Crowded Shinkansen end of year 2019?

Dear All,

1) We will be travelling from Kyoto to Takayama on 28 December 2019. I have read that the New Year period starting from 29 December the Shinkansen will be very busy and seat will be booked out in advance. This year 29 December falls on Sunday, does that mean Shinkansen train from Kyoto to Takayama will be very busy and booked in advance as well?

2) We are planning to purchase JR Pass. If we purchase the Green car JR Pass will it increase our chance to reserve a Shinkansen train ticket?

We are very anxious about the train ticket availability as we are overseas visitor and we cannot book the Shinkansen ticket overseas and our hotels have already booked and paid.

Any advice will be very much appreciated.


Many thanks,
Shoopshoop23

Meh, Kyoto to Nagoya is very short so worst case you can just stand (unless you have special needs).

(Also, on 29 December most people will be travelling in the other direction (away from Tokyo).)

First of all, there is no Shinkansen between Kyoto and Takayama. Closest you will get is changing trains in Nagoya, and Kyoto to Nagoya is short enough that the Shinkansen is far from essential.

Every form of transport is going to be busy that time of year. And chances are pretty good that every reserved seat is already reserved. But all trains have non-reserved seats, and plenty of people stand. You can wait in line for a couple of hours and maybe get a seat going to Nagoya, or just stand for the 30 minutes the trip takes.

Second, the JR pass isn't doing you many favours here. It takes 3 long-haul (Tokyo-Osaka range) trips to break even on the 7-day pass, and you can't use it on Nozomi Shinkansen services - not at all, not even paying an additional fee (the "additional fee" would be the full-price cash ticket for the trip). Nozomi services make up most of the schedule from Tokyo to Osaka, there are maybe 2 trains per hour you can use.

I would get up early and try to get a highway bus between Kyoto and Takayama. It takes 5-6 hours but you stay on the same bus. A seat is guaranteed (no standing allowed) assuming you get a ticket.
If the buses are full, take local trains. Tickets on demand, much cheaper, and with holiday crowds on the Shinkansen it won't be significantly slower.

Pack very light for this trip - hauling around two huge suitcases per person will not help keep things moving. Trains in Japan don't have suitcase storage (the one notable exception is the airport express trains)

Thank you very much for your response.

I have just realised the trip from Kyoto to Takayama split into 2 legs, Kyoto to Nagoya and Nagoya to Takayama. From Nagoya to Takayama is limited express (wide view) hide. Is this limited express (wide view) hide going to be full on 28 December as well?

We will then travelling from Takayama to Nagoya on 29 December, from Nagoya to Kawaguchigo on 30 December, from Kawaguchiko to Tokyo on 31 December using JR Pass. Is the crowd going to be much better on these days if travel by train?


Many thanks,
Shoopshoop23

You can assume that for 28th and 29th all of the reserved shinkansen seats between Osaka and Tokyo will be fully booked - every seat, except for some obscure timings either very late or early. Using a JR pass restricts you to Hikari or Kodama services, so you will be non-reserved or standing - jammed in like sardines - along with all the other tourists using JR passes.
The Hida Wide View often gets sold out, and going green at a holiday time does not necessarily give you a better chance of getting a seat.
The additional fee to upgrade from ordinary to green is not the full cost of the ticket (error in someone's advice above).
More important, for your trip, the JR pass is the wrong thing for you - way too expensive versus single tickets.

Assuming that you shared your entire itinerary, yes, as PP said, JR pass is too expensive. Just get single tickets.

I believe if you get single tickets you can book them over the internet upfront. It might depend on the country where you are though.

Also regardless of JR pass or not, you can buy all your tickets right when you arrive in Japan. You do don�ft share if you arrive straight at the end of the year or a few days earlier.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

Hi All,

Please see below my itinerary.

25/12 - Kyoto > Osaka> Kyoto
26/12 - Kyoto > Kobe> Himeji> Kyoto
27/12 - Kyoto > Nara> Kyoto
28/12 - Kyoto> Takayama
29/12 - Takayama > Nagoya
30/12 - Nagoya > Gotemba
1/1 - Kawaguchiko > Tokyo

I am thinking to buy the 7 Day JR Pass since I will be travelling quite a lot.

I guess my main concern is whether I can reserve train tickets from 28/12 to 1/1 since it is the New Year period and the trains are going to be very crowded.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.


Many thanks!

I am thinking to buy the 7 Day JR Pass since I will be travelling quite a lot

Frankly I am too lazy to do the maths for you, but are you sure it will pay off? You are using trains quite often but don�ft necessarily go very far. Plus depending on where your hotel in Kyoto is, non JR lines might be more convenient to get to Nara and Osaka.

I am not going to talk you out of the JR pass. But if you buy it to save money go the extra mile and do your maths. And consider that you can�ft take the fastest, most frequent Shinkansen. Which ultimately limits your possibilities to get a seat.

Also do some research if you can reserve tickets online from the country where you are, as your main concern (and rightfully so) is availability of seats.

JR pass is not worth the pay.
If you use Shinkansen often than yes but you are using other local trains as well which are cheap.
The only advance you have is that you do not need to buy tickets (except if you want reserved seat) you can just show your card and go the tracks.

Around new year shinkansen is booked fully because people are free around that period. (29 Dec till Jan 3)
Same as other major holidays. If you do not book a seat in advance it will be difficult but you can always stand.

The limited express (wide view) hide is the same. It is a small train and has also green car or ordinary.
Booking in advance is recommended.

25/12 - Kyoto > Osaka> Kyoto (Not worth to take shinkansen) Kyoto - Shin Osaka - Kyoto)
26/12 - Kyoto > Kobe> Himeji> Kyoto (Not worth Shinkansen) Kyoto - Shin Kobe- Himeji)
27/12 - Kyoto > Nara> Kyoto (No shinkansen on this track, ticket is not exspensive)
28/12 - Kyoto> Takayama (Kyoto Nagoya by Shinkansen - Nagoya takayama limited express (wide view) hide, or night bus

29/12 - Takayama > Nagoya ( limited express (wide view) hide, ticket is not expensive)
30/12 - Nagoya > Gotemba (3 and half our travel, shinkansen than local train)
1/1 - Kawaguchiko > Tokyo (bus is best transport takes around 1 hour)

You should check by your self and see if it is worth the JR pass.
JR pass green is around 38000 yen (350USD)