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Non-reserved seat on limited express 2017/8/15 18:26
For passes which is valid only for the non-reserved seats, does the pass holder need to go to the ticket office to issue ticket? Or can we just go directly to the train and queue for the non-reserved car?

We are debating either to get the pass or get a single ticket. The pass does not really pay off, but if no ticket is required, we'll still choose the pass to shorten the hassle in queuing on the ticket office/machine.

Thank you.
by Moccy  

Re: Non-reserved seat on limited express 2017/8/16 02:56
I assume you refer to the Japan Rail Pass.

For passes which is valid only for the non-reserved seats, does the pass holder need to go to the ticket office to issue ticket?

No, no additional ticket is required when you use non-reserved cars.
by Uji rate this post as useful

Re: Non-reserved seat on limited express 2017/8/16 06:03
You assumption Uji would be incorrect. As the JR pass allows you to book reserved seats. The OP clearly stated he was looking at passes that do not allow you do to that, and to only use the non-reserved seating. Like many JR West regional passes.
by hakata14 (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Non-reserved seat on limited express 2017/8/16 06:31
Regardless of which pass you use, there is no need for tickets when using non-reserved seats. This is provided you are using your pass correctly. And yes, many of the JR West passes, such as the Hiroshima-Yamaguchi Area Pass and the Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass only allow non-reserved seating. and no tickets are required. On the other hand, the Sanyo-San'In Area Pass allows you to reserve tickets on Nozomi Service trains. and those will require tickets. All reservations require tickets to be "purchased".
by John B digs Japan rate this post as useful

Re: Non-reserved seat on limited express 2017/8/16 08:17
For non-reserved - show the pass at the gate and get on the train. Your pass is your ticket.

Much faster than getting an additional ticket which you don't need because you already have it (your rail pass).
by JapanCustomTours rate this post as useful

Re: Non-reserved seat on limited express 2017/8/16 17:03
Thank you for the responses!

The question is intended to have general understanding on how the non-reservation ticket. As Hakata14 has guessed, we are considering Kansai Wide Area pass. While passes that allow reservation will be handy to ensure the seat, there was often some queue on the ticket office to obtain the reservation.

Based on the responses, we will be getting the pass as opposed to single ticket purchase to skip the hassle.

by Moccy rate this post as useful

Re: Non-reserved seat on limited express 2017/8/16 17:15
there was often some queue on the ticket office to obtain the reservation.

There's always a huge queue at the ticket offices of large stations. Solution: do your reservation s at smaller ones, such as those in the places you visit, or near your hotel.
by Firas rate this post as useful

Re: Non-reserved seat on limited express 2017/8/16 17:28
There's always a huge queue at the ticket offices of large stations. Solution: do your reservation s at smaller ones, such as those in the places you visit, or near your hotel.

There's usually also queue at smaller stations, as it's the same queue as the general services (not dedicated queue for JR Pass/ticket reservation in bigger station).

Another question, if buying ticket for single journey, can we buy ticket in advance? Once purchased, is it possible to reschedule the ticket/timing?

Thank you.
by Moccy rate this post as useful

Re: Non-reserved seat on limited express 2017/8/16 17:47
There's usually also queue at smaller stations

That's not my experience. I've also never seen a station with dedicated counters for reservations or for JR Pass users.

Another question, if buying ticket for single journey, can we buy ticket in advance? Once purchased, is it possible to reschedule the ticket/timing?

Yes, up to one month. You can modify a ticket once at no extra cost (except the applicable fare difference of course).
by Firas rate this post as useful

Re: Non-reserved seat on limited express 2017/8/17 08:20
For some of the larger stations (like Kyoto), going to the correct ticket office can help, or go at an unpopular time. My local station isn't especially big, but does serve a reasonable population so the queues are almost always long.

And, for some of those smaller stations, a bit of a mixed bag - some have slow queues, others don't.

(a dedicated queue for pass holders - what an interesting idea? No.)
by JapanCustomTours rate this post as useful

Re: Non-reserved seat on limited express 2017/8/17 12:59
Oops, maybe I remembered wrongly, but I recalled there was a separate queue for JR Pass (it could be for the pass exchange) in major stations in Tokyo, which gave an impression they split the queue to allocate staffs who could speak English.

Thank you for the advise about ticket reservation.

@JapanCustomTours:
In fact I found the ticket office in smaller cities did have slower queues. The service level was more in-person to the extent the officer who was occupied with another customer just let me pass the gate without properly checking the pass. Hence, in context of reserved vs non-reserved pass, at times it's faster to run directly to the less-frequent train than to queue for getting the seat number.
by Moccy rate this post as useful

Re: Non-reserved seat on limited express 2017/8/17 15:11
Some ticket offices have dedicated counters for rail pass exchange - yes.

As for people checking passes - besides the first use stamp, mostly it is a glance at the expiry date, most gate staff don't look at them. In some cases (because the place is honest) they don't bother to look because you wouldn't be travelling on the train without a valid ticket.
by JapanCustomTours rate this post as useful

Re: Non-reserved seat on limited express 2017/8/17 16:16
Hello, guys. After reading the whole post, we can get solutions to deal with the trouble quickly and safely. Thanks for your nice sharing.
by Orance rate this post as useful

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