Shinkansen Tokyo-Hakata (Fukuoka)

Hello.

My family and I (3 people) are traveling to Japan in September and I wish to book our shinkansen ticket from Tokyo to Hakata station in advance.

Last year we traveled to Japan in the winter (Feb 2023), with plans to visit Fukuoka from Osaka, however, days in advance when we went to book our tickets there wasn't space left for even two of us to sit together. As we had our then 10-year-old with us, we didn't want to be separated from him so instead we never ended up going.

For this trip, however, we have accommodation booked and plan to take the ferry to South Korea from Fukuoka, so we need to book in advance and have our oversized luggage.
I attempted to use the EX app but have been unable to register because each time authentication with my card fails.

So, what is the best option for booking our shinkansen ticket in advance, from Australia?

P.S. I also looked on Klook, but they don't have the oversized baggage option and I couldn't find an option for kids' prices.

Thank you so much to anyone who might be able to shine some light on this for me.

Not answering the question directly but have you considered flying? Cheaper and quicker

I hadn't considered that, no.
Thank you for the input, I'll take a look.

By Flying:
Tokyo to narita airport or haneda airport
& Fukuoka airport to hakata(by subway/ bus)
Plus Flying cost & To/From airport cost

So it will be cheaper from tokyo to hakata by shinkansen 22220 yen by nozomi train,14080 yen by local train

Check out:
- the budget airlines
- depending on who youfre flying to Japan with, there are cheap deals for additional internal flights

Have you tried the JR West online system? It is my understanding that you can book shinkansen trains from Tokyo to Hakata through them, but I have never done so myself as I generally have a JR pass. I am not sure why Japan Guide says that you need to use the Ex site for making these online reservations. I have seen numerous reports suggesting that JR Westfs site will work and may be more likely to accept your credit card. (A lot of people have been frustrated with Smart-Ex. I always thought Smart-Ex was mainly for booking hayatoku advance reservations for discounted tickets, with some restrictions and different conditions.)
https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/overview/

The fastest Nozomi takes about 5 hours, so you might possibly want to break up your trip, especially with kids, although there is a lot to be said for just getting it over with in one shot. You can save some money if you buy a base fare ticket from Tokyo to Hakata and then separate reserved seat tickets for two legs with a stopover (known as tochu gesha in Japanese) but I have no idea how (or even if) you can do this online.

To clarify, the savings you get with a stopover (and a single base-fare ticket) are compared to booking two separate reservations (with base fare paid for each). If you are doing the whole trip in one shot you wouldnft save anything by getting a stopover. And I donft know how much you even save by doing the stopover thing as opposed to two separate reservations. It probably wouldnft be worth it if you have to go to a staffed ticket office or machine in Japan to make the reservations.

Ifm a little surprised that you couldnft get seats together from Osaka to Fukuoka in February (lots of experienced travelers insist that you never have trouble booking Nozomi trains except maybe at New Yearfs, because there are so many of them) but it is true that single travelers will always select a seat that has no one sitting next to them if they can, and of course this greatly reduces the chances for getting two or three seats together in the same row. Of course you donft want a 10-year-old kid to have to sit by themself (although possibly they might enjoy it!).

Shinkansens westbound start at Tokyo. If you can't get reserved seats. Which I find unbelievable in September. Just get unreserved and arrived 15 minutes beforehand. Stand in the correct spot. Be the first to walk on the train.

Thanks for all the advice.

Last time we couldn't take nozomi trains because we had the JR pass.
Yes, I'm sure he would have found it very exciting to sit separately, but I'm not sure his new seatmate would have been as excited. haha

I thought that with over sized bags you needed to have a reservation?

I will have a look at the JR website now. Thanks for all the advice!

Makes more sense to fly. Haneda & Fukuoka airports are in the city, and costs getting to/from there are minor. Some good things to see and do in Fukuoka as well.
https://goo.gl/X3LDaE

Taking the bullet train is not cheaper. You can take an inexpensive tourist airfare on JAL or ANA, now as low as 14,300 yen per person one way. Much faster too.
https://www.jal.co.jp/world/en/world/japan_explorer_pass/lp/
https://www.ana.co.jp/en/us/plan-book/promotions/special-fares/

But as far as getting to Busan goes, I suggest you instead take the Beetle Hydrofoil instead of the slow ferry. Much quicker.

If you're not interested in seeing Fukuoka though and just the trip to Busan, why go to Fukuoka at all? You can get a cheap flight to Busan straight from Tokyo. There are a few LCCs that can get you there non-stop in about 2-2½ hours.

With oversized baggage you need a reservation in the last row. Or in some places there are also separate spaces for large suitcase.
Each Shinkansen car has only 1 row with 3 seats that are at the end. Generally 3 cars are non reserved and I think 2 cars are green car. If the Shinkansen has 16 cars this means there are only 11 rows with 3 seats that you could possibly reserve. Thatfs a SEVERE restriction. If traveling with 3 people try not to also have oversized luggage. I do understand that it would seem better for the entire family to have only 1 or 2 oversized plus a smaller item, but for Japanese trains it would be better to have more smaller items. Ideally as few as possible. Or consider having 1 big one and ship it plus 1-2 smaller ones for items you need the next day.

So in conclusion I think that you werenft that much limited by needing 3 seats than by your oversized luggage and the JRP.

BTW, I was at Kyoto station yesterday and it was a nightmare how many foreigners lug around huge suitcases. I was quite annoyed when I finally made it to my train where I dutifully had reserved a seat in tha last row for storing my bicycle to find that someone else was occupying th luggage space BECAUSE JR had sold them that space during the ride. That doesnft happen when you start in Tokyo but when you start midway through apparently JR can sell the luggage space to someone else even if not yet all passengers of the last row arrived. (After a bit of luggage Tetris we manage to fit in the bike as well)

My family and I (3 people) are traveling to Japan in September

I recommend you prepare for bad weather conditions.

Flights are more liable to be canceled due to strong winds.
During the typhoon season, I don't count highly on flying.

I suggest you plan to take
one HIKARI train and one HIKARI or SAKURA train,
allowing at least 30 minutes for a transfer at Shin-Ōsaka.

NOZOMI trains connect Tōkyō and Hakata directly.
If you take two trains, a transfer at Shin-Kōbe would be easier.

Still, it may be better to split your route at Shin-Ōsaka, I think,
considering that trains from Tōkyō,
when there is torrential rainfall along the course,
might be suspended beyond Shin-Ōsaka.

As long as you are inside the Shinkansen zone,
you can pay the Shinkansen surcharge for the entire route;
make sure to book the two train rides together at once.

I thought that with over sized bags you needed to have a reservation?

Yes.
You see the introduction by JR-Central.
- JR-Central: Reservations for Seats with an Oversized Baggage Area
https://global.jr-central.co.jp/en/info/oversized-baggage/