Seat Reservation Shinkansen

Hi Japan Guide

I am confused on the seat reservation for shinkansen line. Hope my question or doubts can be enlightened.

Details:

Route: Shinjuku JR to Sakurajima (Universal Studios Osaka)

If i were to get a Japan Rail Pass i understand that Nozomi train is excluded so i need to take the Hikari Train based on hyperdia.com route planner. But when i am trying to reserve a seat via eki-net i am not able to see the station Shin-Yokohama where i need to reserve a seat. I would like to make a reservation in advance instead of waiting to arrive in japan.

Thanks for any help.

It looks like eki-net is JR East? That would be why you can't find Shin-Yokohama, as the Tokaido Shinkansen isn't operated by JR East.

By the way, if you're coming from Shinjuku, why are you looking to get a shinkansen from Shin-Yokohama? Shinagawa would be the nearest shinkansen stop.

make a reservation when you arrive. you cannot do it outside the country without paying a third party huge amounts of extra fees.

It would be better and easier and cheaper to make the reservation when you arrive in Japan. I don't see any advantage to taking Shinkansen.

Hi Hakata and Gfoulk

Thanks for the response. It was hyperdias suggestion and i am planning of getting a JR pass as well (not sure if its worth it) and Shinagawa stop for shinkansen does'nt cover the nozomi shinkansen. For seat reservation, can i do it at Shinjuku station ticketing offices for my Tokyo-Osaka-Tokyo trip?

Also during my research i came across the Suica and Pasmo cards. Are they for Tokyo subways? Which one should i get? Will also be day tripping to Osaka and i do hope that the JR pass and Suica/Pasmo covers all my transportation needs.

Thanks guys in advance and apologies for posting these questions.

Cheers!

I don't understand what you mean when you mention the Nozomi not covered at Shinagawa.

First, the Nozomi is a service along the Tokaido shinkansen, not a shinkansen line. All trains that originate at Tokyo Station stop at Shinagawa, regardless of service: Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama. Whether it's worthwhile for you to get a JR Pass, that's up to you to know with the information you have (Hyperdia's prices).

You can indeed reserve JR trains at JR Shinjuku Station for your desired trains.

SUICA and PASMO are mostly interchangeable. You can purchase either one. It just depends on which station you'll visit first. If it's a JR station, then SUICA. If it's not, then PASMO.

By the way, if you're coming from Shinjuku, why are you looking to get a shinkansen from Shin-Yokohama?

Very probably, OP is looking at the first Hikari of the day, which departs from Shin-Yokohama.

Another possible reason is that the trains to Yokohama and then to Shin-Yokohama are less crowded and takes almost the same time as getting to Shinagawa. If they are doing a JRP exchange, the office at Shin-Yokohama also opens earlier. (There are a few advantages over the Tokyo centric view of the world.)

Hi Guys

Thanks for all the feedback. Anyways the JR pass does not cover the Nozomi so my next choice would be the Hikari and will be taking that from Shin-Yokohama since it departs earlier for Shin-Osaka compared to at Shinagawa (hope im correct).

Also for train transfers, some have platforms number indicated in hyperdia and some dont. Will i base the train destination or the name of the line to look for my platform number and board the correct train?

In Shin-Yokohama Station, there is only one Shinkansen zone for one Shinkansen line, which is the Tokaido Shinkansen; there westbound Shinkansen trains use two tracks beside one same platform.
You can easily get to the Shinkansen platform.

- Map of Shin-Yokohama Station of JR
http://english.jr-central.co.jp/info/station/_img/shin_yokohama_L.jpg

After getting off your train on the Yokohama Line, you go up to the pathway (which is crossing over the tracks), walk to its end, go down to the concourse and pass through Shinkansen West (or East) Transfer Gate.
Then you go up to the platform for Tracks 3 and 4, see the list of next departures (on a signboard) and check the number of the track for your Shinkansen train.
If time permits, you can search for the car number and find the position of a door of your train car.

Route: Shinjuku JR to Sakurajima (Universal Studios Osaka)

The JR station for Universal Studios Japan visitors is Universal-City Station, not Sakurajima Station.
The Sakurajima Line in Osaka City is often called by its nickname as the JR Yumesaki Line.

I am planning of getting a JR pass as well (not sure if it’s worth it)

How is your whole itinerary?

Just for your JR train rides from Shinjuku to Universal-City and back, a Japan Rail Pass would not greatly save your cost.

According to the current timetable,
when you travel with JR regular tickets, logically you can take Nozomi 99 starting at 6:00 from Shinagawa, so you don’t have to leave Shinjuku Station before 5 am to catch Hikari 493 at Shin-Yokohama.
: Shin-Yokohama {6:00} -- Shinkansen: HIKARI 493 (bound for Hiroshima) --
　{8:12} Shin-Osaka.
: Shinagawa {6:00} --Shinkansen: NOZOMI 99 (bound for Hakata)--
　{8:16} Shin-Osaka.
: Tokyo {6:26} / Shinagawa {6:34} --Shinkansen: HIKARI 501 (bound for Shin-Osaka)--
　{9:30} Shin-Osaka.

when I am trying to reserve a seat via eki-net I am not able to see the station Shin-Yokohama

Services of JR-East Train Reservation (on the Eki-net website) are offered by East Japan Railway Company [JR East], who operates the JR Yokohama Line.
The Tokaido Shinkansen is operated by Central Japan Railway Company [JR Central].
JR East has nothing to do with the Tokaido Shinkansen, so it is not covered by this JR East reservation system.

Hi omotenashi

Very informative indeed!! And Yes it should be Universal City station ( my bad :) )

My itinerary would be Shinjuku-Universal-Shinjuku in a single day hehe. So factoring in the cost on a round trip would be jpy28890 which is the same when i get a 7 day Japan Rail pass. so i figured just get one since theres not much difference.

for shinkansen trains operated by JR central, is there an online seat reservation as my arrival in Japan is the golden week so i was thinking of securing our seats in advance.

thanks!