Osaka-Himeji: Shinkansen reserved seats?

Hi! I am thinking of travelling from Shin-Osaka to Himeji, using a Shinkansen on the Sanyo line. Probably about 9am~10am on a weekday.

I was wondering if I should get a reserved seat. The Shinkansen starts out from Shin-Osaka, so I suppose I can get a non-reserved seat easily, right?

How about when I go back from Himeji to Shin-Osaka in the late afternoon, about 4pm~5pm, would there be a lot of people taking this Shinkansen?

Thank you!

It will depend on the day of the week and if it is a public holiday or not.
But if you are traveling alone, non-reserved seat should be quite fine. You can simply line up at the right car and if you see that the train is incredible full (should really only happen for the return train) you can either try your luck with the next or still buy a reserved seat, if you don't want to ride standing.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

It's only about a half hour train ride, so even if you had to crown in, it's not so bad.

You decision might be influenced by you starting location. Not many people stay at Shin-Osaka so one of the express trains from Osaka city without transfers might be a useful second option (last time I did it it was an hour). If you are at Umeda and only 4 minutes from Shin-Osaka it might be a moot point.

Sorry,

I'll make the same trip, from Hiroshima to Himeji (reserves, early morning) and then Himeji-ShinOsaka (2pm).

Its permited ride Shinkansen without seat (standing) if fully crowded?

Best,
Ariel

If there is a non-reserved car, you are allowed into it and stand.

This is quite an expensive trip if you take the shinkansen - you could save 2000 yen if you take a different train, which will only be maybe 30-40 minutes longer

Will you have a rail pass? If yes, do it because why not? If not, don't do it because it's not worth the money (arguably, don't take the Shinkansen in the first place).

Yes, I'll have JRP for 14 days available. Thanks!

If you have a rail pass, seat reservation is free, so it would be advantageous to use it. Then you are guaranteed a seat.

Yes, I know. My question was because that day I will be touring Himeji and then I will go to the station to continue to Osaka. But I do not know what time I'll end in Himeji, and that's why I thought there was no point in making a reservation. He wanted to know what would happen if he did not make a reservation and the train arrived complete, if we could climb up and travel standing. Thanks!

if we could climb up and travel standing.

You surely can; but with JRP, be sure to "climb up" a correct train, not just any train.

You surely can; but with JRP, be sure to "climb up" a correct train, not just any train.

While the choice of words is humorous, ("rock on up" would have done just as nicely), there are sufficient numbers of lost tourists getting on the wrong trains and also missing getting off trains that JR have started making extra announcements to help people understand they should pay attention. It is easy to get on the wrong train (harder to get on the wrong direction with shinkansen platform layouts), but I see (too often) tourists with luggage waiting for the train to come to a stop before deciding to get off - they don't realize how short the stops are (and why they have the five minute warning announcements). Missing a stop is more disruptive for everyone.

Thanks for the advice. And apologies for the writing, damn translator :)