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How do you book a Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka?

I wanted to tell people how we bought shinkansen tickets online.

We needed 3 reserved seats with oversized baggage space for a trip from Tokyo Station to Universal City. This uses the Tokyo<->Osaka bullet train.

Can you take your luggage with you on a bullet train?

I was concerned about waiting too late, since the oversized baggage is limited. We won’t have oversized luggage; however, there are 3 of us, and each will have a normal checked size suitcase. We thought that would be too much to put in front of us for the ~3 hour trip.

We also didn’t want to ship our luggage. We will need all of our stuff to do laundry right before we leave Tokyo. We are traveling for 3 weeks and staying at 2 places with laundry, so we are only bringing about a weeks worth of clothes.

Which website is the best to book the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka?

I tried the JR-Central (Tokyo region) app, Smart-Ex. I couldn’t register. It kept denying all of my credit cards.

I looked into booking with Klook, but they don’t guarantee seating together and don’t allow booking of the oversized baggage seats.

I found that JR West (Kansai/Kyoto/Osaka region) allows booking tickets online, including reserved seats, green/1st class cars, and oversized baggage. It was able to purchase my tickets and had no credit card issues. We will have to pick up the tickets at Tokyo Station either from the ticket office or machines.

Do you have to pay extra to take your suitcases with you on the Shinkansen?

There was no extra charge for the oversized baggage. We just paid the basic fare and the limited express fare. I thought I had read you didn’t pay extra, but you have to make sure you book it if you are going to use. There is a fine if you bring on oversized bags without reserving it though.

Feature post by Tokyo Disneyland holiday planning group member Sonia Miranda
Photos by Barbara Bryan, Holiday Planning

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