How to Ride the Shinkansen: Tickets, Seats and Big Luggage

Short answer: between Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, take a Nozomi unless your rail pass says otherwise. Book a reserved seat (from home on the official smartEX service, or at a station machine), and if your suitcase measures more than 160 cm in total, you must reserve a seat with an oversized-baggage area. Tokyo to Kyoto takes a little over two hours on a Nozomi.

I work on Japan's railways, and most of the questions I get from visitors at the gates are about the same few things. Here they are, in the order you'll run into them.

Nozomi, Hikari or Kodama?

The Tokaido Shinkansen (Tokyo – Nagoya – Kyoto – Shin-Osaka) runs three types of train on the same tracks. The difference is how often they stop.

When does it matter? Mainly with the Japan Rail Pass: it doesn't cover the Nozomi unless you buy an extra ticket for it, so pass holders usually ride the Hikari. If you're buying normal tickets, just take the next Nozomi. They run very frequently. The fastest trains reach Shin-Osaka in about 2 hours 20 minutes. Not sure whether a pass is worth it for you? See Japan Rail Passes: which ones are actually worth it.

Reserved, non-reserved and Green cars

• Reserved cars are the majority. You get a specific car and seat number.
• Non-reserved cars are a small group of cars where you sit anywhere that's free. They are slightly cheaper, but you may have to stand at busy times.
• Green cars are first class (cars 8–10 on the Tokaido Shinkansen). You get wider seats and more legroom, and you need an extra Green ticket.

During the major holiday peaks, every seat on the Nozomi is reserved, so a non-reserved ticket only lets you stand. Hikari and Kodama keep their non-reserved cars at peak times, but those cars get very crowded. My advice: reserve, especially if you have luggage or are traveling as a group.

If you miss a reserved train, don't panic. You can normally ride in the non-reserved cars of a later train on the same day. Just ask staff at the gate.

How to buy your ticket

• smartEX (online, official). This is JR Central's own booking service for the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu shinkansen, with an app and website in English. You can book from your home country before your trip with your own credit card. Registration is free, and there's no annual fee. Seats can be booked well in advance, with early-booking discounts on some routes. Fares are charged in yen, so your card may add a foreign transaction fee.
• Ticket machines. Every JR Central ticket machine has an English menu, and many sell shinkansen tickets with seat reservations. Look for the machines marked for shinkansen or limited express tickets.
• Ticket offices. Go to the staffed JR ticket office if you have a rail pass, an unusual route, or questions. Bring your route, date, preferred time, number of people and seat type.

At stations, reserved seats go on sale at 10:00 one month before the travel date. The online reservation service opens much earlier, up to a year ahead.

Prefer to book in your own currency through a travel site? Klook sells shinkansen tickets for the two most common routes, from about US$85 (Tokyo–Kyoto) and US$88 (Tokyo–Osaka) at the time of writing: Tokyo to Kyoto shinkansen on Klook (affiliate link) and Tokyo to Osaka shinkansen on Klook (affiliate link). Check how the ticket is issued on the listing before you buy. If you're comfortable with smartEX or the ticket machine, buying directly from JR is just as easy.

Getting through the gates

A paper shinkansen ticket is really two tickets: a basic fare ticket (for the distance) and a limited express ticket (for the specific shinkansen train). They often come as two separate cards. Insert them together into the gate, then take them back on the other side. Keep them, because the conductor may check them and the gate at your destination collects them.

If you're changing from a local JR line at a station like Tokyo or Shinagawa, you'll pass through a transfer gate into the shinkansen area. Insert your local-line ticket and your shinkansen tickets together.

With smartEX, you don't need paper at all:

• QR ticket: hold the QR code from your booking over the reader on the shinkansen gate.
• IC card: register a supported IC card (such as Suica or ICOCA) to your smartEX account and tap it at the gate. The shinkansen fare is charged to your credit card, not the card's balance. New to IC cards? See our Suica, PASMO and ICOCA guide.
• You can also collect paper tickets from a station machine if you prefer.

Big luggage: the 160 cm rule

This is the rule that surprises visitors most. On the Tokaido, Sanyo, Kyushu and Nishi-Kyushu shinkansen, add up your bag's height, width and depth:

The oversized-baggage area is the space behind the last row of seats in certain cars, and the matching seat costs the same as a normal reserved seat. You can choose it in smartEX, at a ticket machine or at a ticket office. If you bring an oversized bag on board without that reservation, you'll be charged a ¥1,000 fee (at the time of writing, October 2026).

Honestly, the easiest fix is to travel light and send big suitcases ahead to your next hotel. Here's how it works: luggage forwarding in Japan.

Seats, food and platform tips

• Power outlets. On the newest N700S trains there's an outlet at every seat. On older trains, ordinary cars have them only at window seats and at the front and back rows.
• Buy food before boarding. The snack trolley stopped running on the Tokaido Shinkansen in October 2023. Only Green cars still offer seat-side ordering, through a phone QR code. Pick up an eki-ben (station lunch box) and a drink at the station before boarding. Eating on board is completely normal.
• Find your car number on the platform. Painted markers and overhead signs show where each car stops, and whether it's reserved or non-reserved. Stand at your car number and queue in line. Let people off first, and board promptly, because stops are brief.
• Quiet, please. Step out to the area between cars for phone calls. Recline your seat slowly and glance behind first. Every car is non-smoking.
• Free Wi-Fi. JR Central runs a free Wi-Fi service for shinkansen passengers.

A simple plan for Tokyo to Kyoto

1. Book a reserved Nozomi seat on smartEX. Add an oversized-baggage seat if your bag is over 160 cm.
2. On the day, arrive 20 minutes early, buy an eki-ben, and go through the shinkansen gate with your QR code, IC card or tickets.
3. Find your car number on the platform and line up.
4. Arrive in Kyoto about two hours later. For getting around once you're there, see getting around Kyoto and Osaka.

Flying in first? Our Narita and Haneda guides cover the trip into Tokyo, and this guide helps you stay online so the smartEX app works when you need it.