I plan to exchange my JR Pass at the airport once I arrive. my family of 4 are considering heading to Osaka on the 2nd Jan. Does anyone among the travelers hold a valid credit card of a major brand (with a magnetic stripe)?
Unlike the Tokaido Shinkansen
(Tokyo -- Nagoya -- Kyoto -- Shin-Osaka),
seats of trains on the Hokuriku Shinkansen
(Tokyo -- Nagano --Joetsumyoko -- Kanazawa (#1))
can be reserved (#2) by Japan Rail Pass travelers through the Internet, via the JR-East Train Reservation website.
This seat reservation system demands you to pick up your tickets before 21:00 Japan Standard Time of the day before departure.
To use this system, you need to hold a (free-of-charge) membership, for which you register your e-mail address and your credit card of a designated brand.
The designated brands are VIEW CARD (of JR-EAST), JCB, VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and Diners Club International.
The credit card has to be with a magnetic stripe, so that the card can be recognized when you settle the payment at a JR-East window.
When you have reserved seats by this system, please make sure to bring to Japan
a printed memo of the reservation number,
the registered credit card,
and the Exchange Order for your Japan Rail Pass.
#1: On the Hokuriku Shinkansen, this JR-East system covers also the section which is operated by JR-West (Joetsumyoko -- Kanazawa).
#2: All the seats of a Kagayaki train require reservation, while a Hakutaka train has seats which are not to be reserved.
- JR-East Train Reservation
https://www.eki-net.com/pc/jreast-shinkansen-reservation/English/wb/co...You can travel from Tokyo Station via Kanazawa to Kyoto, Shin-Osaka or Osaka Station first by the Hokuriku Shinkansen until Kanazawa then by the conventional (= non-Shinkansen) lines, for the latter leg taking one Limited Express Thunderbird train.
Compared to one Hikari train ride on the Tokaido Shinkansen, the total required time to get to Shin-Osaka on this route is about double, but you may hope to make a side trip in the Hokuriku sub-region.
Please note that Osaka Station is not on the Shinkansen.