No stairs to get on and off? Oh that helps TONS. Thanks!

I am not sure an hour early is too much overkill, maybe 45 minutes early will work though (although I dawdle so much when I do anything I probably should be disciplined about this). When I travel Amtrak out of my very own Union Station, if I have an 8 AM train I get there at 7 AM, 715 tops, queue for Starbucks, queue in the too-long line waiting to be let on to the platform, finally the ticket takers open the doors and scan each passenger and then I find my car and board and have 5 mins to get settled before the train pulls out. It sounds like it is much more organized in Japan but also much less margin for error. I'll scope it out first without luggage. In fact if I take the express train from Narita I thought it went to Tokyo station so I'll already be there. The links helped a lot, it sounds like my train will be on one of the platforms 14-19.

Anyway, if it works, yay, and if it doesn't then I have another good travel story. lol

I like wearing dresses when I sightsee - I'm not talking office dresses I mean dresses I bought at REI or Athleta and a pair of sneakers, with a few nicer ones thrown in for evening. Check out "Toad and Co" for cute comfortable dresses, many of them you could wash in the sink if you wanted to. Unless it's hot/humid I get more than one day's wear out of them before needing a wash though.

I wear jeans on the plane and sometimes that is the only time I wear them - on the plane both ways.

Thank you again for all of the advice, this was truly very helpful!

Much easier and nicer than Amtrak (and yes, I've boarded at Union Station). Your ticket is validated by the gates, so no one will check it as you board. You will have a reserved seat, right? So no rush to get the best seat. If you get there too early you will wind up standing around, and getting out of the way of people boarding earlier trains from the same platform.

I won't be at the platform super early, maybe ten minutes because if I don't target early I KNOW I will be running at the last minute because that's how I roll. I really am a bad dawdler - which means I'm good at dawdling - I'll be perusing all the food stalls and look at my phone for the time and then sh*t sh*t sh*t! I literally have to set alarms for myself when I am getting ready for work in the morning (IE already awake and moving) or planning to catch the bus that stops outside my house. lol!

Oh and I emailed the person who emailed me to tell me the Shinkansen order was placed and to expect them at my hotel - I asked her for English and she replied and said English it is.

When you get to the Tokyo station from Narita, you might want to check out where the Shinkansen tracks are, and then exit from that area. Once beyond the ticket machines, make a note of the surroundings, especially the Shinkansen sign. This is where you should enter when you are on your way to Kyoto.

Knowing that you are on a Nozomi and looking at the time the train leaves, will tell you what platform to be on, which you will see on the electronic signs. Getting there too early may not help as your train may not be posted. There are usually stairs, escalators and an elevator for each set of platforms. Then look for the location of where your car will stop. If you can see the photo posted by marvelousmouse, you will see on the train window, Kodama and Nagoya. Yours will say Nozomi and Kyoto.

Don't forget when you arrive in Kyoto, upon exit from the ticket machines, again make a note of your surroundings. If you end up taking a cab to the Kyoto station, ask to be dropped of at the Shinkansen.

I understand your nervousness - our first Shinkansen was Osaka-Shin station to Okayama and the platform was packed; we didn't have a reserved seat and thought we would have to stand. All worked out.

Lol. I am a champion dawdler too. One of the reasons I love train stations!

I wear Toad and Co dresses too, they wash so well and dry quick!

>> Yours will say Nozomi and Kyoto.

I doubt that it would be Kyoto. A Nozomi departing Tokyo station will be bound for Shin-Osaka or Hakata and will stop at Kyoto. The clues to find your train are track number, train number, and departure time. Even if you got on the wrong Nozomi there is no chance that you will go in the wrong direction and it will go to Kyoto (and almost certainly beyond).

Note: For shinkansen, you will need the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station, ie not Marunouchi side.

"Yours will say Nozomi and Kyoto"

No it won't. Kyoto isn't a terminus for the shinkansen. The 75% chance is it will say Shin-Osaka as the final destination.

If you sit on the right side of the train going to Kyoto/left coming back, you'll get a good view of Mt. Fuji en route.

The magical shinkansen order takers did me a favor - correct side both ways!

Much of the "Shinkansen experience" has already been covered but a couple of additional points -

Firstly, just look for the large signs saying "SHINKANSEN" and that'll get you in the right direction. If all else fails, just find a staff member and say "Shinkansen?" and they'll point you in the right direction.

The shinkansens on the Tokaido line (to Kyoto and beyond) are usually 16 cars long, whether they're Nozomi (quickest), Hikari (not quite as quick) or Kodama (a lot slower). They all go the same speed, it just depends how often they stop. Going west (to Kyoto) car 1, row 1 will be at the front of the train; going to Tokyo, car 16, row 20 will be at the front. Seats always face forwards (the train doesn't rotate but the seats do....).

Your seat reservation will show the train type (Nozomi), it's # (e.g.Nozomi 233), the departure time and the car and row/seat number. Green cars are usually cars 8, 9 and 10. As already discussed, the car numbers are clearly marked on the platform. Each car has a door at either end so, depending on your row/seat number, it helps to figure out which door to use. Green cars usually have 64 or 68 seats/16 or 17 rows ...... so if, for example, you're going west to Kyoto and you're car 8, row 2, you want to be at the car 8 door that's adjacent to car 7, not the door adjacent to car 9. It doesn't really matter but it helps to use the door nearest to your seat.

As already noted, the car numbers are clearly noted on the platform (and the doors will stop precisely opposite the platform markings). You'll also see, extending at right angles from the platform marking and running parallel to the tracks, two "lines". The line nearest the track is for the next-arriving train, the line further away from the track is for the train after that. Don't get in line (or loiter near the lines) until your train is next or the one after next, otherwise you just get in the way.... several trains may arrive and leave in the space of 15 minutes or so.

The departure boards clearly show the next few trains and the tracks they are leaving from and, once on the correct platform, the board will show the next several trains from that platform. The departure boards switch between Japanese and English, though they alway show the train type/number (e.g., Nozomi 233) even when the rest is in Japanese.

As for trains in general, Hyperdia is your friend. You can see all the train times, where they stop, how much they cost etc. and (usually) which track they are leaving from.
HyperDia SearchResult

Note that the 'From' and 'To' stations must exactly match what Hyperdia is expecting in its dropdown list .... so for example, Saga Arashiyama (to get to the Bamboo Grove) is 'SAGAARASHIYAMA' with no space.
HyperDia SearchResult

While I'm throwing in some random, gratuitous commentary to your thread ( :) ), here's a bit more .....

Things you forget about Japan but soon remember when you get there :-

1. No jaywalking. You stand there until the little man turns green, even if there’s no traffic.

2. No litter. None. Anywhere. You take your rubbish with you. That said, rubbish bins can be hard to find (try looking outside a 7-Eleven/Lawson/Family Mart). You can always spot the foreigners on the Shinkansen - they're the ones who leave their rubbish behind.

3. No eating on the street, at least when you're walking. If you buy a snack at a 7-Eleven, it's ok to stand outside and eat it (which is why you'll likely find a rubbish bin) but don't walk and eat (and even in the Nishiki Market, if you get a snack, most people would stand and eat it, not walk with it).

4. No graffiti (well, almost none).

5. How polite the Japanese are, at least in one-on-one situations. Say hello (at least Konnichiwa, if you can’t remember the other variations) and bow slightly (from the waist, not a nod of the head).

6. Don't blow your nose in public.

7. No tipping. It would be considered insulting.

8. You play by the rules …. so you stand in line on the subway platform; however, once the train arrives and everybody becomes ‘anonymous’, all bets are off and it’s everybody for themselves. If you hesitate, expect to be elbowed out of the way by all and sundry (including little old ladies) and, if you’re a woman, don’t expect anybody to give up their seat for you.

9. Pronunciation. It’s fairly easy to mangle all the words, place names etc. etc. Just try and remember that, whereas in English the emphasis is invariably on the last syllable, in Japanese it’s invariably on the first syllable. Thus, that food in crisp batter (tempura) is Temp-er-a, not Tem-pura, you’re going to (Teshima) Tesh-e-ma, not Ter-sheemer and that subway stop (Karasuma) is Ca-rass-u-ma, not Ca-ra-soom-a. You have to listen carefully to them say it, as they’ll be too polite to correct you.

10. How many vending machines there are. No matter where you go, there’ll be vending machines to sell you a bottle of water, an iced coffee, a hot coffee and an amazing myriad of other stuff. Walk down some back street in Kyoto and suddenly there’ll be a bank of 2, 3, 4 vending machines. Station platform? No problem. Outside a temple or shrine? No problem. Outside some random apartment building? No problem.

Enjoy!