Is first class worth it?

Is it worth the extra $100 to be in first class with the Japan Rail Pass?

If you like to pay more for a little bit more luxury, yes. Otherwise, no.

Do you have the money to blow 100 bucks on a train that youre going to be on for a couple hours tops? the seats are fine in regular plus you can get up and walk around any time....who cares...if money was no object then sure...but if you would still pick up 100 bucks on the street if you saw it then why waste your time..or money lol...the first class is nicer though obviously lol

Is there any difference between green and ordinary classes apart from the seats?

Here's the description of the difference between green and ordinary seats on the JR website:
http://www.japanrail.com/JR_trainandseattypes.html

Personally I don't think it's worth it. I'm quite short so regular seats are roomy enough. Also, not all trains have green cars, so it depends on your route.

Hello, I just came back fom Japan, I have some overweight and traveled in the normal cars in the trains, they were really confortable, dont know the difference with green cars but the normal is great

I have used the original JR for 3 trips to Japan and was very comfortable. But for my last trip I tried the Green one. It was a bit more but I will surely get Green JR for my coming trip in March and September. The Green car of Superview �x��q train is superb. It is a personal choice.

Once you go green, it is difficult to return to ordinary :(

Uji,

You are most right. Aside from the comfort, I have also encountered the ordinary was fully booked and luckily I got the Green one.

Here are some of the good things about the Green Car.

1) In the Shinkansen, they have foot rests. Quite handy when you feet are tired from touring.

2) In the Shinkansen, a train hostess will come to your seat to see if you need anything (such as refreshments and light meals) and if you do, they can get it for you while you sit and relax. Very handy when you are traveling with small children.

3) Even though anyone is free to pass by, Green Cars provide you a bit more privacy and is somewhat more quiet. For example, in the Tokaido Line trains which is a local commuter train line, the Green Car carriage has the light turned down, so you can relax much better.

So depending on your preference and situation, the Green Car is worth the price. There was a time when I, a local resident, used to enjoy the Green Car a lot, but lately my preference and situations have changed and I usually go for the ordinary seats.

I remembered one more thing. In the Shinkansen, a bilingual magazine issued by JR is provided for every seat in the Green Cars.

2) In the Shinkansen, a train hostess will come to your seat to see if you need anything (such as refreshments and light meals) and if you do, they can get it for you while you sit and relax. Very handy when you are traveling with small children.

In the Reserved portion of the ordinary car on the Tokaido Shinkansen a sales lady comes with a cart, she sells food, hot coffee drinks, snacks etc, pretty much the same things. In the unreserved section they will come by if it isn't standing room.

Now of course there are dozens of green vs. ordinary topics already.

It depends on how much you value that extra money.

For me personally, I can find better things to do with the extra yen saved, I'm perfectly fine with the ordinary cars. They have ample leg room when compared to coach of an airplane. It is actually more leg room in the ordinary car then most US domestic first class seats. Certainly more then the domestic first class "Class J" on domestic JAL flights.

Also not all green cars are created equal. Some are not much different from ordinary cars, some are different, but it depends on the train.

Having flown Premium Economy class recently on a long flight using my airmiles after having paid a little more on the ticket, I felt much better upon arrival and would prefer to spend my money on this again than on a Green JR pass.

I was sitting on quite a lot of airmiles and was never able to use them. When I phoned up the airline, they explained that the cheapest tickets don't allow upgrades with airmiles but that a slightly more expensive ticket did.

In all honesty I have to add to this that when travelling in Japan we spend most of the time in the deep countryside where only very small train ride a couple of times a day and maybe rely less on the shinkansen than most of you.

Some shinkansen green cars also have an audio program to listen to with headphones like airplanes. And a heated seat. And electric outlets with every single seat.

this post is a perfect example of DEJA VU! was it last year that we had a huge post about the pro & con of green cars? there was no consensus then and we are heading in the same direction now.. always interesting anyway..

More a déjà vu of a déjà vu of a déjà vu. I've been here since the late 1990's, I guess, and I have seen this discussion many times here and we never reached a conclusion.
For my self, since it is less than ��50 more expensive for a Green JR one week pass, I would go for it. However, I usually go for a 2 week (myself) and a 3 week (my wife who wants to visit her friends all over Japan and usually leaves a week earlier) pass and in that case the price difference starts to make an impact that I prefer to spend that money on something else.

I am gonna carry 2 suitcases with me, fairly bigiish ones

Is it worth geting the green so I know I will get room for luggage or doesnt it accomdate that ?

The luggage space on the green car of the Shinkansen is almost identical to that of the ordinary car.

about the luggage space, after I read the link on the 5th post which says that you get more room for luggage and your legs

You can not be serious

It is true. There is barely a difference in luggage space, although, the seats and foot space is larger, allowing you to place a bag more easily besides you onto the floor, unless there is a bothersome foot rest like on the new N700 green cars, which I personally found more bothersome than useful when I checked out the green car between Tokyo and Osaka the other day. On other train sets, the foot rests in green cars take less space.