I reserved seats for my boyfriend and I on a Shinkansen (Hikari if it matters?). I go to sit and gently recline my seat not even on the “first setting” of the recline and the guy (seemed to be from Europe) behind me starts yelling at me saying “NO!!! NO you cannot” and pushes my seat. I look back and they have their giant luggage in front of them so that if I reclined, it would push the luggage into their legs.
Embarrassed by this, I just unrecline my seat and sit there with my back kind of hurting for 4 hours.
I don’t know if what I did was wrong, but are they allowed to tell me no?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
– from an inexperienced traveler.
36 comments
He is in the wrong. Oversized luggage must have a reservation and be placed in the oversized luggage compartment on the Shinkansen.
Anywhere you have seats that recline you will have people behind them who will demand they not recline. If the seat reclines, it’s generally your right to do it. The question is if you want to get into a confrontation over it.
Next time book the (second from the) back row if you can.
Obviously theyre in the wrong. They should have used the luggage storage.
ITT someone for looking for validation. They already know the answer.
Yeah he’s in the wrong. You have to pay extra for a reserved seat for oversized luggage. I had some brushes with rude western tourists on the Shinkansen as well.
The chap behind is wrong. Oversized luggage belongs in the specific compartment.
They’re in the wrong, there are places for oversized luggage. I probably would have snitched on his ass, I’m not going to be uncomfortable on that length of a ride because someone can’t do what they’re supposed to.
Bullies love to make a scene as a tactic to get their way, hoping to intimidate others into silence.
You did nothing wrong, they simply chose to not reserve oversized luggage space / not lift their luggage onto the overhead racks / not use Takkyubin. Consequences such as reduced leg space is all theirs to bear.
If it were me (although admittedly I have become more confrontational from my years in America) I would have ignored them and maybe even reclined an extra bit* out of spite.
*Local custom is to recline partway but not all the way if there is someone sitting behind
JR trains make SUCH a big deal about what to do with oversized luggage when making reservations. You were fine.
Luggage Guy is subhuman. And in the wrong.
Absolutely not and these trains have so much space reclining does not effect anyone. It’s not like an airplane.
Only thing is you say sorry before reclining
we brought big luggages and paid for the oversized luggage compartment (at the back of the train car). selfish and stingy people smh.
Recline as much as you want but do it as slow as possible so that the other person doesn’t notice. I’m typing this practically lying down on the Hikari 508.
You should have got the conductor. They walk past many times.
Those seats are hugely generous and you do need to recline them because in their upright state they are extremely uncomfortable.
The conductor will sort it out for you next time. Don’t engage with fuck wits
You have the right to recline as much as you’d like.
Next time, get train staff involved.
I swear Europeans don’t even try to learn the language or communicate with locals. They stay loud, obnoxious, and don’t even think twice about their actions. Just the other day, a group of three were sitting in priority seating with their luggage while elderly were standing by them, completely oblivious that those seats are reserved. I mean there are pictures and stickers everywhere
There’s plenty of room for seats to recline on the Shinkansen without interfering with the person behind you. If it does interfere, they are taking up way too much space.
They should have booked the luggage storage or shipped their bag.
He’s the asshole, should have reserved a luggage seat. You’re definitely allowed to recline at least a little.
I think he overreacted but (someone correct me if I’m wrong), in Japan, it’s generally considered polite to check with the person behind you if it’s ok to recline your seat. You never know if someone is eating or has their laptop/tablet out.
Your seat reclines, therefore you’re allowed to recline it.
The Shinkansen has plenty of leg room. Don’t worry about it.
asshole who didn’t want to pay for luggage story demands someone not take advantage of their seat functions. fuck them.
I am shitloads of dumb gaijin tourists with XXXL suitcases in small stations and on the Shinkansen in regular seats, clogging up the aisles and just generally doing stupid tourist shit, and I’m avoiding the most tourist-heavy locations.
They have designated areas at the end of each train car where you can store large luggage upon request, they even say it in English 😂 he’s definitely in the wrong
As an American I would tell that guy to go fuck himself. Every train in Japan has a place to put your bags. They should follow the rules.
He yelled and also pushed your seat? He is an asshole. I don’t know if I can hold it and not say anything back to him. He needs to be kicked off the train.
Tell conductor immediately. The conductor will fix the problem by having them move oversized luggage to proper area and/or move their seats.
Was there earlier this year with kids and two large luggages. Booked the back row with luggage storage, as per JR directions. Not hard at all.
OP, I’m with you.
They are allowed to say ”No!!” You are also allowed to recline your seat. If the latter was not allowed, you would not be able to.
He was definitely wrong. Also, it’s not like a plane seat. There is so much room on shinkansen that what you did would typically not inconvenience anyone. Also it’s a very gauche reaction to have in Japan of all places.
I’d forget about it. I would be surprised if you ran into this issue again.
Generally the rule is the same as on an airplane – it’s your seat, it reclines as far as it’s designed to, you have every right to recline it that far. Using things like “knee defenders” to prevent someone from reclining their chair is not allowed (airlines enforce this; my guess is that on a Shinkansen you *could* call an attendant and have them back you up). That said, Japanese people usually ask the person sitting behind them whether it’s okay to recline the chair, and even then are super polite about it and only go back like half as far as it’ll go. But you’re not in the wrong. The guy behind you has no right to stop you.
you encountered the bane of travellers worldwide, the rude jerk who doesn’t put their massive piece of luggage where it’s supposed to go, and makes it everyone else’s problem. They were in the wrong 100% then had the nerve to yell at *you* about it.
They were completely in the wrong. Seats recline for a reason… and they likely reclined theirs aswell. Luggage needs to be stowed above, or in the oversized luggage compartment at the front/rear of car with a reserved seat. I would have gone ahead and done it anyway.
Same happened to me. I tried to explain how it works but “its there now” was the answer. When staff came I explained and it got solved and they got pissed because they had to pay. I just said “do your research next time and follow rules, like every other civil person does”.
You can recline the seat to the full angle. Japanese trains are significantly more room than in Europe and they should not be storing luggage in the seat. This is also due to safety.
Best to just ask the attendant to help you if you are in comfortable.
Or let the guard know.
Unfortunately there are trash tourists everywhere. Try not to let this ruin your experience and enjoy the rest of your trip.