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JR Green Pass 2014/8/17 21:49
Hi All,
Before I go ahead and buy a Green Card pass, can someone please tell me if there are green cars on the Tokaido Shinkansen line? We will be traveling to these places:
Tokyo to Kyoto
Kyoto to Nara
Kyoto to Kobe
Kyoto to Tokyo
I understand that not all Shinkansen have green cars.
We arrive in Tokyo on Dec 26 and leave for Kyoto on Dec 29. We return to Tokyo on Jan 4.
The reason I'm thinking about getting a green pass is that I understand that this time is the heaviest travel period in Japan.
Thanks.
by lilien  

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/18 13:06
There are Green cars on the Tokaido Shinkansen. You have the 2+2 seating on the Hikari service. The Sakura service on the Sanyo line (Kobe) already has 2+2 seating, as JR West/Kyushu trains are only 2+2 seating and not 3+2. The Nara line does not have green seats.
by John B digs Japan rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/18 13:19
Yes, all trains along the Tokaido Shinkansen have green cars:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018_tokaido.html

Kyoto to Nara

No green car seats available.

Kyoto to Kobe

Shinkansen: available
Rapid/local trains: not available

The Sakura service on the Sanyo line (Kobe) already has 2+2 seating, as JR West/Kyushu trains are only 2+2 seating and not 3+2.

Sakura Green car seats are 2+2
Sakura Ordinary reserved seats are 2+2
Sakura Ordinary non-reserved seats are 3+2
by Uji rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/18 13:23
I stand corrected on the 3+2 on the Sakura service, Uji. But in this case (JR pass offers free reservation), then the point is almost moot. :)
by John B digs Japan rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/18 18:10
Thanks John and Uji.
After re-reading my question, I have to clarify something. I will be buying a JR Pass for my trip. With that being said, when I looked at the JR Rail Pass website, it said that there are no green cars on the Hikari, Kodama, Sanyo line or the 800 Series trains.
Now that you know I will be buying a JR pass, will the trains I will be riding on have green cars?
Would it make more sense to buy the Ordinary Rail Pass and just pay the difference for the Green Car service between Tokyo, Kyoto, Tokyo?
Thanks, again.
by lilien rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/18 18:27
With that being said, when I looked at the JR Rail Pass website, it said that there are no green cars on the Hikari, Kodama, Sanyo line or the 800 Series trains.

Just to clarify, it says no green cars on MOST Hikari, Kodama, etc. In practice, there are green cars on most Hikari, Kodama and Sanyo line trains. Other than that, Uji's answer still applies.

Would it make more sense to buy the Ordinary Rail Pass and just pay the difference for the Green Car service between Tokyo, Kyoto, Tokyo?

No, because when using a green seat with an ordinary JR Pass you pay a "penalty" of the regular limited express fee plus the green car fee. In this case it makes the pass only cover about a third of the total fare, rather than everything but the green car fee. If you want to use the green cars on the Shinkansen then you should get a green car pass.
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/18 18:51
Yllw,

Thanks for your reply.
How do I find out what Shinkansen have the green cars? Will Hyperdia tell me?
Also, what is the Sakura? Can I use this train with the JR Pass?
by lilien rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/18 19:17
How do I find out what Shinkansen have the green cars? Will Hyperdia tell me?

Yes, it will show the green car fee in the dropdown menu if there is a green car on that train.

Also, what is the Sakura? Can I use this train with the JR Pass?

It's one on the trains on the Sanyo/Kyushu shinkansen. It is covered by the pass.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018_kyushu.html
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/18 20:05
Thanks!
by lilien rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/18 20:41
Okay, so now I'm looking at Hyperdia and checking out the fees for the green car.
What I see, from Tokyo to Kyoto on Dec 29 is a fare of 10,170 yen, per person. So round trip from Tokyo/Kyoto would be 20,340 per person more or less. Am I missing any other fees?
The JR Green Pass costs 38,880 per person.
The way I see it, it's just cheaper to buy my tickets outright instead of getting a JR Green Pass. Am I correct in my assumption? We really aren't going anywhere else with the Shinkansen except for Kobe.
Thanks, everyone.
by lilien rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/18 21:03
Yes, the JR Green Pass is more expensive than the regular JR Pass. You're paying for slightly more room and a more "luxurious" trip. Just get the regular JR Pass if you want to save a bit of money.
by ... (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: your options 2014/8/18 23:12
The reason I'm thinking about getting a green pass is that I understand that this time is the heaviest travel period in Japan.

Green-class Japan Rail Pass does not sound to me a good choice for this journey.

When you travel with Japan Rail Pass, you cannot take Shinkansen Nozomi trains.
Shinkansen Nozomi and Hikari trains are almost the same in safety, stability and amenity, but Nozomi trains run more frequently and have laager capacity of Ordinary-class seats to be reserved, which may make a difference during a busy New Year season.

I suppose it is not a good choice to narrow your chances to have Shinkansen Ordinary-class reserved seats by choosing Green-class 7-day JRP (38880 yen) or, by choosing Ordinary-class 7-day JRP (29110 yen) to save only a few thousand yen per adult.
And, it is cost-consuming to use a Green Car in a Hikari train when a Nozomi train has vacancy among Ordinary-class seats.

When you travel with JR regular tickets, the JR cost for the legs you have listed above is estimated at 31180 yen per adult, on the supposition that you make a roundtrip from Kyoto Station to Sannomiya Station in Kobe City by taking non-Shinkansen trains. (Special Rapid trains are connecting the two stations directly.)
And, you can take a Shinkansen Nozomi train at only 310 yen more per way to travel between Tokyo and Kyoto.
Logically you can use a Green Car in the Shinkansen train if you pay 4580 yen more per way, but unless you stick to specific Shinkansen trains within a narrow time slot, you are likely to get Ordinary-class seats reserved in a Nozomi or Hikari train.

We arrive in Tokyo on Dec 26 and leave for Kyoto on Dec 29. We return to Tokyo on Jan 4.

If you choose JR regular tickets, you do not need to have the roundtrip rides within 7 days; you can travel back to Tokyo on Monday, January 5 to avoid possible crowdedness on Sunday, January 4.

Kyoto to Kobe

Which places in Kobe City do you have in mind?
Prominent bus and railroad terminals for Kobe City are in Sannomiya area.
Shinkansen trains do not run via Sannomiya Station.
The only Shinkansen station in Kobe City is Shin-Kobe.
No JR line is connecting Shin-Kobe Station and Sannomiya Station.
by omotenashi rate this post as useful

Correction 2014/8/18 23:18
NOT: laager capacity
BUT: larger capacity
by omotenashi rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/18 23:32
Yes, I do know that traveling in the Green seats are more money.
Being a novice, what I wanted to know was this:
20,340 Yen per person, round trip from Tokyo to Kyoto

Am I missing any fees here? Hyperdia lists the ticket at 10,170 each way, per person.Do I have to pay a seat reservation fee?

The JR Green Pass is 38,880 per person.

Buying my tickets separately would save me money.

I know I don't have to go via Green Car. I want to. I've been in the ordinary cars plenty of times and they are just fine. I was just looking to up my experience this time around.

As for Kobe, I was probably planning on just going to the Sannomiya Station instead of taking the Shinkansen as the Shin Kobe station is far from almost everything.
I was thinking of doing a typical tourist route while in Kobe and having lunch somewhere before returning to Kyoto.
by lilien rate this post as useful

Re: your options 2014/8/19 01:32
Do I have to pay a seat reservation fee?

Yes, if you travel with JR regular tickets and reserve a Shinkansen seat.
To be precise, this fee is not a seat reservation fee but a service charge on Shinkansen, which is required even if the passenger cannot use a seat (when he/she has not reserved one and the cars are too packed).
"Seat Fee" is a bad expression by HyperDia to refer to additional service charges.

HyperDia lists the ticket at 10,170 each way, per person

That means a Shinkansen charge only, not the total one-way cost.
You see 18,380 yen shown as the total cost, beside "Total:" in the description at the top of the HyperDia result.

As I have mentioned above,
the JR regular cost on your roundtrips from Tokyo to Kyoto, from Kyoto to Nara and from Kyoto to Sannomiya is estimated
at 31,180 yen per adult if you reserve Shinkansen Ordinary-class seats in Hikari trains,
at 4,580 yen more per way per adult if you reserve Shinkansen Green Car seats,
or at 310 yen more per way per adult if you reserve seats in Nozomi trains.

And, traveling with a Japan Rail Pass means that you abandon your chances to reserve Shinkansen seats of Nozomi trains, during the busy New Year season.
by omotenashi rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/19 01:33
Yes, I do know that traveling in the Green seats are more money.
Being a novice, what I wanted to know was this:
20,340 Yen per person, round trip from Tokyo to Kyoto
Am I missing any fees here? Hyperdia lists the ticket at 10,170 each way, per person.Do I have to pay a seat reservation fee?

The JR Green Pass is 38,880 per person.

Buying my tickets separately would save me money.


I think you are reading that wrong. 10170 yen is the cost of the Green Car seat. That is in addition to the fare of 8,210 yen.

Total cost one way using Green Car Tokyo to Kyoto is 18,380 yen. So round trip is 36760 yen.
by daai maou (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/19 02:02
Okay, I finally got your points through my thick skull. :-)
Omotenashi - Thank you for pointing out the price differences between ordinary, green and Nozomi. I have been on the Nozomi several times. I really want to try Green Seats, at least one way if not round trip. The small difference in travel time does not make a difference to me. But I do get your point about getting seat reservations during the holiday season. That's why I'm thinking about the Green Seats. There should be availability on those as well.

Daai - Thank you as well. And yes, boy did I read those prices wrong! I guess I will buy the JR Green Pass. The return trip to Tokyo will be almost free with the Green Pass. The difference in price between the Ordinary Pass and the Green Pass is about $96.00 US per person. To me, that more than pays for itself for going Green Class.
by lilien rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/19 10:04
With that being said, when I looked at the JR Rail Pass website, it said that there are no green cars on the Hikari, Kodama, Sanyo line or the 800 Series trains.

You will be using the "Tokaido Shinkansen" for all your long-distance travel. All trains along the Tokaido Shinkansen have green cars:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018_tokaido.html

You won't be using the "Sanyo Line" (more commonly referred to as the "Sanyo Shinkansen") except possibly for your short trip to Kobe. And even on that trip, you could use a Hikari or Sakura trains with Green Cars. The Japan Rail Pass page is not accurate about stating that Hikari trains along the Sanyo Shinkansen don't have green cars. The hourly trains to Okayama DO have green cars. And other Hikari trains along the Sanyo Shinkansen are almost non-existent. So the only shinkansen without Green Cars are the Kodama trains along the Sanyo Shinkansen that you do not need to use, and the 800 series trains in Kyushu that you won't be using, either.

About the trains along the Sanyo Shinkansen:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018_sanyo.html

And the Kyushu Shinkansen:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018_kyushu.html

Would it make more sense to buy the Ordinary Rail Pass and just pay the difference for the Green Car service between Tokyo, Kyoto, Tokyo?

No.
by Uji rate this post as useful

Re: JR Green Pass 2014/8/19 19:36
Thanks, Uji.
by lilien rate this post as useful

Which Shinkansen for best green seats? 2014/10/12 23:31
Hi All,

I've decided to travel in the green class cars during my stay from Tokyo to Kyoto and back. I will not be getting a JR Pass after all.
What series shinkansens have the best green car seats in your opinion?
I was looking at the N700 series but was wondering if there are cars better than this.
Also, how would I be able to tell looking at the JR train schedule which series of shinkansen I will be reserving?
Thanks again.
by lilien rate this post as useful

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