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Reserve all Train trips in one go? 2018/10/19 09:39
Question as the title.

I'm arriving in Japan over the weekend, and I'll redeem my JR pass soon after arrival.

I've already mapped out the major train rides we'll be using in our (2-Week) trip. They're mostly early morning and late night trains.

To be clear and prevent an confusion, would it be fine if I present a spreadsheet to the reservation counter and reserve all the major trains I would need for my trip in one go?

In terms of format, it contains the Date, Train Type (Shinkansen/Limited Express, etc.), Train Name (Hikari, Thunderbird, etc.), Train Number, as well as the departure and arrival stations with their times respectively.

Would this spreadsheet be accepted and would the reservation personnel be willing to go through with it?

Thanks so much for all your help!
by Elliott V (guest)  

Re: Reserve all Train trips in one go? 2018/10/19 16:46
TMI; you just need the departure date and time, and departure and destination stations.
by ... (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Reserve all Train trips in one go? 2018/10/19 16:57
Hello
Yes its possible - I even printed from the Hyperdiya site
I think its clearer
But be prepared some booking sites did not want to book more than 3 trains - KIX was busy and only after asking again they agreed to book 3 trains
Than I had to stay in line again in Kyoto station and they booked the rest
Enjoy
by 2ndtime japan (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Reserve all Train trips in one go? 2018/10/19 17:45
Book everything online, designate pickup station. So when you do the exchange pick up the reserved tickets at the same time.
Avoid jr offices at airport unless you are travelling the same day. Go into town and exchange yr jr pass.
by grobea rate this post as useful

Re: Reserve all Train trips in one go? 2018/10/20 01:04
I have done this with a simple word file ( Departure Station, Arrival Station, date, approximate time, number of passengers) and JR staff was very happy with this.

It will depend on how busy the office is at the time of exchange and on the staff. I did this in Shinjuku and while they had a sign saying that they will only be able to do the first reservation, upon seeing my list they were happy to do all ( we were also the only customers at the time we entered). I think the point is to make the booking process as time saving as possible for them, meaning that you do not have to think about or discuss your plans in front of them. It also helps to go at a less busy time, if possible, and I try to avoid the airport exchange offices.

They will usually show you the screen with options to confirm, so knowing an approximate time should be sufficient, but preparation with Hyperdia can help to check how many JR Pass eligible trains there are at any time.
by Mary (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Reserve all Train trips in one go? 2018/10/22 11:05
The normal information that you enter on a ticket buying form/request includes:
- date
- train name and number
- from and to stations
- start time and end time
- seat type (reserved, non reserved, green)
- number of people.

So, for your spreadsheet, you have all the relevant information you need. Sometimes the station staff will recommend a different routing/transfer station, and timetable adjustments may alter some of the information.

If the ticket office is busy, consider doing only some of the bookings at any one time. Often I do individual trips and then re-join the queue - depends on the office. Plus, at exchange offices, they are likely to direct you to a ticket office.

And, unfortunately, for a lot of trains you still can't book them online, and certainly not with the national rail pass.
by JapanCustomTours rate this post as useful

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