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Shinkansen (Bullet Train) Kyoto-Tokyo---Step by step process

Shinkansen (Bullet Train) Kyoto-Tokyo---Step by step process

Old Apr 23rd, 2016, 11:47 PM
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Shinkansen (Bullet Train) Kyoto-Tokyo---Step by step process

My wife and I are experienced travelers, but we’re experiencing a bit of anxiety towards our upcoming first-time-ever visit to Japan.

One detail in particular concerns us---we must independently get the Shinkansen train from Kyoto to Toyko on one specific day. It would be SO helpful if somewhat can detail step-by-step the process---

Buying the ticket. Where? When? Does it limit to one particular departure time? A reserved seat?
Finding the platform.
Finding the car/seat if the seat is reserved.
We have standard small roller suitcases (on an airplane, they would go in overhead bin). Is there room at the seat for them?
Thanks for helping us visualize the process!!
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Old Apr 24th, 2016, 04:38 AM
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Use www.hyperdia.com to check your train schedule and fare. In the "From" field start typing KYO and then choose KYOTO from the auto-fill list. Similarly, in the "To" field start typing TOKY and choose TOKYO which means the Tokyo station. Select your date, and approximate time you plan to leave, then click the search button.

From the search results, pick a Shinkansen train. The total price is what the ticket will cost you. Write down your desired train number, departure DATE and time, bring it to a train station (say, Kyoto station) to buy your train ticket, either a day ahead or buy it when you are already at the train station and ready to leave. Your ticket comes with a reserved seat (with a car number and a seat number), and yes, you are tied to a particular train with a particular departure time.

At the train station, there will be overhead digital display in English and Japanese to show which platform your train will depart from. Once on the platform, there will be marks on the ground to indicate where you should wait based on which type of train and what car number your seat is.

Unless your station is the beginning or ending point of the train's journey, otherwise a Shinkansen train will stop only for one minute, so get on and off quickly.

There will be luggage racks at the end of each car, if yours cannot fit into the overhead bin.
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Old Apr 24th, 2016, 05:22 AM
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Japan Guide is a great source of information about all things Japanese, including how to ride the Shinkansen trains. A lot of your questions will be answered here:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018.html

And one other thing to mention: the Hyperdia web site noted above also tells you which track your train leaves from and which track it arrives on, the latter being particularly handy of you have to change trains en route.
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Old Apr 24th, 2016, 02:24 PM
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If you are experienced travelers, you will have no problems. Of course, give yourself a little bit of time for finding platforms, etc. but if in doubt, just ask a station attendant. Truly, navigating in Japan was SOOOOO much easier than I ever anticipated. You will love it.
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Old Apr 25th, 2016, 01:09 AM
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Best buy your tickets in advance - shinkansen trains at peak periods do sell out. You can buy tickets from any JTB at no extra cost. You're allowed one free change in your ticket - I believe you can change to an earlier train but not a later one.
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Old Apr 25th, 2016, 08:48 AM
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This is not something to cause anxiety. The station is clearly labeled and the shinkansen tracks are clearly identified. Even though Kyoto station has 30+ tracks, only a small handful service shinkansen lines because the shinkansen run on dedicated rails separate from the rest of the rail fleet.
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Old Apr 25th, 2016, 09:09 AM
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Indeed, the Shinkansen tracks are easy to find because there is a special symbol for them.
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Old Apr 25th, 2016, 12:59 PM
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I just went to the platform which indicated the good time.
Trains are perfectly on time...
Anyway, they display destination about 20% of the time in english.
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Old Apr 25th, 2016, 01:14 PM
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+1 to everything that has been suggested already.

This is a video showing Tokyo Station shinkansen signs and ticket machines. I don't remember if Kyoto is similar, I think so, but the video will give you a visual idea of what to expect and look for.

http://tinyurl.com/how-to-ride-shinkansen

There is usually quite a bit of leg room and I think your bags might fit in front of your legs. If not, put them behind the last set of seats in the car or on the rack above your seat.

We felt more comfortable getting tickets at the counter rather than from the machine. Do this when you want specific seats. If traveling during daylight try to reserve seats on the Mt Fuji side of the train...you might get lucky! Just ask the ticket person.

We liked using the Green cars (more space, fewer people) but they are a little more expensive.

Consider renting a pocket mifi...we found it invaluable having wifi 24/7 especially for using hyperdia and google maps.

Have a fabulous trip!
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Old Apr 29th, 2016, 06:47 AM
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Don't worry! We just got back from a 3-week trip during busy Sakura season, and we never made a train reservation in advance and the trains were never full. We just showed up at the station and took the next available train. For us, this was one of the unexpected pleasures of Japan. You won't believe how many, many trains there are, including bullet trains (we took four of those). And they are always on time.

In the stations, we immediately looked for a person in uniform and asked for what we needed: which ticket machine, which platform, whatever. There is ALWAYS an official at the exit where you have to put in your ticket to get OUT of that part of the station after your ride (hold on to your ticket!). The shinkhansens were the easiest to sort out, actually.

We bought most of our tickets at the machines, which have an English option, because there were often lines at the ticket agent. Some banks of ticket machines had their own attendant to help. We did not have a credit card with a pin, so we had to pay cash at the machines. To use our cc, we had to go to an agent. The key to the machines: put money in first. That starts everything up.
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Old Apr 29th, 2016, 09:33 AM
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We found one of the trains we wanted was full during the trip (we just got back) because we hadn't thought to reserve in advance, in fact the next train after was also full. It wasn't a big deal, we travelled about an hour and a half later than planned.

But if you definitely know the time of train you want and can get to (any) JR Station in advance, then no reason not to buy it ahead.
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Old Apr 30th, 2016, 12:15 AM
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An earlier comment is not correct: There are not luggage racks at the end of each car, unless things have radically changed in the last few months. There’s an overhead rack that can accommodate carry-on sized luggage. However, the only place for larger luggage is on the floor behind the last row of seats in each car. If you have large suitcases, it’s best to send them ahead by the 1-day luggage forwarding service mentioned many times in this forum.

Also, it’s very important to hold on to your ticket. At the end of your trip, you need to put the ticket into the gate that exits the Shinkansen area -- if you don’t have the ticket, you will have some explaining to do to the guard.

As has been said, everything is well marked, in both Japanese and in Roman characters.
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Old Apr 30th, 2016, 01:41 AM
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On our first trip to Japan, we used the shinkansen quite a lot and at that time, we certainly left the larger of our two cases in the spaces at the end of the carriage, behind the last seats. That space was present in pretty much every train. On this trip, we took longer distance trains twice and that space was only available in one of the two trains, though the cases we took with us this time were small enough to fit on the overhead shelf in any case.
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Old May 1st, 2016, 09:00 PM
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You don't give your full itinerary, but if you are going from Kyoto to Tokyo and back, that almost pays for a 7 day JR Pass - just add one side trip and that will make you at least break even. If you'd like to do that, you must buy the exchange order before you arrive in Japan.
If you're just going one way, then you can go to any main JR station days ahead of time and buy the ticket. Advanced seat reservations are possible but cost extra. Getting around a station is not problematic - just look for the Shinkansen sign and go to the bullet train platforms.
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