Booking Shinkansen tickets for next day

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bigjobs

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hi. Asking here because I need a quick answer, so I hope this gets more eyes.

I have a reservation for a Shinkansen from nagano to Tokyo on Wednesday. I want to switch it to tomorrow sometime and get back to Tokyo.

I can't make the change online via JR East website. I think that's because it's too soon.

From what I've seen online, it seems I can just turn up with my ticket at Nagano JR East station and change it over for a train tomorrow.

Anyone got any definitive experience with this?

Cheers
BJ
 
Should be fine

just be aware that some trains sell out.
If wanting a reserve seat I'd go to the station today
 
Yeah ok thanks. I think we will be ok. Peak periods are over now here until the cherry blossoms in a month or two.

I will just head down to the station when there are a couple of trains due in the subsequent hour or 2 ... we have a JR Pass so that should make things easier too.
 
I can confirm that with a JR pass we switched services within 24 hrs of departure, but needed to swap the tickets at a JR Station office.
 
You can make one such change free of charge. After that they ask you to cancel and book again, which is ultimately the same thing.
 
Some trips we will book our weeks travel at the beginning using the JR pass.Never a problem changing dates or trains.
 
Just booked a shinkansen trip for tomorrow morning a few hours ago. No problem (also booked at a station without shinkansen service).
Only other time I've used the shinkansen, I booked it 4 days before.

No idea about changing the booking. Never tried.
 
Yeah thanks folks. The only issue I was having was not being able to make the change online. I'll just go to Nagano station and make the change.
 
I had some fun this morning. The local train was delayed on route and the 10 minute connection to the shinkansen (Hikari 510) at Nagoya station became 3 minutes. Ended up running through Nagoya station with my baggage during the early parts of the morning peak.
 
Some trips we will book our weeks travel at the beginning using the JR pass.Never a problem changing dates or trains.

@drron
This trip we did not get a JRRP. Discovered that buying tickets required a visit to a JR ticket office. Online is possible but need to pick up from a designated JR ticket office (not all are designated) one day in advance - meaning you still have to go twice - once to get the ticket and once to travel.

So when we arrived after a Shinkansen we immediately went to buy the next shinkansen tickets before we left the train station.

Does the JR pass allow online reservation without having to present at a ticket counter before travel?
 
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I had some fun this morning. The local train was delayed on route and the 10 minute connection to the shinkansen (Hikari 510) at Nagoya station became 3 minutes. Ended up running through Nagoya station with my baggage during the early parts of the morning peak.

Did you make it. You must know the most direct route with your eyes closed.
Actually thats a
"You know you are a frequent flyer because you can get to the gate with your eyes closed"
 
Did you make it. You must know the most direct route with your eyes closed.
Actually thats a
"You know you are a frequent flyer because you can get to the gate with your eyes closed"
Yes, I made it.
I'm currently in Numazu, heading off to Tokyo in a few hours.
I hadn't been to Nagoya before. Other then a day trip to Toyohashi a few years ago, this trip is the first time I've been in the Tokai region and first time I've been through NGO. My Japan trips have mostly been Tokyo and Osaka.
 
@drron
This trip we did not get a JRRP. Discovered that buying tickets required a visit to a JR ticket office. Online is possible but need to pick up from a designated JR ticket office (not all are designated) one day in advance - meaning you still have to go twice - once to get the ticket and once to travel.

So when we arrived after a Shinkansen we immediately went to buy the next shinkansen tickets before we left the train station.

Does the JR pass allow online reservation without having to present at a ticket counter before travel?
Shinkansen don't take IC cards, so you have to buy a magnetic ticket. You can get them from some ticket machines, but they are only next to Shinkansen ticket gates at stations served by the Shinkansen. Otherwise, you have to go to a JR ticket office.
You can use a JR pass to travel in a non reserved car without having a seat ticket, just have to show the JR pass at the ticket gate. But the non reserved cars aren't on every JR pass valid shinkansen.
 
About to head home
Currently in Kyoto. Will catch the Shinkansen to Shinagawa (again avoiding Tokyo). Then Nex to NRT

The ticket counter had a 20min queue when I purchased the reserved Green ticket for the above journey
 
Shinkansen don't take IC cards, so you have to buy a magnetic ticket. You can get them from some ticket machines, but they are only next to Shinkansen ticket gates at stations served by the Shinkansen. Otherwise, you have to go to a JR ticket office.
You can use a JR pass to travel in a non reserved car without having a seat ticket, just have to show the JR pass at the ticket gate. But the non reserved cars aren't on every JR pass valid shinkansen.

Its not super relevant for tourists but there is a shinkansen IC card so you can either simply tap though the shinkansen gates and use the unreserved seats or book a seat on the website/mobile app and then use just the card. Worked pretty well so you could book your seat from the back seat of a taxi 2 minutes before you arrived at the station which was very handy when regularly commuting between Tokyo and Osaka and you were trying to maximise sleep.
 
Its not super relevant for tourists but there is a shinkansen IC card so you can either simply tap though the shinkansen gates and use the unreserved seats or book a seat on the website/mobile app and then use just the card. Worked pretty well so you could book your seat from the back seat of a taxi 2 minutes before you arrived at the station which was very handy when regularly commuting between Tokyo and Osaka and you were trying to maximise sleep.
Last time I looked into it, the only IC cards usable for shinkansen were special commuter pass type cards only available to locals. It looks like it has been expanded since then, but you still need to register the card through a phone app and link it to a credit card. You then need to use that same phone and app to reserve seats. It also appears that it can only be used on the Tokaido/San'yo line, which is the line from Tokyo via Nagoya and Kyoto to Osaka, then on to Fukuoka.
I wouldn't be able to take my Suica as is and use it to board a shinkansen.
 
About to head home
Currently in Kyoto. Will catch the Shinkansen to Shinagawa (again avoiding Tokyo). Then Nex to NRT

The ticket counter had a 20min queue when I purchased the reserved Green ticket for the above journey
:) The only Tokyo station I've used with Shinkansen is Shinagawa. Tokyo Station is enough of a maze without dealing with the 2 different Shinkansen areas.

The first time I used the Shinkansen was for a Shinagawa>Toyohashi>Shinagawa day trip a few years ago. I got tickets from a JR Tokyo station ticket office a few days before. Just gave them my phone open to a note with the date and train numbers I wanted. Took all of 5 minutes.

This trip, I got one ticket from Owari-Ichinomiya station on Sunday for Monday travel. Was staying in a hotel near the station. The ticket office was busy in the morning when I went, so I came back in the evening before the office closed after the event I went to see had finished. Took 5 minutes. Just had my planned trip (Owari-Ichinomiya>Nagoya>Mishima>Numazu) open on google maps and gave them the phone to check times/train number.
Got the other ticket last night, at the JR ticket office in Numazu before they closed. Same as on Sunday. (Numazu>Mishima>Shinagawa>Ikebukuro)
 
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