Shinkansen travel is fun. It’s expensive (unless you have a JR rail pass) but a great way to see the country and to get to your destination in a hurry. However, there are a few tips I’ve learned over the years that I would like to share with you.
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Pro Tip: Buy your shinkansen tickets early
If you are bouncing around locations a lot like I do, I highly recommend that you make an estimation of what time you are going to take at each location and get your liner or shinkansen tickets as soon as possible.
This is most important with travelling on weekends, but especially holiday weekends. It can also be a concern with weekdays due to people travelling long distances to get to work. I always thought this was weird but then I also know of people commuting EVERY DAY from West Virginia to DC to give you American’s reading perspective.
Or here in Japan, my coworkers that live in Saitama but work with me. Two+ hours on the train, each way, everyday. Granted, train travel is brilliant. Once you are onboard (assuming you are on a traveller, not a commuter).
Kristen Speak: Trains
You know how I always give mini Japanese lessons? Well, I also have my own language, which I tend to refer to as “Kristen Speak”.
What’s a traveler?
Has tray tables. Generally has a beverage cart. Sometimes I’ll joke that “I love traveller locals”, which means they are arranged for long distance, but don’t have the added benefits of a bathroom and beers on demand.
Commuter Train
Seats lining the bulkheads. Room for lots of people. I feel like a lot of countries get this wrong. For instance, the metro in DC is very inefficient layout. So are the city trains I saw in Europe, especially Munich.
Seat Classes
There are generally three classes of seats on the shinkansen. Unless you are on a few of the “fancier” ones and there are UBER first-class seats but I digress. First, there are ordinary cars tha
The other option is the “Green” car. I’ve been coming to Japan for over 12 years and I still don’t know why it’s called Green but this is your “first
Pro Tip: Splurge for the reserved seats
You may have added stress from “having” to get back to the train on time. However, that’s much better than not having an idea of how long the line is going to take to get your ticket and missing the only train with seats.
For added carefree-ness, I suggest splurging for the reserved seats. We’re not talking green car here, just normal but with guarantee of sitting. The rail passes don’t give you this luxury, unfortunately.
Different classes of shinkansen
The different shinkansen routes have different levels of shinkansen. For instance, on the Tokaido Shinkansen line you have the following:
- The Kodami is what I would consider the “local” shinkansen. It stops at every stop.
- The Nozomi is truly a super express and doesn’t stop much of anywhere. (It’s also not included on the JR Rail Pass. Fun fact I just learned: it’s privately owned!).
- The Hikari is something in-between.
Each of the different lines have different names (convenient, actually, as you know what general direction you’re going by the name of the train).
Don’t forget about the special trains
If you are here for a short time and love trains, you should definitely seek out some of the special shinkansen. Things like the Hello Kitty shinkansen. And don’t forget bucket list items, like the Hayabusa going north. Japan’s fastest shinkansen!
Finding Your Route
By in far, your most useful app to download to your phone will be Hyperdia. Google maps is getting there but still doesn’t always give you the most direct train. I generally, if I’m not sure of the station, first will look on Google maps to figure out the station name. Then I will hop over to Hyperdia to find which route I want to take. The app is free on Android but has a small fee on iPhone (or at least it did, I’m a droid person). If you have an iPhone and don’t want to pay, just navigate to the site from your browser.
Where to buy tickets
While there is technically three options, online is a bit of mystery even to me still. Unless we’re talking JR Rail Pass : If you are here on a tourist visa, make sure to get your rail pass! For everyone that doesn’t have that luxury:
Counter
If I’m not in too much of a rush, I generally like to enjoy the high service that is Japan culture and go to the counter. It’s also a good excuse to practice your Japanese.
ここから＿＿＿＿＿までお願いします, Koko kara (destination) made onegaishimasu, “From this station to (destination), please”.
One plug for counter purchase: you can use your credit card. If you have an American Credit Card, generally speaking they won’t work in machines. Got to get those points, right?!
Machine
I’ve been pretty impressed by the upgrades to the ticket machines lately. I don’t remember them being so intuitive, nor did most of them have English as an option not that long ago. Look for the language button, normally in the top right hand corner, and continue through the screens. Very straight forward!
Pro tip: Get your basic fare and shinkansen ticket combined.
How to use the shinkansen
Some stations will have a separate shinkansen entry, but sometimes you must pass through the regular gate first. Having a combined shinkansen and basic fair ticket makes this transition easier
Access your correct platform
Shinkansen terminals are usually fairly large so check the displays for your train number and platform.
Get to your correct car
The car numbers are labelled along the platform so that you alight at the correct location and won’t have to walk through half the train to your seat.
Finding your seat
Just like an airplane, look for your row and seat.
Don’t forget your bento!
One of my favorite parts of riding the shinkansen is all the yummy train bento you can try. Best bet is to get them on the station platform.
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This is super interesting. I like how you start your tips with the most important one – get your tickets ahead of time!!! I haven’t been to Japan, other than to layover at the Tokyo airport, but every time I go to Europe, I forget that trains and travel aren’t the same as in the US and generally you should get tickets in advance. And your point about the lines being long is well taken. I’ll be in Spain in March and it’s a good reminder to start getting out of that US mainframe when it comes to trains. I ‘grew up’ in DC (which you mentioned too, totally agree about the metro!) so it’s easy to think you can just hop on a train. I love the topics you write about!!! So cool!!!
Thanks Noelle! Getting them in advance is definitely less stressful. It depends on where you go, sometimes you are ok and can always get a ticket on the shinkansen, hence the lovely assumption fiasco and having to grab a hotel and go the next day when we went to Aomori! It worked out in the end (got to try some cool restaurants in Ginza that I didn’t know about before hand) but still! And exciting about Spain! I want to plan a trip to Europe for April. How long are you going for?
You are making me so jealous! I lived in Seoul for two years and I miss expat life so much. Japan was my favorite, but I didn’t have enough time there. I love your detailed tips!
Thanks Kathy :). I loved Seoul when I went last year! I was only there for a long weekend, definitely could see myself going back there again. What did you do when you were living there, if I may ask? You should definitely come visit Japan some more! So much to see and do!
Wow this is so cool, I’m officially putting Japanese trains on my bucket list!!
I just recently bought a book to keep track of them all. There’s so many different ones and different routes to try :).
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