So we will hopefully be travelling on the Tohoku Shinkansen with our 3yo, who does not need a ticket. On the Tokaido/Sanyo line, not an issue, because he’s free. On the Tohoku line, he’s free – BUT all seats are reserved for Hayabusa. Does anyone know how to book for this?
We’re hoping to have JR or JR east pass and planning enough range that the pass makes sense (Osaka to Nagoya to Tokyo return, plus up to Aomori).
Thanks in advance!
2 comments
Congratulations on finding something I don’t think is covered by our wiki!.
Tickets for infants/toddler (under 6, or 5 years old rounded down to the year, so 5 years, 364 days is a toddler) are free, if the child is not occupying a seat only (“lap baby”) and is travelling with a adult and you have only 1 child per adult.
So, you have a choice to make. Will your child occupy a seat for the trip or will they sit on your lap the whole way?
As someone who has travelled with a child, I can tell you it isn’t worth it to buy the ticket, at least for shorter hops (<3 hrs) as you child will likely wander the train a bit, and when not they can just chill with you.
If your child will occupy their own seat, you will need to buy a child ticket. The child ticket is 50% for everything except for the green car tickets (basic fare and super express).
You can use Eki-net for reservations online and you pickup your ticket in person at the station (at least you used to): https://www.eki-net.com/en/jreast-train-reservation/Top/Index?&_ga=2.62624047.2097205682.1684152552-1372751854.1684152552#_gl=1*p51dwq*_ga*MTM3Mjc1MTg1NC4xNjg0MTUyNTUy*_ga_ZDNCJLPMZL*MTY4NDE1MjU1MS4xLjAuMTY4NDE1MjU1MS4wLjAuMA..
If you’re not traveling during a busy season or busy time, I would just reserve seats where the seat next to it is unreserved and chances are your child can just occupy the empty seat.