I have a couple questions about Japanese trains. I’m planning on getting the JRail pass. Are reservations always necessary?
I’m also reading a lot about luggage restrictions and reservations. My husband and I would have 2 carry on size, roller bags. How difficult will it be finding or reserving space for our luggage?
TIA 😊
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There are some trains that are all-reserved (several limited expresses, Narita Express, Hayabusa/Hayate/Komachi on the Tohoku Shinkansen, Kagayaki on Hokuriku Shinkansen). All others will have some unreserved cars.
Carry-ons easily go up onto the luggage shelf above the seats.
Edit: I guess I don’t know what I’m talking about. Sorry guys. I personally didn’t need reservations anywhere I went with my JR pass, but that’s clearly not the case in all instances. Listen to the others
With carry on size luggage, you won’t need to worry about oversized luggage reservations on trains, you can simply stow your luggage above your seats. The oversized luggage spots at the front and rear of trains are for legitimately big luggage, bigger than most people’s checked baggage.
That being said, it is a lot nicer to reserve seats where you can, especially on busy routes around Osaka and Kyoto. You don’t have to stress about lining up to get an unreserved seat, and you can always sit next to your partner and enjoy the trip together.
First be sure you need one in the first place….they are expensive. I got by without it for Kyoto, Osaka, and Kumano Kodo. Otherwise a pass can be bought there. Be prepared though. The train stations can be daunting but it gets easier. If you ask for help, you will get it.
We used 7 days JR pass, travelled from Tokyo-Osaka-Tokyo and did not have any issue with oversized international luggage. Reservations are preferred.
It really just depends on route and time of day. I had reserved a seat from Himeji to Shin-Kobe but missed the train so we were allowed to ride one the same day/type with the ticket in a non-reserved car. This was early/mid afternoon, and there were plenty of open seats.
I would just reserve anyways to ensure a seat. If you have the time, once you get your rail pass, get all of your tickets at once. You might be at the ticket machine a while but it saves hassle. It’s like even if you’re going to a movie theater and you know there’s probably going to be plenty of seats open, you still want to reserve anyways, or at least I do.
Don’t need reservations although google maps will tell you if a Shinkansen is real busy, in which case I would go to the jr window and have a person reserve seats for you. They’re very quick and it wouldn’t take long to do.
We reserved seats for longer distances, and for the limited express hida train.
Regarding luggage didn’t need any reservations as we don’t have oversized baggage. Our carry on sizes went above our heads.
Concise answer: you don’t NEED reservations unless you do one of these:
– take an all-reserved train (e.g. Tohoku lines between Tokyo and Sendai/Aomori)
– have oversized luggage (you do not)
– want to be absolutely sure you have a seat, or want a seat in a reserved car/green car
Depending on the time of year and day of the week, reservations might give you peace of mind, but if it’s not rush hour between Osaka and Kyoto or a national holiday like Golden Week, Obon, New Year’s, etc, you will have absolutely no trouble getting a seat on one of the non-reserved cars on any shinkansen. For the entire trip in March we never reserved except for the Hayabusa to/from Sendai and never lacked for a seat. Moreover, I never saw a completely full non-reserved car.
That said, making reservations is stupid easy. We were able to do it on the fly to get our Hayabusa seats because we were too tired to make the effort the day before – just went to the station, found the self-serve kiosks for tickets, selected the English menu, and followed instructions. We literally got our reserved seats for the very next train leaving. Of course, if you wait like we did you might end up spliting the party, but if you’re not anxious about not sitting side by side then no sweat. Reserving earlier gives you a better selection of seats so you can get adjoining ones, window seats, etc. Again, it is NOT necessary, but if you want to do it, it’s easy.