Tokaido Shinkasen over Syougatsu

I'm going to be in Japan next week and I need to go to Nagoya from Tokyo on the 31st. I have heard two things, that the Tokaido Shinkansen will not be that crowded since it's only going between cities. And that it will be crowded regardless because it's Syougatsu.

Just wondering what the general consensus is. I don't mind standing the whole ride by the doors as I've done that before. But just wondering how screwed I am. And if anyone has any pointers for best time of day to go.

Thanks, everyone.

NYCBunny,

Shinkansen trains will certainly be busy over the New Year period, but trains heading toward Tokyo on the 31st shouldn't be horrendously packed.

The JR CyberStation site below can be used to check the seat reservation status on trains, and a quick glance shows that while most Hikari services are filling out, the Nozomi trains still have many seats available. If you can't read Japanese, give us your anticipated travelling time, and I or someone else can check the situation more precisely for you.

http://www.jr.cyberstation.ne.jp/

I have written on how to use the cyberstation site to verify train seat vacancies.
http://gutereise09.blogspot.com/2008/07/tool-to-check-train-...

Going to Nagoya from Tokyo on the 31st should be a piece of cake. No worries.

As of now, the reserved seats in the non-smoking section of most trains are already fully booked from Tokyo to Nagoya between 7am and 4 pm on the 31st December, for your info.

NYCBunny,

Sorry, I misread your post, strangely thinking you wanted to go from Nagoya to Tokyo.
Travelling from Tokyo to Nagoya will not be quite as easy as Tokyogal suggests, as a quick look at CyberStation shows. All trains in the morning are fully booked, so it will be standing only - in some cases with rush-hour conditions. From around 3 pm onward, you should have a better chance of getting a seat.

I do that every year: 31st Tokyo (actually Shin-Yokohama) to Nagoya.

It sure is crowded. Imagine how many Nagoyans are living in Tokyo for work, college or marriage.

If you're going on the non-reserved, prepare to queue early and don't expect to be able to board the next train coming in.

I had a friend who does Tokyo to Osaka (2nd largest city in Japan next to Tokyo) every year. Once, she accidentally hopped on board a non-reserved section and couldn't walk to her reserved seat, because there were too many people blocking the way. Meanwhile, in the reserved sections, it's nice and cozy, having enough room to go back and forth for toilets and beverages.

On a related note, trains going north bound (such as Joetsu/Tohoku Shinkansen) are a lot more easier to book. I suppose there is less population up there, therefore less people needing to do homecoming. On the other hand, cities with huge population to begin with have people needing to go back and forth. Btw, once it's January, Tokyo to Nagoya will have much more space.

Strangely, I too thought that the OP wrote "Nagoya to Tokyo." Interesting how order of words trick your mind.

Thanks, everyone.

I've been to Japan about a dozen times and usually go to Nagoya each time so I've had the misfortune of standing up the whole way there.

I figured it would be crowded based off of my own experiences, but the guy at JTB USA was quite insistent that since I was going between two major cities it wouldn't be that bad compared to the tohoku line.

My Japanese is pretty decent so I was able to read it and figure it out, there's only one thing I couldn't quite translate. The smoking cars marked ''*'' on the timetable what does that mean. If I'm reading it correctly there's no smoking trains on the car period, just smoking rooms on some of the trains?

Thanks everyone for the help, it looks like I'll either hop a train in the afternoon, or queue early and wait.

NYCBunny,

About the trains marked with asterisks, yes, these are entirely no-smoking, but do have small smoking rooms situated at the ends of three or four cars in the entire train. All Nozomi trains will be like this by around the end of 2009.

One last question. Is there any point in trying my luck with a kodama train? I'm holding a railpass so I can't take nozomi, and normally I avoid the kodama trains like the plague, but I'm wondering if perhaps they'll be less crowded since they're so much slower.

Any thoughts anyone?

First of all, I am assuming you are travelling alone. If not, my thoughts would be slightly different depending on the members.

About the Kodama, why not try reserving it anyway? If you are able to reserve a seat, then great. Taking an extra hour to sit in a Kodama, at least for me, is a lot better than having to stand for 2 hours on a Nozomi or Hikari. Also, try and see if you can reserve one portion of your trip rather than the whole duration. If you only need to stand for an hour and are able to sit from say Atami to Nagoya, that may be more comfortable for you than standing all the way on a Nozomi.

And if you fail to get a reservation, why not take a look at the Kodama platform on the spot anyway? If it seems a lot less crowded than the Nozimi/Hikari platforms, you might want to give it a try queueing there.

You can take advise from JR station staff, but I find that they are not as knowledgable as the conductors we talk to inside the trains.

Another option is the Chuo Honsen; a 3.5 hour Limited Express ride between Tokyo and Nagoya via Shiojiri. I've never tried it, but I know a car driver who always enjoys that route on the 31st because of the scenery and less traffic.

Anyway you never know about the crowd. It can be quite different depending on the year, and this year, I'm not sure how this unique economy situation will affect the trains. But the thing about the two being big cities is not that convincing to me.

Just a thought. Again, I've never tried this route, but since you seem to be coming from abroad, have you considered something like flying into Kansai Airport in Osaka and then taking a train from there? As long as you can book the flight the train ride will be shorter. If you need to go to Tokyo, perhaps you can arrange your itinerary so that you can avoid the crowded dates.

Uco, thanks for the advice.
I'm going to Tokyo as I'm taking part in the winter comic market with some of my friends in Tokyo on the 30th. My "shinyuu" so to speak lives in Nagoya, and they want me to spend Syougatsu with them. So my hands are tied in that regard

The sad part now is I just looked at JAL's website and they just opened up seats on the flights I wanted :( But the JR Pass is already bought.

I actually like your friend's idea about the Chuo Honsen line as I've already ridden on the tokaido shinkansen a couple of dozen times.

I do have a question about the length, when I try using JR's Hyperdia or looking up the chuo line, they make out to be a 7 hour trip. Though Hyperdia did suggest taking the limited express Super Azusa. That might be interesting.

Thanks for the advice, it's greatly appreciated :)