How to buy Shinkansen tickets | Online booking such as smartEX, ticket machines and ticket offices, reserved and non-reserved seats, and the days when all Nozomi seats are reserved
How to buy Shinkansen tickets online (smartEX, JR-EAST Train Reservation, JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION), at reserved seat ticket machines in stations, and at Midori-no-madoguchi (ticket offices), based on official information from JR Central, JR West and JR East. Also covers when reserved seats go on sale, children's tickets, the periods when all Nozomi seats are reserved (including the 2026–27 year-end and New Year holidays), and how to ride with an IC card.
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Overview
To ride the Shinkansen, you need two tickets: a basic fare ticket and a limited express ticket. To ride in the Green Car, you also need a Green Car ticket (JR Central and JR East information). The basic fare ticket and the limited express ticket are sometimes issued together as a single ticket.
There are three types of seats.
- Reserved seats: Your travel date, train and seat number are fixed.
- Non-reserved seats: Neither the train nor the seat is fixed. You sit in any empty seat in a non-reserved car.
- Green Car: A car of a higher class than the Ordinary Car.
For children (aged 6 to 11), the basic fare ticket and the limited express ticket cost half the adult price. The Green Car ticket costs the same for children as for adults. Up to 2 infants aged 1 to 5 per adult or child do not need a ticket. For each infant beyond this number, and for an infant for whom you take a reserved seat or a Green Car seat, you need a child ticket for that infant (JR Central information).
Your options
Three ways to buy
- Online booking: Book on a JR company's reservation website using a smartphone or computer.
- Reserved seat ticket machines: Ticket machines in stations that sell Shinkansen tickets. They have screens in foreign languages and accept credit cards.
- Ticket offices: Buy from staff at the Midori-no-madoguchi (JR ticket office) in the station.
Which online booking website you use depends on which Shinkansen you ride. For the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, which run from Tokyo to Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Hakata, you can book on smartEX.
| Booking website | Operated by | Shinkansen you can book |
|---|---|---|
| smartEX | JR Central, JR West, JR Kyushu | Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen (Tokyo – Kagoshima-Chuo) |
| JR-EAST Train Reservation | JR East | Tohoku, Hokkaido, Yamagata, Akita, Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen |
| JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION | JR West | Sanyo, Kyushu, Hokuriku and Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen |
The screen languages of reserved seat ticket machines differ by company. JR East machines can display English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) and Korean. JR Central machines have an English menu. When you use a credit card at a JR West machine, you need to enter your PIN.
At a ticket office, tell the staff your departure and arrival stations, the date and time of travel, the type of train (Nozomi, Hikari, Kodama, etc.), the number of people (adults and children), and the seat type (reserved seat, non-reserved seat or Green Car) (JR Central information).
Step by step
How to book and ride with smartEX
- Register as a member on the smartEX English website (smart-ex.jp/en/). There is no annual fee. You must be 18 or older to register, and you need a credit card (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, Diners Club or Discover).
- Choose the date, departure and arrival stations, train and seat, make the booking, and pay by credit card. Payment is made in Japanese yen, and your card company may charge a foreign transaction fee.
- Choose how to ride from three options: a QR ticket (on your smartphone screen or printed on paper), a transport IC card, or a paper ticket. You can collect a paper ticket from 3 days before your travel date at reserved seat ticket machines and other places in JR Central, JR West and JR Kyushu stations, by entering your pick-up code and your smartEX password.
- When you go through the Shinkansen ticket gate with a QR ticket or a transport IC card, the gate issues a "Seat Information" slip. Be sure to take it and keep it until you get off.
To ride with a transport IC card, register the IC card you will use in your member information or in your booking. Because you already paid for the Shinkansen by credit card when you booked, the fare is not deducted from your IC card balance. You can also register a Welcome Suica, the card for visitors to Japan. How to buy one is explained in Welcome Suica: How to Buy and Use It | A 28-Day IC Card for Visitors to Japan.
Conditions
When reserved seats go on sale, and the days when all Nozomi seats are reserved
Reserved seats go on sale at 10:00 one month before your travel date (the same day of the previous month) (JR Central, JR West and JR East information). On smartEX, some products and seats can be booked from 5:30 one year before your travel date. In this case, your train and seat number are confirmed at or after 8:00 on the day one month before your travel date, and you are notified by email.
On the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, Nozomi trains normally have non-reserved seats in Cars 1 and 2. During the following periods, all Nozomi trains running on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen (Tokyo – Hakata) have all seats reserved (JR Central and JR West announcements, as of October 3, 2026).
| Period | Dates |
|---|---|
| Sports Day holiday weekend | October 10 – October 12, 2026 |
| Labor Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend | November 21 – November 23, 2026 |
| Year-end and New Year holidays | December 25, 2026 – January 5, 2027 |
| Coming of Age Day holiday weekend | January 9 – January 11, 2027 |
| Vernal Equinox Day holiday weekend | March 20 – March 22, 2027 |
On the Tohoku Shinkansen Hayabusa and Hayate, the Akita Shinkansen Komachi, the Yamagata Shinkansen Tsubasa and the Hokuriku Shinkansen Kagayaki, all cars are always reserved (JR East information).
According to JR West and smartEX information, if you miss the train you reserved a seat on, you can ride in a non-reserved seat on a later train on the same day. If you miss a Nozomi train during the periods when all seats are reserved, you can either stand in the deck area of a Nozomi Ordinary Car or use the non-reserved seats on a Hikari, Kodama, Mizuho, Sakura or Tsubame train on the same day (JR Central information). With smartEX's EX Hayatoku (discounted products), you can ride only the train you booked.
Good to know
Riding with just an IC card, and related articles
- On JR East Shinkansen lines (the Tohoku, Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen, etc.), you can ride in non-reserved seats with Touch de Go! Shinkansen just by touching your transport IC card on the ticket gate. Before using it for the first time, you need to register to start using the service. It can be used only for a one-way trip on the day of travel, and the fare is deducted from your IC card balance. On some routes, it may cost more than buying a ticket (JR East information).
- With the smartphone app Welcome Suica Mobile, you can ride in non-reserved seats in the same way as Touch de Go! Shinkansen without registering to start using the service (JR East information).
- If you use a JAPAN RAIL PASS, you cannot reserve seats on smartEX or JR-EAST Train Reservation. Reserving seats with the pass is explained in JAPAN RAIL PASS (JR Pass): Prices, How to Buy and How to Use | Official Website vs. Overseas Agent Prices, and How to Ride Nozomi and Mizuho.
- To bring oversized baggage on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen, you need to reserve a seat with an oversized baggage area. For details, see How to Bring a Large Suitcase on the Shinkansen | Reserving a Seat with an Oversized Baggage Area and Where to Put Your Luggage.