any suggestns how to book train seats?

am due to catch a train from echigo-yuzawa to tokyo and straight on to osaka this 30dec with my 4 young kids. can't make advance booking for tokyo-osaka train till we arrive on 24thdec - afraid there will be no more seats available. any suggestions pls?

"am due to catch a train from echigo-yuzawa to tokyo and straight on to osaka this 30dec with my 4 young kids. can't make advance booking for tokyo-osaka train till we arrive on 24thdec - afraid there will be no more seats available. any suggestions pls? "

Suggestions:

1) Be flexible on the time of day when you will travel from Tokyo to Osaka. Not all the Shinkansen trains are fully booked even in the peak seasons, e.g. trains leaving Tokyo in the late afternoon. Book trains seats as soon as you arrive in Japan. (or as soon as you activate the Japan Railpass.)

2) If the #1 strategy fails, wait on the platform in Tokyo Station for 20 to 30 minutes to secure seats in the non-reserved section on the Hikari train. Each Hikari train contains 5 free seating carriages, and all the west bound trains originate at Tokyo. So you can surely get seats if you are willing to wait on the platform (in the cold). This suggestion is based on the assumption that you'll be travelling on the Japan Railpass.

Tool to check train seat vacancies:
http://gutereise09.blogspot.com/2008/07/tool-to-check-train-...

Good luck.

thanks for that - looks like that's prob the best option. fingers crossed, there will be seats available.