before and it's the same process.
@@cakeswithfaces thanks so much. We are going back in November and prior trips you couldn't use the machines.
Thank you so much for the useful video. One question, why would it be important to know the train number?
If you know the train number, it's easier to identify your train on the signs at the station and on the seat reservation machine, and you know you've got that exact right one. The train number is printed on your reservation card, and it's on all the signs. It's not essential to know it, I just find it quicker than checking all the times/destinations on the sign. The different types of shinkansen are also colour-coded on signs, which makes it quicker to find yours.
Great video, can you please let me know if you are able to reserve seats for a return journey at the same time as reserving seats for an outbound journey or do you have to reserve seats from the destination station for the return journey when you get there or on the day you need to return, many thanks
You can book any journey from any station, even for another day, so you can book them all at the start of your trip if you want to. ☺️
Thanks for the video. If I have a 14-days Ordinary Seat JR Pass that I'd like to upgrade to Gran Class that'll take me from Tokyo to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, can I do that at the green ticket machine?
Gran Class looks amazing - I'd love to try it one day! I'm not sure if you can get the Gran Class surcharge ticket at the ticket machine; if not you'd definitely be able to get it at the counter.
It looks like you may be able to purchase the surcharge ticket online before you go. With JR East you can make reservations online 1 month before you travel: www.eki-net.com/en/jreast-train-reservation/Top/Index
Thanks a lot! I have one more question. Can I cancel my reservation by the green ticket-vending machine and how. Because sometimes my plan may change.
I think you need to go to the counter to cancel reservations. I did that once - I tried to just book a different seat reservation but the machine wouldn't let me, but they sorted it at the counter, no problems!
Great video very informative. A query, I bought JR East Tohoku Pass online and received a eticket passenger exchange voucher, can I use it to reserved seat and oversized luggage now?
For most passes, you wouldn't be able to unless you bought it from japan-rail-pass.net - but JR East has a different system, so yes - you can! I've used it before, so you can reserve your seats before you travel to Japan: www.jreast.co.jp/e/ticket/reservation.html
Great thank you. As always enjoyed your videos.
I am thinking of paying the extra money to buy it direct from JR just to be able to reserve online. I am trying to keep things as simple as possible.
It's the easier way if you want to get your reservations sorted in advance!
Will you still be buying a JR Rail Pass after the price increase in Oct?
The price increase wouldn't stop me buying it if it's the best option for the trip. However, I'd look at regional rail passes, and compare the cost of purchasing tickets individually, as for many routes that may now work out a better option. I'd still take the train than domestic flights because it's better for the environment (obviously the long distance flight to Japan isn't eco-friendly, but in that case it's the only choice!). I'd also plan the itinerary carefully to fit the long distance travel into 7 days if I was going for a full JR Pass.
I hope the price increase wont stop people exploring Japan beyond Tokyo.
Thank You so much for this video! I learned a lot! Concerning about the Japan Rail Pass, one of my friend here in the US was trying to purchase directly to Japan Rail Pass to buy a JR Pass for her and her family. For unknown reason it keeps rejecting her credit card payments (she tried two different cards both Visa and MC) the small screen is saying that it does not recognized either cards. When they arrived in Tokyo and went to a the Ueno JR ticket office the next morning to purchase the JR Wide pass they were informed that they do not accept credit card as payment only cash. I researched about this situation and found out that major card cards are now utilizing a security code called "3D credit card security". Major card companies announced about the new security code to all vendors both locally and internationally about these changes. According to the article that so many countries including Japan have not updated their system at all. Does anyone travelling to Japan right now are experiencing this problem? What about you? Any problems at all using your foreign credit card in Japan. Hopefully someone will respond and have an answer. Thanks!
That's useful info. Thankfully I've not had any problems using my UK credit cards in Japan.
It's another reason to take cash with you - to make sure you have some money just in case of emergency!
I wish the tickets would tell you which platform but then I realized Google maps tells you 😂
Haha yes Google tells you everything you need!
QUESTION…. I bought tickets through smartEX for the bullet train. Do I need to pick up tickets at the machine when I get there? And I bought them from Kyoto to Tokyo, however now I need to get off at Shinagawa instead. Do I need to do anything to change that? I’m assuming we can just get off early, no big deal?
I've not used smartEX myself, but it looks like you can pick them up from a ticket machine with the smartEX logo, or from a ticket counter. You can pick them up within 7 days of your train trip: smart-ex.jp/en/entraining/ticket/place/
It looks there are also options to designate them to your IC card if you have one (eg Suica or Pasmo), or if you got a QR code when you booked, you can scan that at the ticket gates: smart-ex.jp/en/reservation/reserve_smart/sp/
I believe you can get off early; Shinagawa and Tokyo are the same price with shinkansen tickets so it should be no problem!
Oh boy…..I hope we’re not going to have an issue. I’m leaving next Friday for my trip and I booked the tickets for the 15th.
@@Lfischer5481 It should be fine then - if you arrive next Friday or Saturday, that's within 7 days of the 15th so you'll be able to pick them up any time after you arrive. :-)
@@cakeswithfaces thank you for your insight. It’s greatly appreciated. 😊
Would JRPASS QR code on phone be able to be scanned by ticketing machine? I don't plan on losing the pass but was hoping to copy it to my phone as a back up!
You have to put it through a slot on the ticket gates, so you do need the actual pass. I was stressed about losing it too, as it says they won't replace lost or damaged passes, even if it's stolen! So you just need to be extra careful - we treated them like credit cards and put them away immediately after use.
Hi what would you recommend for someone travelling from Tokyo to osaka and returning after 9 days?
Do you mean which train ticket is best? If so, will it be this year or next year?
Where do you get the stamp book? Where are stamps typically found beside the ones at the station
The stamp book's from Neko Neko Post (run by Sharla in Japan & her friend Ushka): www.nekonekopost.com/shop/product/4724788271
There are stamps at tourist attractions too - it was so much fun collecting them and always exciting when I spotted one! 🎶
Do we know yet if you can use the JR Pass if you purchase it before the price increase in October but want to use after October?
They haven't confirmed it (not too many details are announced yet about the price increase), but my thought is that it should be possible. What you're buying is a voucher to exchange for the actual pass, so if you buy it before the price goes up, it seems like it should still be valid. From some agents you can purchase it 3 months in advance, so if I was going after October, I'd buy it as early as possible.
Can you reserve your seats before you activate your JR pass? I am getting a 5-day Kansai-Hiroshima Region JR pass for my trip but won’t be activating it until the end of my trip, but I was hoping to reserve my Shinkansen seats before or at the start of my trip.
I've not used a regional pass from JR West, but with JR East it was possible to reserve seats online before activating the pass.
It says here that you can reserve them online, so it may be possible: www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/all/#:~:text=Seat%20reservations%20are%20also%20available%20online%20for%20passes%20reserved%20via%20JR%2DWEST%20ONLINE%20TRAIN%20RESERVATION.
Otherwise, just make your seat reservations when you arrive in Japan, on the first day of your trip. I've done that many times and it's been fine! :-)
if you are not using a JR pass can you pay for the shinkansen tickets with an IC card at the machine or only cash?
I haven't tried it myself, but the shinkansen ticket machine does accept credit/debit cards: www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/ticket/purchase.html#:~:text=Credit%20cards%20can%20also%20be%20used.
Most ticket machines (ie where you top up your Suica card or buy local tickets) don't accept cards though! It makes sense that they'd accept them for shinkansen tickets as they're more expensive.
Can you recommend reserving seats to and from airports at the same time if you have all the info at the same time?
If you know when you'll be travelling you can make all your reservations at the same time.
However from Haneda Airport they even take seat reservations (it's always been fine and not too crowded), and for the N'Ex from Narita I've always been fine reserving seats when I buy the ticket, when I've arrived at the airport.
@@cakeswithfaces as helpful as always!
Is there an app u can use to check train times like we have in the uk ?
Japan Travel by Navitime is best as it has a JR Pass filter. It even tells you which platform you need! Otherwise you can just search on Google "xx Station to xx Station" ( but you can't filter by JR Pass).
Hi,
We just arrived in Japan, was wondering do you know all the locations for all the JR pass reservation seats? I went to Shin-Imamiya and Dobutsen and they did not have th machine set up. :((
Do you mean the seats with extra space for luggage? They're usually the row at the end of the carriage.
Can you buy tickets online and reserve in advance without the JR Pass? I don’t think the JR pass would be worth it for me as I am going to Osaka and Tokyo only.
Yes, you can book tickets via SmartEX (which is run by Japan Railways). I haven't used it myself but someone else here in the comments mentioned they had: smart-ex.jp/en/index.php
@@cakeswithfaces thank you for the help much appreciated
We aren't getting japan rail passes for our trip this year as the price difference is more than our train journeys are going to be. I'm confused about how the limited express train tickets work. We are doing almost the same journey you booked in this video ( kyoto to kinosaki onsen ) so do I have to book a separate ticket to travel on limited express trains instead of just tapping the Suica? and do I put that separate ticket in first before tapping the Suica or does the ticket completely cover it and I don't have to tap the Suica at all? I don't know why I'm so confused about this xD
I didn't use my Suica for that journey. I was using my JR Pass so I just made a seat reservation.
If you don't have a JR Pass, you can buy a ticket from the ticket machine or ticket desk, and use that at the ticket gates.
You can use Suica for limited express trains, but you still have to buy a ticket for the extra limited express fee. So I think it's less confusing to just buy the whole ticket separately.
Suica is really for local trains and metro, not long distance trains.
If you're not getting a JR Pass, it might be worth checking the regional train passes. I think one of them includes Kinosaki & Kyoto, so it's possible it might save you money
@@cakeswithfaces thank you! yes that’s a whole lot less confusing I didn’t realise you could buy the whole ticket separately I think that’s why I was getting so confused 🤣🤣 I think because a lot of people got the JR pass previously before the price increase that there’s not a whole lot of information about just buying regular tickets and how the limited express trains work. Thank you for your help 💕 I’ll definitely have a look at some regional passes
@@queenpaigemj5785 Yes that's very true - now we actually have to think about buying tickets for the first time!! 😅
Is this the same method for Limited Express trains?
Yes, I've booked limited express trains at the machine with exactly the same process. :-)
Just in case we've reserved a seat from Tokyo to Hakodate, then somehow we missed the train, can we reserve the next train on schedule? I mean will the system allows use to do that? Because practically we're using one pass to reserve two seats...
You'd need to go to the counter and tell them what happened so they can cancel the first reservation. I made a reservation once, then decided I wanted to go at a different time. When I tried to make another reservation for the same trip on the same day, it wouldn't let me. I had to go to the counter and they changed it for me, so I'm guessing a similar thing would happen if you missed a reservation.
I am not getting the JR pass cause its not cost effective! Do you think i still need to buy bullet train tickets before I arrive in japan? Thanks :)
Unless you're travelling around a LOT, the JR Pass often isn't worth it like it used to be - although the regional passes can still be good, depending on your plans.
You'll probably be fine buying tickets at the start of your trip, because trains are very frequent on the popular routes. However if you're going at a busy time like cherry blossom season or Golden Week, I'd consider buying them in advance, especially if you want the seats with extra space for luggage. Also if you want to go on any of the special, luxury/novelty trains - you need to book them the minute tickets go on sale.
There are also discounts on SmartEX for buying tickets in advance, if you know when you'll be travelling - I'll be covering them in a video this month!
@@cakeswithfaces thank you so much :)
What are the stamps and the stamp book?
Around Japan there are souvenir stamps that you can collect for free! They're at stations and tourist attractions. This is the first time I've collected them, and it was really fun! You can use any book you want (sometimes paper is provided). I bought this book from Neko Neko Post (run by Sharla in Japan & her friend Ushka), which was a lot better than stamping them on scraps of paper like I have done before! www.nekonekopost.com/shop/product/4724788271
Is it possible to upgrade to green car with ordinary JR Pass on the ticket machine or online when booking seats? Im looking to upgrade all my seats for the JR Pass to the green car. Thank you!
It says here that it's possible - you'll have to pay the Green Car charge: japanrailpass.net/en/use/conditions-for-use/#:~:text=If%20you%20ride%20in%20a%20Green%20Car%20using%20an%20ordinary%20car%20pass%2C%20you%20will%20be%20required%20to%20pay%20the%20Green%20Car%20charge%2C%20as%20well%20as%20the%20limited%20or%20regular%20express%20service%20charge
I'm not sure if you can do that at the ticket machine - I'd give it a try and if it's not working, go to the counter and explain what you want.
@@cakeswithfaces thanks for the info however, i saw on another video that you cannot choose the green car with an ordinary tiket via the ticketing machine. Is this video correct? If so, do it have to go to the ticketing office to upgrade to the green car? Or is the video wrong and i can just upgrade my seat at the ticket machine? Sorry for the trouble.
@@csuryo I've never tried it myself - I've only ever booked Green Car seats with a Green Car pass, and standard seats with a standard pass. So they may well be correct that you can only book it at the counter. There's often a desk at the counter with an English speaker to help with JR Pass reservations, and they've always been very helpful when I've gone to the counter, so they'll certainly be able to help you.
Do you know if you can get tickets before your JR rail pass is active? So if I pick Thursday as the activation date, could I reserve tickets for Wednesday to use on Thursday?
You definitely can if you bought your pass directly from japanrailpass.net/en/ If you buy direct, you can reserve seats online before you go.
If you buy from anywhere else, I believe you can reserve seats once you've exchanged your JR Pass ie if you've swapped your exchange order for the actual pass. (The date you exchange your pass doesn't have to be date you activate it). You might need to go to the counter to reserve seats before your activation date. At the ticket machine, you have to scan your JR Pass, so I'm not sure if it works before it's activated.
@@cakeswithfaces Perfect. Thanks again! Going Saturday for the first time, so excited :)
@@rob2kewl So soon, how exciting! Have the best time!!
If I purchase my green car tickets online early through Japan NaviTime, can I come to these machines the day before my departure to select my seats? Really trying hard to see Mt. Fuji.
Do you mean the app Japan Travel by Navitime? I didn't think you can buy tickets through that, I just use it to check times.
This video's about if you have a JR Pass, you can then reserve seats at the ticket machine. If you buy your shinkansen tickets on Smartex, for example, you can select your seat when book, as long as it's within a month of when you travel
@@cakeswithfaces I am unable to use the SmartEx app or website. It doesn't accept any of my American cards. Japan NaviTime has a website that I am booking through. From what I saw they select seats for you. Hopefully I'm lucky or hopefully I can change them at the station. But thanks for the input! Your channel is so helpful! I can keep you in the loop on how things turn out if you'd like?
Did it work out booking through Navitime? I use their app for train times a lot but never booked through them.
@cakeswithfaces I was able to book tickets through their website (very similar to their app). They told me I need to go to the kiosk ahead of my departure time to get my physical tickets and at that time I can select seats.
@@jacobmontoya5384 Good to know you can select seats when you're there. I heard that some third party websites, like Klook, don't let you select seats, which can be a problem if you need the seat with space for luggage.
Wheres the best place to buy the pass in the UK? Theres so many :)
If you want to be able to make reservations online, you can buy it directly from www.japanrailpass.net/en/ (This costs slightly more - until October when the price goes up, then the pricing will be the same everywhere).
Otherwise, you're right, there are so many overseas agents! Previously I've always bought mine from japan-rail-pass.co.uk, although now they're owned by Japan Experience, so I can't say if they offer the same service now as previously.
@@cakeswithfaces thanks!
Let's say for example: I want 'shin osaka' return (that mean from Tokyo to Osaka and back on the next 2-3days)'. Is that possible?
Yes that's possible! You'd just reserve seats for the two trips
@@cakeswithfaces Done deal.
Is anyone planning on getting a JR pass after the price hike?
I'd still get one if it worked out a better deal than buying tickets individually - but I'd work it out first and compare the cost of separate tickets and regional passes.
@@cakeswithfaces it doesn't look like it'll be cheaper for me especially with the higher prices.
Is the JR pass cheaper for anyone with the new higher prices?
@@CandiPinki Really it depends on your plans. You'd have to be travelling much more extensively or longer distances for it to be worth it. The current rule definitely won't apply any more (where if you're doing the popular Golden Route between Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto, it's worth getting the pass).
You say choose between Shinkansen , bullet or normal train - I thought bullet and Shinkansen were one and the same thing 🤭
Yes, they are! Sometimes I say both in case people aren't familiar with the term shinkansen. ☺️
@@cakeswithfaces Aha - got you! I just under 2 weeks back from my amazing trip, those escalators near the Shibuya ticket office - was on those daily as we were in the Excel hotel in the building behind - Shibuya Stream!!
@@antonyjackson2324 Ah that hotel looks lovely, I saw it when I was booking mine (also an Excle hotel!). How was it?
@@cakeswithfaces Lovely, they were really nice and kind, had slightly bigger rooms than typical Japanese room - so we did not mind paying that wee bit extra. The location suited us as that part of Shibuya is our base area (who "know" it now lol) and yes was great. This time we did 2 days in Osaka and went to JSJ, then came back to this hotel for rest oh holiday. Think will skip Japan in 2024 and go back 2025 - want to do the Osaka Worlds Fair / Expo that year
@@antonyjackson2324 Sounds great! I think everyone has a base area of Tokyo that feels like home to stay in!
If you have luggage, you have to reserve them don’t you? I thought you would get fined if you didn’t…
Only if the Length + Width + Height of your suitcase is more than 160cm. If so, you have to reserve the seats at the end of the carriage with the luggage space, or there's a fine. However, that's similar to the size limit for checked baggage for many airlines, so if you checked your luggage in, there's a good chance it'll be within the size limits. You can still use the luggage space anyway if you want to - but you have to reserve the seats at the end if you want to use it. There's a full explanation, and a look at the the luggage space, in this video: ua-cam.com/video/3_NCLOdzU_k/v-deo.html
There's more reminder, if you want to reserve the bullet train go proceed to JR Train Office instead to avoid the 'interference from the stalker'.
A stalker?
@@cakeswithfaces Sometimes here in Toronto during #TTCViolence. But in Tokyo, has a same situation. I go directly to the JR Train Office easily.
The UI on that machine is really dog lol