Early Reservations on Japan Rail

July 7, 2008 7:34 PM

I'm taking a trip to Japan from August 13 to 26, right in the midst of the Obon travel season. I already have an exchange order for a Japan Rail Pass. Can I make reservations for specific trains before I get there?

One Japanese colleague has already told me that the trains will be "crowded," which I take to mean "ridonkulous." So it'd give me some peace of mind if I could reserve seats (very) early, so I don't have to worry about whether or not I'll be able to make my hotel check-in time in the next city.

Is there a way I can do this? If not, what's the best way to prepare? If you want the real nitty-gritty, my schedule has me going from NRT to Tokyo on the 14th, then to Koyasan on the 17th, Hiroshima on the 19th, Kyoto on the 21st, and back to Tokyo on the 24th. I have a friend coming with me, too.

If I should be worrying less, feel free to say that too. :) Thanks in advance.

posted by brett to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

I did find this reservations page for JR East, but it doesn't seem to cover any of my planned trips, at least by itself.
posted by brett at 7:45 PM on July 7, 2008

If I should be worrying less,

I've seen people have to stand for 3 hours on the Shinkansen during O-bon, but if you avoid the weekends things should be better. I THINK.

But I see your 17th and 24th trip days are Sundays. I THINK this is bad, but you I THINK you can get easily reservations at the shinkansen ticking office window in Tokyo station when you first arrive there on NEX on the 14th.
posted by yort at 8:10 PM on July 7, 2008

If you have one of those JR rail passes that let's you travel first on any train you probably won't have to worry. I traveled first class on one of the second fastest class of bullet train during Golden Week (even busier than Obon) between Kyoto and Tokyo and it was deserted.
posted by robofunk at 10:26 PM on July 7, 2008

er, let's you travel first class
posted by robofunk at 10:36 PM on July 7, 2008

Don't worry about the crowds on the trains in Japan.
posted by gen at 2:00 AM on July 8, 2008

When we were in Japan in April we only ran into a situation like this once- we got to the station and tried to get a Shinkansen ticket to Osaka from Kyoto, only to discover the next train was standing room only. We decided to take the train 45 minutes later and got three comfy seats next to one another. Worst case scenario, you end up waiting at the train station for an hour or two longer than you were expecting. In Japan this is not a big deal as train stations are highly entertaining- tons of people, shops, restaurants, even bars and such, and if nothing else you can walk around the surrounding (busy) area for a bit.

For Narita to Tokyo you won't have to worry about being forced to stand, trains leave for that route extremely frequently and you're going to get a seated ticket.

The trip to Koya-san is long and the second half is completely gorgeous. I think there were maybe 15 people on our train up there- everybody on the train could fit on the cable car you have to take to get up to Koya-san station, so you won't have problems with over crowding. (I must commend you on choosing to go there- it's probably the most tranquil and peaceful place on the planet. I hope you're staying at a monastery- if not, YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR RESERVATION NOW).

I imagine Hiroshima and Kyoto will be similar. If you're really worried about not getting a sitting ticket for the Shinkansen rides you're taking, show up early at the train station and book a train for later in the afternoon (1 or 2) then go have fun in wherever it is you are. You're not going to get completely booked out, and even on the odd chance you do it won't be the first or last time you'll have to stand on a train in Japan for some length of time.
posted by baphomet at 7:39 AM on July 8, 2008

I just read up on O-bon, which I was unfamiliar with, so I guess that throws my advice through the loop a bit. Still, if you can't find a way to make your reservations online, going to the train station early and booking a ticket for later might be your best bet.
posted by baphomet at 7:44 AM on July 8, 2008

Probably the best thing to do is make your reservations once you land at Narita, at the JR station at the airport. But I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

Since a lot of Japanese folks continue to work half-days on Sundays, the busiest days will most likely be Sunday, August 10th, Friday, August 15th (the actual date of O-Bon this year) and Sunday, August 17th.

When you land Narita you will avoid all of the crowds, because everyone will be going in the opposite direction, out of the country.

I would say that you probably would be safe to Koya-San on the 17th from Tokyo, because, once again, most people will be traveling in the opposite direction. Basically, 40% of Japan's population lives in the Kanto region surrounding Tokyo, and these folks all go away by train and by expressway at the start of the holiday, and return by train - all at the same time - at the end of the holiday.

I stayed at a temple in Koya-San about 12 years ago. It was a completely magical experience. You can book temple lodgings here. You'll probably wake up really early, which is good, because temples typically have morning service. The service will end by about 6AM, which will leave you with three hours to walk around until tourists start arriving at 9AM. It's an interesting experience to walk around Koya-San in the early morning.

Hopefully you know how to get there. If you take the Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo, you will disembark at Shin-Osaka station. Somehow you have to get from Shin-Osaka to Nankai Rail Line's station in Namba (your JR Rail Pass won't cover this portion of the trip). I think the Midosuji-Line will take you from Shin-Osaka all the way to Namba, via Umeda (Osaka's main station). There is a JR loop line in Osaka, but it won't get you to Namba.

Because it is Sunday the 17th, Osaka will be pretty busy, and the Nankai train up to Koya-San (via Hashimoto) could be a little crowded.

How long are you planning to stay at Koya-San, and when are you leaving for Hiroshima? You probably won't arrive at Koya-San until early evening on the 17th. If you don't speak Japanese, have no particular interest in temples or Shingon Buddhism, and if you do wake up early and wander around during the morning of the 18th, you might want to get out of town by 11AM so you will arrive in Hiroshima by 4PM check-in time at your hotel (they hate it if you are late).

Wait, wait, wait... I think you're planning on spending two nights in Koya-San, and departing for Hiroshima on the 19th.

I honestly don't think there's enough there to keep you in Koya for two nights. Why not leave one day early, go to Kyoto, take a look at Gion and Kiyomizu Temple (it's all you need to see - Kyoto is a bit of a dump, at least for tourists, and is more of a place you might want to live; you could go to Toji, because it was built by Kobo-Daishi, the guy who founded Koya-San), catch the bullet train in Kyoto for Hiroshima and then...

Go to Nara instead of Kyoto.

[I used to live near Kyoto and went there once a month for shopping and going out to restaurants, etc]

Nara is by far the best tourist destination in Japan. It has lots of cool stuff to do, all in a central area, some incredibly ancient and astounding cultural properties (that are connected, via the Silk Road, with the entire crescent of Pan-Hellenistic and Buddhist culture stretching all the way to Turkey), there's plenty of places for walking, cheap food, romantic and interesting places to stay, tame deer, cool souvenirs. Kyoto is a big, dirty, concrete-encased metropolis. Sure, it's nice, but Nara is everything Kyoto ought to be.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:58 PM on July 8, 2008

Since a lot of Japanese folks continue to work half-days on Sundays

Sorry, that should have read "Saturdays"

Oh, and I must say that Nara showcases a different epoch in Japanese history. If you go to Tokyo you *might* see some Edo-era architecture, Kyoto is warring states, Koya is Heian, and Nara is, well, Nara-era, when Continental culture was first introduced.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:00 PM on July 8, 2008

For reference I recommend printing out KokuRyu's directions above for traveling to Koya-san on the train. As I recall that was one of the more difficult trips to navigate, and KokuRyu's directions are spot on.

He's also spot on about Nara and Kyoto. Nara is a must see. Don't let the sacred deer eat your shopping bags though.
posted by baphomet at 2:14 PM on July 10, 2008