JR Pass Yufuin no Mori reservation

Hello,

I will try to number my questions for ease of answering.

I am seeking information on booking a spot on the Yufuin no Mori (not the regular "yufu" express train) using the Japan Rail Pass.

1) As far as I understand, this train can be booked using the JR Pass, correct? If not, that is okay-- I want to experience Yufuin no Mori even if I have to pay "out of pocket."

I will be arriving in Japan on October 29, but do not wish to "activate" my 2 week JR pass until November 3.
2) Is it possible to make reservations with a JR pass before activating it by riding the train? I believe I've read that I can do so within 30 days or something to that effect, but would like to double check...

Also, I am not sure if I can reserve the Yufuin no Mori train from Tokyo, where I will be spending the first leg of my stay. 3) Are each of the JR networks (East, West, etc.) separate in terms of reserving tickets?

Another question-- 4) Is it possible to pay an additional fee for the panoramic first cabin?

Lastly, 5) is there a good chance of getting a reservation if I wait until arriving in Japan? The date I am looking to reserve the Yufuin no Mori reservation is for November 11, Sunday. If I have to reserve out of pocket on the JR Kyushu website in advance, I will just do that instead.

Thanks so much, guys!

Yes you can use your JR pass.

Yes you can book a seat at any JR company booking office or ticket window across Japan.

Yes you can select the first day of you pass being valid. Once you exchange the voucher for the pass, you can begin to book seat from that day, even though you selected a validity period to begin say in 7 day in advance.

The seating is all the same price wise. You can grab the booth seating or the front row behind the driver, etc. They are all the same cost. But I would think the seating behind the driver would sell out at 10:02am 30 days before the day of travel.

Thank you, hakata14, for your detailed answer!

So, the seats behind driver will likely sell out when the tickets go to sale (30 days prior to November 11th), and that is okay! I am wondering now about the other seats. I have no idea what the popularity of the train is around the autumn foliage time. Is it very unlikely to get a seat at all if I wait until arriving in Japan on October 29 to reserve with my JR pass? If it seems unlikely to get a seat that way, I will reserve online when the tickets go on sale and pay out of pocket instead.

Of course, I know we can't perfectly predict such a situation, but if around autumn it's something with the popularity of, say, Ghibli tickets, then I might want to consider buying online! Does anyone happen to know well about this ticket who might be able to advise? If not, no problem. Thanks again, guys!

I guess the question you should ask yourself is: how much do you want those seats? If you really, really want them, then price is no object, so you can buy them as soon as they are available to "secure" the seats as best as you can. In the past, some people have bought tickets in advance and then tried to reserve them with the rail pass. if the rail pass worked, then that person returned the ticket. It's not extremely ethical and I don't suggest you do it, but it is an option. If you do pursue this option, and refunds are available, I would suggest you return the purchased tickets as soon as possible. I don't think there's a way possible they'd go without being purchased. This is not something I, myself, would do, but like I mentioned before, there's no prohibition of which I'm aware. If the tickets are refundable, that is an option. Very few times have I sought seats for a "tourism" car on a train and I only did those with either the JRP or a regional pass when I was in country. To experience the GranClass, I purchased the seat fee on a Hayabusa just to see what it was like.

And to summarize the other questions....yes, as soon as you exchange the order for an actual pass and determine when you wish for it to be valid (up to 30 days from when you do the exchange), you can reserve seats on the proper trains at any JR office or ticket window (for smaller stations) regardless of which JR company to which the train/service belongs.

Note that the only online booking service in English that covers JR Kyushu trains requires a JR Kyushu rail pass (does not work with the nationwide pass), so you'd have to buy one of those too. And since the cheapest one is 8,500 yen, it might be cheaper to use a third-party booking service (you only need a limited express ticket, not the base fare as that will be covered by your pass).

Thank you both for your replies! I'll probably just buy the ticket out of pocket.

By the way, as to the second replier, do you mean that there is a Japanese website that I could book it through using the JR nationwide pass, but that only the English online booking requires a separate, JR Kyushu pass? Maybe I'm not reading what you wrote correctly, since I don't think that makes too much sense! Anyway, the website does not need to be in English for us, in case if that makes any difference with booking.

No online booking service for nation wide jr passes.

JR Kyushu allows booking online only for Kyushu pass holders.

Thank you so much! That makes sense to me now.