How to Use the Shinkansen

Tickets, seats, luggage and station flow.

THE VISUAL QUICK GUIDE

Follow the numbered callouts in each drawing. Open a full-size diagram to inspect the controls on a phone.

Your first Shinkansen journey

1. 01
   Open full-size diagram ↗
   1. Date, route and train
      Do not confuse departure and arrival stations.
   2. Seat and baggage
      Confirm the seat type. Check large-baggage rules.
   3. How will you board?
      A booking email alone is not necessarily a ticket.

   Book the right journey

   Confirm stations, date, train and seat type. Check any large-luggage requirements before choosing a seat.

2. 02
   Open full-size diagram ↗
   1. Insert at the front
      Choose a paper-ticket gate. Use the slot, not the IC pad.
   2. Take the returned ticket
      The outlet is farther along. Keep it throughout the journey.
   3. Exit with the same ticket
      A completed single-trip ticket is normally kept at final exit.

   Prepare your boarding method

   Use the paper ticket, linked IC card or boarding QR supported by your booking. See the three methods below.

3. 03
   Open full-size diagram ↗
   1. Match the car
      For a reserved seat, check your car’s boarding marker.
   2. Let passengers off
      Leave the center clear. Then board from the queue.
   3. Stay behind the line
      Wait until the train has stopped. Keep bags clear of the doors.

   Find your train and car

   Match the departure display with your booking. Queue at your car’s marked boarding position.

4. 04
   Open full-size diagram ↗
   1. Find your car
      Read the train-side car number.
   2. Find the row
      Look for row numbers inside the carriage.
   3. Match the seat letter
      8A means row 8, seat A. Layouts differ by train.

   Board and find your seat

   For a reserved seat, match the car and seat number. Keep tickets and any issued seat-information slip with you.

Three boarding methods — check your booking

The IC and QR examples below describe SmartEX on the Tokaido–Sanyo–Kyushu Shinkansen. Other services have their own rules.

Open full-size diagram ↗

1. Insert at the front
   Choose a paper-ticket gate. Use the slot, not the IC pad.
2. Take the returned ticket
   The outlet is farther along. Keep it throughout the journey.
3. Exit with the same ticket
   A completed single-trip ticket is normally kept at final exit.

Paper tickets

Collect all required tickets before going to the gate. Where base-fare and express tickets are separate, follow the gate instructions for inserting them together. Keep tickets returned by the gate.

Open full-size diagram ↗

1. Tap one card or device
   Hold it over the marked IC pad. Use the same one at both ends.
2. Check the gate accepts it
   Look for the normal go signal. Stop if the gate rejects it.
3. Never put IC in this slot
   This opening is for paper tickets. An IC card is read on top.

Linked IC card

Register the IC card for the SmartEX reservation before travel, then touch that card at the gate. The Shinkansen booking is paid separately, not from the card’s stored balance.

Open full-size diagram ↗

1. Open the boarding QR
   Not the pickup code or a booking-email barcode.
2. Use a QR-marked gate
   Hold the code to its scanner. Keep it for your exit too.
3. Collect the seat slip
   Keep the issued Seat Information. Do not insert this slip as a ticket.

Boarding QR-Ticket

Use your SmartEX boarding QR at a gate marked QR. Keep it for exit too. A ticket pickup code or booking email is not automatically a boarding QR.