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Booking Shinkansen seats

Dado
Dado
11 days ago
1 answer

Hi. I'll be visiting Japan from 25 February to 7 March. I have bought four JR Passes for me and my family, but there has been a delay in delivery, and I haven't received the Fedex parcel yet. We are planning to travel from Tokyo to Kyoto on 26 February (one day after landing in Tokyo), and I am now getting a bit anxious about booking my seats at the Hikari Shinkansen (I wouldn't want to leave it till the last minute). So, my questions are:

  1. Is it possible to book the seats before I receive the exchange order?
  2. Is it possible to book with the exchange order only, or can I only do it after I exchange it for the actual pass at the airport?
  3. Is it possible at all to make online bookings on the Hikari service, or only at your office?
  4. What are the odds of not getting 4 seats on the same train if we can only book it one day before?
  5. If it takes too long for Fedex to deliver my orders, it might be better to forget about the pass, and buy all tickets individually How can I request a refund? Please bear in mind that I have purchased the Cancellation Protection together with the tickets.

I look forward to your reply. Thank you,

Luiz

Alexis
Alexis
1209 posts
4 days ago
Expert

Hi there,

Unfortunately seats cannot be booked before you receive the exchange order - you'll need to physically activate the pass before you can make reservations, so that JR can confirm that you'll be travelling within that given period validating the reservations. You won't be able to make reservations with the exchange order alone.

Because you'll be travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto, you will be able to make your reservations either in person or online on the Eki-net website, once you've activated the pass.

My suggestion would be to activate your JR Passes as soon as you land (25th) and set the activation date, when asked, to the 26th - that at least gives you a day to make reservations significantly increasing the likelihood that you'll find seats. I think it is highly likely you'll be able to find 4 seats together.

If the JR Pass does not come in time, you can consult our support team at [email protected] to discuss a refund.

Kind regards,

Alexis

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