Where to buy Shinkansen Ticket in Tokyo?

i am going to japan (tokyo) for the first time with my wife and 3 y/o daughter. After one week stay at tokyo, i am planning to go to Osaka using Shinkansen.

When is the right time to buy Shinkansen and where to buy it? I am planning to use unreserved seat with cheapest shinkansen (kodama) to osaka.

Should i buy the ticket on the first day of my arrival at tokyo? Or the day i going to osaka?


thanks,

You can buy the shinkansen ticket from any major JR station from their ticket offices. Alternatives are to use the new shinkansen booking app, or buy from a vending machine. You can purchase the ticket when you arrive or just before you depart.

There is a discount plan for the Kodama, called the Platt Kodama, allowing you to purchase tickets at large discounts. However, only certain trains are covered and there is a limited number of tickets sold on the plan. If you want to buy Platt Kodama tickets, I would suggest doing it on the day you arrive.

More information can be found on this website or through Google.

If you're planning to use the unreserved seats, you can buy your tickets just before departure although there might be a queue at the ticket office so I wouldn't leave it to the last minute. :-)
If there is already a long queue on the platform for the unreserved cars, you can queue up for the next or the next next train on the platform. The lines on the platform make this clear and the overhead signs have information for the first few trains to depart from a platform.

You're probably already aware of this, but just in case: You might want to look into a JR Rail Pass if you're going between Tokyo and Osaka and back within a week. Kids under the age of 5 travel for free but aren't entitled to a seat so you'll have to take your daughter in your lap if it gets busy.

Thanks alot.

I will be staying near Itabashihoncho station and will be carrying 2 luggages and stroller to Osaka. Does the shinkansen train always start at Tokyo Station or at any other station near Itabashihoncho station?

And i'll be going to osaka on sunday, how is station during Sunday? Is it very crowdy at morning? And do you have suggestion on what time at the morning to travel to Osaka? In terms of crowd, traffic, etc.


thanks,

It starts at Tokyo, so to secure seats you would want to take it from Tokyo station.

As far as I know, if you are buying a one-way regular ticket, there is no fare difference between Kodama, Hikari, and Nozomi, so why not take a faster one?

If you really want to save money you could consider Puratto Kodama Plan by JR Tokai, but this needs be purchased in advance (at latest by the day before the travel date), and you need to enter theTokyo station from a specific gate as this is a travel package, not a regular ticket.

thanks alot. Yes, i am buying one way ticket. How much is the difference between regular with puratto kodama?

Google it. It's very easy to find.

As far as I know, if you are buying a one-way regular ticket, there is no fare difference between Kodama, Hikari, and Nozomi

Reserved seats are more expensive on Nozomi; for non-reserved seats there is no difference.

what about the travel time on sunday? what time will be the peak hour?

When will you travel?
How is your full itinerary?

Puratto Kodama is not a ticket but a tour package, which is offered not by JR Central [JR Tokai] but by its subsidiary company JR Tokai Tours.

Please note that Shinkansen trains run not via Osaka Station; you disembark at Shin-Osaka Station.

I am going to Japan (Tokyo) for the first time with my wife and 3 y/o daughter.
I will be staying near Itabashihoncho Station

Then, Shinagawa Station seems more easily accessible than Tokyo Station.

Shinagawa Station sounds better also because it is much simpler and there is only one Shinkansen zone; Tokyo Station is shared by two JR regional companies who have Shinkansen zones separately, which means you should choose a correct Shinkansen gate.

One possible demerit of your embarking at Shinagawa is that when you don't reserve seats, you might not have seats which you like best, because Shinagawa is the second station (after Tokyo Station) for almost all the westbound Shinkansen trains connecting Tokyo and western Japan.
(One exception is Nozomi 99 bound for Hakata, which starts from Shinagawa at 6:00.)

On the condition that your 3-year-old daughter (accompanied by her parent) does not solely use a reserved seat, she can travel by Shinkansen free of fees.
In that case, I recommend that you and your wife reserve Shinkansen Nozomi or Hikari train seats and have a ride with your daughter on the lap.

I'll be going to Osaka on Sunday, how is station during Sunday?

On Sundays there is no morning commuters' rush; when you head to Shinagawa or Tokyo Station in the early morning (while most local travelers have not started their trips), I suppose you will not get packed in a JR Yamanote Line train.

[From Itabashihoncho Sta. to Shin-Osaka Sta.]

Itabashihoncho Station (I-19) is on Toei Subway Mita Line.
You can take a train for about 8 minutes until (I-15) Sugamo Station.

Sugamo Stations of Toei Subway and JR are equipped with escalators and elevators.
You can make a simple transfer to JR, via a concourse outside Toei and JR gates.
You take a JR Yamanote Line train (on the outer or inner loop, which does not make a big difference in the required time,) from Sugamo Station for about 35 minutes until Shinagawa Station.

In Shinagawa Station, you pass through Shinkansen North or South Transfer Gate to the Shinkansen zone.
http://english.jr-central.co.jp/info/station/_img/shinagawa_L.jpg
You confirm (on the electric signboard) the track number for your Shinkansen train, then go up to the platform.
When you have reserved seats, you check the car number on your Shinkansen tickets and find the position for that car.
When you don't reserve seats, you go to the position for a car of Non-Reserved seats.

Shinkansen trains which go beyond Shin-Osaka make practically a brief stop; when your train leaves Kyoto Station, please get prepared early to disembark.

NOT: then go up to the platform.
BUT: then go down to the platform.

- How to travel between Osaka and Tokyo
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4006.html?aFROM=2157_2164
: Your options of transportation modes, rail passes and tour packages are well explained on this Japan-Guide webpage.

A JR basic fare generally becomes lower per distance as you travel longer.
When you plan to travel beyond Osaka, tour packages designed for Osaka visitors may not result in saving your cost.

When the furthest JR station for you is in Osaka City, usually you get a JR basic fare ticket to travel from the Tokyo Ward Area to the Osaka City Zone, which you can use from Sugamo Station.

At Shinkansen gates, you put your basic fare ticket and Shinkansen ticket together into a gate machine.

To continue beyond Shin-Osaka onto a JR conventional (= non-Shinkansen) line, you pass through a Shinkansen Transfer gate, where your Shinkansen ticket is collected while your basic fare ticket is returned.

Actually it doesn't have to be any major JR station. You should be able to buy it any JR station that has a 'Midori Madoguchi' which is a JR counter. Some stations don't have it so make sure to look it up online beforehand. Also Shinagawa station and Tokyo station are where the shinkansen stop so you can always get it there as well. Most of the time you can go kind of last minute and book your ticket before boarding. If it's not busy you'll be able to reserve a seat and if it is busy then you will be in the non-reserved seat. If it's really busy and you don't have a seat reserved there will most likely be a lot of people already lined up waiting for the shinkansen to arrive so that they can grab a seat as soon as it arrives.

after 6 times in Japan I still do not completely understand the rates of reserved/nonreserved seats, but what I noticed is that difference between them is usually 200-300 yen (even if from Hyperdia can understand that difference is ca 50%).
So, with small kid I would not want to risk travelling without seat reservation.

Long story short, write down your whole train itinerary for the day you travel to Osaka, along with date, time, and the fact you want non-reserved non-Green-car tickets for what ages of people, and show it to a uniformed person at any JR station when buying your tickets. Then be sure to use those tickets from your nearest JR station to your furthest.

Longer story follows:

Long distance train tickets allow you to travel not only from a specific station but from any JR station in the city.

For example, coming from Itabashi-honcho station to board a Tokaido Shinkansen departing from Tokyo station, the easiest route is to change to JR Yamanote Line at Sugamo station. You can use your "basic fare ticket" to Shin-Osaka starting from Sugamo, and not from Tokyo station. Then after your Shinkansen arrives at Shin-Osaka station, you can still use your basic fare ticket to travel to another JR station in the city of Osaka.

All train tickets have a validity, so be sure you tell them your date of travel if you are purchasing the tickets in advance, even if it's for non-reserved seats.

On a related note, however, I do encourage you to reserve seats if you're traveling with a 3 year old. Good thing you decided to ride a Nozomi instead of a Kodama all the way to Osaka which will take an extra 1.5 hrs and is very consuming for a young child.

Bon voyage!