Odawara to Kyoto (Shinkansen seat reservation)

Hi Jass-ann!

The part Odawara - Kyoto is actually traveled with JR Central which is a different company than JR East. Unfortunately JR Central does not offer an online reservation service for Shinkansen tickets that can be used with the JR Pass.

You are right about the Hikari train from Odawara to Kyoto! You can however reserve seating for this train at any JR Station in Japan once you have your JR Pass or even at the airport if you activate your JR Pass there.

Hope this helps!
Daniel

Thanks for your reply Daniel-san,

What about Shinkansen from Tokyo to Odawara? I should take Shinkansen Kodama right? but I'm afraid that I couldn't get on the train if I didn't reserve the seat in advance cause I'm travelling on Saturday.

I can actually reserve the seat for Odoriko 115 from Tokyo to Odawara on JR east website isn't it?

Looking forward for your reply.

Thank you!

Best Regard,
Jass-ann

Hi again!

You can take both the Hikaria and Kodama from Odawara to Tokyo, don't worry about train reservations for this part trains go up to 6 times an hour!

You could reserve the Odoriko Express but it's travel intervals are very limited and the Shinkansen is a much better option.

Hope this helps too!
Daniel

Dear Daniel,

I will be travelling with my family arriving at Tokyo Int'l airport. May I know if I can reserve in advance at the airport (as soon as I arrive) the shinkansen tickets from ODAWARA to KYOTO then KYOTO to TOKYO? Will be travelling ODAWARA to KYOTO on Oct 28 so thinking of reserving in advance. Will it be advisable to reserve in advance or just buy the ticket when we arrive at ODAWARA station? Also I notice on my research that there are transfers between trains on this Odawara-Kyoto route- will it be easy for us to transfer with enough signage or instructions? Sorry for asking too many questions, I beg for your indulgence. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Gem

Dear Gem,

You can make all the rail reservations you want the moment that you are in Japan. There are a frequent amount of trains traveling between Odawara - Kyoto every hour so you don't have to reserve them in advance. Although feel free to do so if you like the extra security.

Traveling from Odawara - Kyoto can be done directly on the Hikari Express which departs from Odawara twice an hour. I would recommend taking this train as it is the fastest and you don't have to worry about transfers.

Have a wonderful journey!
Daniel