What information is needed to make a seat reservation?
In order to purchase a shinkansen ticket, the following information is needed:
• Number of travelers
• Date of travel
• Departure Station
• Destination Station
• Ordinary or green car
• Reserved or non-reserved seat
For a seat reservation, the following additional information is required:
• Train name (e.g. Hikari) and train number or departure time
• Preference of smoking or non-smoking seat, if available
If you do not speak Japanese, it is recommended that you write the data on a piece of paper and present it to the salesperson in order to make the purchasing process smoother. Salespersons are generally familiar with the English vocabulary needed for the purchase of train tickets and seat reservations, but many have limited English conversation skills.