There isn’t just one shinkansen – they’re all run by different JR companies depending on the region and they have different policies. Here’s a couple examples.
For JR Central (Tokyo – Osaka route) Nozomi (the fastest one with the least stops, edit: mistakenly said Hikari at first but Nozomi is fastest, thanks for the corrections. Either way Kodama is slower than both) always costs the same but there are some deals for the slower ones if you don’t mind it taking longer – check out ‘Platt Kodama.’
For JR East (Tokyo – Tohoku – Hokkaido etc) routes you can get discounts on almost all trains for booking in advance, check out トクだ値段 ‘toku da ne’ on Eki Net.
Maybe some other people can tell you about their region’s Shinkansen.
If you use SmartEx website, its cheaper than buying at the ticket counter even if you buy it few minutes before departure. It’s more cheaper if you buy a week or two in advance, but there’s a limit how far out you can get it, I forgot what it is. With SmartEx you can also register your physical or virtual suica as boarding pass, so you can go through the gates without having to put in paper tickets.
And, as others said, different shinkansen lines are ran by different companies, so their pricing varies.
JTB sometimes has deals for real cheap tickets, because they will take the slowest trains, and last I used them, you would receive physical tickets by post, so this is something you have to plan a bit of time in advance.
If you’re looking for sales, deals, or whatever…no, not really. There are discount ticket shops but you’d only be saving around 1,000 yen at best. If you buy on the app in advance you can buy tickets for the green car that’s only slightly more expensive than the normal ticket price.
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If you are coming as a tourist, and are looking to do a good amount of travel by rail, I would recommend getting a [Japan Rail Pass](https://japanrailpass.net/en). You would save a lot of money by getting one.
Edit: Ahhh, didn’t read the first part of your post. Well, enjoy the expensive price that we residents live by. Its why we have public transportation that not only stays out of the red, but works as well.
in kyushu you can book tickets in advance on the jrkyushu website. you get discounts for booking 7 days in advance and 3 days in advance. the 7 day advance tix are the cheapest but you cannot change the reservation. all the other options allow changes.
As far as I am aware, there are up to three costs: Cost of using the train, cost for distance traveled, and cost for reserving a seat.
You don’t necessarily have to get reserved seat.
That being said, the charge for using the train is always the same iirc unless the train company is running a campaign.
If you don’t already have a place to stay in mind you can get great deals on hotel and shinkasen tickets through the JTB and Kinki Tourist websites. You can often find hotels where the whole package is cheaper than just the return shinkansen ticket.
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There isn’t just one shinkansen – they’re all run by different JR companies depending on the region and they have different policies. Here’s a couple examples.
For JR Central (Tokyo – Osaka route) Nozomi (the fastest one with the least stops, edit: mistakenly said Hikari at first but Nozomi is fastest, thanks for the corrections. Either way Kodama is slower than both) always costs the same but there are some deals for the slower ones if you don’t mind it taking longer – check out ‘Platt Kodama.’
For JR East (Tokyo – Tohoku – Hokkaido etc) routes you can get discounts on almost all trains for booking in advance, check out トクだ値段 ‘toku da ne’ on Eki Net.
Maybe some other people can tell you about their region’s Shinkansen.
Discount ticket shops, or kinken shops (金券ショップ) sell discount shinkansen tickets.
Also search for:
“How to Score Discount Shinkansen Tickets from JR East”
You can also buy a 5 day unlimited pass for 20000: https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/pass/eastpass_t.html
If you use SmartEx website, its cheaper than buying at the ticket counter even if you buy it few minutes before departure. It’s more cheaper if you buy a week or two in advance, but there’s a limit how far out you can get it, I forgot what it is. With SmartEx you can also register your physical or virtual suica as boarding pass, so you can go through the gates without having to put in paper tickets.
And, as others said, different shinkansen lines are ran by different companies, so their pricing varies.
JTB sometimes has deals for real cheap tickets, because they will take the slowest trains, and last I used them, you would receive physical tickets by post, so this is something you have to plan a bit of time in advance.
If you’re looking for sales, deals, or whatever…no, not really. There are discount ticket shops but you’d only be saving around 1,000 yen at best. If you buy on the app in advance you can buy tickets for the green car that’s only slightly more expensive than the normal ticket price.
[deleted]
If you are coming as a tourist, and are looking to do a good amount of travel by rail, I would recommend getting a [Japan Rail Pass](https://japanrailpass.net/en). You would save a lot of money by getting one.
Edit: Ahhh, didn’t read the first part of your post. Well, enjoy the expensive price that we residents live by. Its why we have public transportation that not only stays out of the red, but works as well.
in kyushu you can book tickets in advance on the jrkyushu website. you get discounts for booking 7 days in advance and 3 days in advance. the 7 day advance tix are the cheapest but you cannot change the reservation. all the other options allow changes.
As far as I am aware, there are up to three costs: Cost of using the train, cost for distance traveled, and cost for reserving a seat.
You don’t necessarily have to get reserved seat.
That being said, the charge for using the train is always the same iirc unless the train company is running a campaign.
If you don’t already have a place to stay in mind you can get great deals on hotel and shinkasen tickets through the JTB and Kinki Tourist websites. You can often find hotels where the whole package is cheaper than just the return shinkansen ticket.