Shinkansen Ticket Vending Machine | Seat Reservations (in English) to Kyoto / Osaka / Tokyo / Tohoku

How to get Shinkansen Seat Reservations from ticket vending machines at Tokyo / Osaka Station in English. It’s pretty easy! #shinkansen #onlyinjapan

[@islandsnow]

Do the Shinkansen vending machine require pin on your credit card? Or did you just happen to have a pin and is not required? Or was your card a debit card?

[@onlyinjapanGO]

★ Excellent question!! Yes - make sure you have registered a PIN if you plan to travel anywhere outside your country. Do it about a week before minimum because it can take a few bank working days to process as it did for me.

[@zezimateemo8336]

@@onlyinjapanGO Hi there. Does the ticketing machine supports 6-digit PIN from international cards? My card was issued from Singapore and it uses 6-digit PIN. EDIT: Just learnt that the ticketing machines only accepts "Chip & PIN" cards, where the PIN is VISA/Mastercard PIN, not the ATM PIN. Since cards issued in Singapore are "Chip & Signature" based, I don't think I will be able to use the machines if I want to pay by credit card. Thus, looks like I will have to purchase the tickets over the manned ticketing counters where they can accept "Chip & Signature" cards.

[@JohnnyNacis]

@@islandsnow what was your experience after setting a pin? did other places like stores/restaurant ask for your pin if you paid with credit card? i have a trip in 2 weeks, i want to be extra prepared!

[@JohnnyNacis]

@@zezimateemo8336 i was looking into this as well. my US credits are chip and signature. i can set a PIN but its only for cash advance if the type of credit i have allows that feature. looks like ill have to pay by cash or go to a ticket window

[@vincekimura3937]

thank you john for the shinkansen ticket tour and process. my confidence is lifted thanks to you! we normally buy a jr pass in honolulu prior to leaving hawaii.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

This is very helpful for a future visit! Great info

[@LisaMarli]

Glad the tickets are easy to buy for us foreigners. My Japanese is non-existent. What a fun thing to do for your wife. Looking forward to the videos.

[@lilacweng66]

Very useful!!! Thank you!!!🥰

[@andreavenew]

Fantastic video. I'm going back to Japan in October, and after the usual week in Tokyo I'm going to Kyoto. At this point, I will buy the Shinkansen ticket on the same day of departure from Tokyo to Kyoto.

[@davidksuter8734]

Missed the livestream, but saw the replay. Really enjoyed it. Noticed that you had not explained some of the different signs on the platform. Would like to see. Enjoy your time away.

[@ShortJourneys702]

Thanks you helped me with my trip last month

[@racquel0321]

Wow very awesome you share this thanks for the info

[@jollygreen4662]

Thanks for posting the video. We decided to take the train instead of the bus ride from tokyo to osaka then to kyoto then back to tokyo. We are dropping mt fuji

[@coolrottie2565]

Missed you again. Yesterday by 1 hour today by 15 mins. Next time maybe.

[@AnupongT]

great informative video as always. I really wish that they have a way to incorporate all the tourist passes into using these ticket vending machine so tourist doesn't have to lined up at ticket office.

[@PolyRoxy]

Taking the Shinkansen in Japan is easy and fun. With JR Pass it is so easy to reserve a seat at the ticket office where the service is excellent. Please do another bento unboxing !

[@jmgo3784]

I enjoyed your show sir John

[@jason_from_canada]

Thanks for the informative how to lesson. That is crazy that you can purchase tickets from the vending machines up to 5 minutes before departure. 👍🚄

[@onlyinjapanGO]

It’s crazy but - you can and it take on average 75 seconds for me to walk from these ticket machines to the Shinkansen platform. I’ve - ahem - timed it a couple of times. Go in, up the escalator and DONE ✅

[@jason_from_canada]

@@onlyinjapanGO Straight from the pro! 😉👍

[@TARS..]

Yup that's what you pay for really, the freedom to leave whenever and it drops you right in the middle of the city you're going to!

[@aitay1690]

Ginzan Onsen is beautiful! Good Choice👍🏼! Went there last Feb.

[@GraemeBray]

With the help of station staff, vending machines can be used for reserving seats with a Rail Pass for free. There is a special key press that the staff do, then you are able to use the machine as shown in this video. Interestingly I was at Universal City station in Osaka and the station staff helped me out but also connected me by video on the vending machine with an English speaking rail staff. Was very surreal but helpful, almost like your head popping out of the wall.

[@onlyinjapanGO]

Thanks for this! I will ask JR about it when I am at Tokyo Station next time.

[@GraemeBray]

It was the friendly JR East staff that helped us initially in Nagano. You need to ask the staff, not able to DIY the code yourself. Then we asked staff for the rest of our trip, to save time and also guidance.

[@michaelhughes3273]

Now, the vending machine is our own "midori no marunouchi". That's awesome.

[@francisdarellesansebastian6718]

Thanks for this! @13:37 is so awesome man

[@REVIEWSONTHERUN]

Amazing!✌️

[@mareewakefield1009]

Hi John, thanks for another wonderful video, can't wait to get back in November. Have you seen the Olympic posters yet?

[@eisenklad]

helpful for those who want to experience the daily life or for those that stay over 7days. yeah, like he said if you have the JR pass, you have to go to the office(great savings... if you take the shinkansen twice, it already breaks even the cost of the JR pass) i hope japan continues to innovate, maybe a digital Shinkansen Ticket encoded into the Suica or a completely digital App that lives on your phone. but i guess using the shinkansen internet is kinda spotty, so ticket checking has to be a QR code with a corresponding verification that is stored on a quasi-offline server that updates at each station. then again why change something that's super efficient? and i kept my tickets just to remind myself of how i travelled there

[@onlyinjapanGO]

I also wanted to make a point without being obvious - one round trip to Tohoku cost ¥25,000 ($230) and a 7-day unlimited pass is just a little more! I wish I were a foreign tourist!! Haha!! In the future (this year) I will feature the online options for ticketing in English. JR is really doing a great job!

[@czarodzi9967]

@21:00 “its interesting the way people line up in Japan and the manners on how to board the taxi.”.... What's more interesting is the way people everywhere else in the world do it so disorganized!

[@vincekimura3937]

i've been to the ginza factory outlet during july and it was raining so could not do the boat ride on the lake. have a good onsen bath tomorrow!

[@Hispandinavian]

I love your videos. Since I was a kid I dreamed of going to Japan. I'm trying to gather as much Intel as I can, since I'm afraid of fumbling around like a Baka Gaijin.

[@hryhoriishkliaruk9499]

Hi John. Thanks for your guide of using the shinkansen vending machine. Because today I try, but a little did not understand.

[@daddyfarfaraway]

Nice guide. Would be by any chance be able to do a guide from Osaka to Tokyo via Shinkansen

[@deepfriedmackerel2263]

I rode the joetsu Shinkansen bound for gala yuzawa. I didn’t know you were in Japan. But I live far from there.

[@piggiesback]

Thank you, it's very useful for me. My brother and I will go to Japan in November and December 2020, we will be there for 4 weeks, fly in at Kansai International Airport and will start our trip from Osaka, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Takayama, Nagano, Sendai, Hiraizumi, Ginzan onsen and Tokyo. We plan to use IC card and buy the tickets as we go instead of JR pass. Do you have any suggestions about our trip as we are looking for information and where we can visit. Thank you.

[@lalilulelo]

I'll be in Yamagata on Feb 6th - 9th. Will take a quick look at Ginzan Onsen on Feb 7th!

[@joshuaskimore]

I didn't experience it but while I was in Tokyo Station. I did see an elderly person getting assistance form one of the staff with their head popping out from that side door. Even after seeing it on KZbin it still surprised me to see it while there.

[@onlyinjapanGO]

Now they do it by monitor on the machine - I saw it in Nara 3 days ago. Incredible!

[@nateshf9303]

Maybe someone had already asked this - Can JR Pass holders use the machine to reserve/print out tickets for multiple journeys that are on different days? For example, day 1-Tokyo to Osaka, day 2- Osaka to Hakata, etc.

[@astroboy3507]

Greatly explained John but hey that's cheap for you!!! Our poor Aussie dollars one way is near $350 bucks!!!!! 😞

[@SoupDumplings8]

Am I able to buy reserved tickets for same day purchase? I’ll be landing in Haneda Airport and would like to take the Shinkansen to Osaka. I think the Tokaido Shinkansen now requires reserved tickets if my luggage is over a certain size.

[@VegardThefilmmaker]

Take the Butter Butler with you :P Looked it up.. I just had to hehe-

[@onlyinjapanGO]

It’s a WERID name!! So weird, it makes you wonder - butter butler?!? 😂

[@redenvillena6311]

Hello, how much from osaka to kyoto with taking shinkansen? And its posible to buy a shinkansen using ICOCA Card? And also the shinkansen is a bullet train? Sorry about my question I am so very confuse on that because I have plan to trip my family in osaka and make experience the shinkansen from osaka to kyoto

[@olahola12]

Is it necessary to buy the Shinkasen ticket atleast a day prior to traveling date, especially during the first week of January? Im in quarantine right now and cant go to the station to buy or collect tickets in advance. Please help. Thanks!

[@tashajournal]

I plan to go to Tokyo from Kyoto using shinkansen and plan to buy the ticket from the machine. This video is really helpful, thank you very much! But, how do we put the ticket for shinkansen? Is it only the ticket we buy from the machine (1 piece) or is there any additional tickets we need to buy, so we put 2 pieces?

[@onlyinjapanGO]

Good question. If you buy from the machine, it’s usually one ticket but if you buy a continued ticket to us local JR trains, you’ll get two tickets - one would be an express surcharge ticket. Put BOTH tickets through the turnstile gate! When you exit at the destination, out both tickets in and only one will come out. In this, I bought 2 tickets (me and wife) and I got a receipt. Don’t lose your ticket! After you sit down on the train, put it in your wallet. You need it to show to the ticket checker on the train and to exit. I hope that’s helpful.

[@tashajournal]

@@onlyinjapanGO thank you very much! Thats really help me to understand😊

[@tiapia1]

This is great! However, can foreigners with the rail voucher is this too? Or would we still have to go to the Midori no Madoguchi?

[@onlyinjapanGO]

tiapia808 at 8:30 I explain that I believe you need to get it at the MIDORI NO MADOGUCHI (ticket reservation window / office) but I believe you’ll be able to get them soon - before the 2020 Olympics. There’s news you can get them BEFORE you arrive soon. Useful for holiday and peak periods but for those leaving from Tokyo, the non-reserved “hop on” train cars are almost always available from the origin.

[@tiapia1]

Yes, thanks John! I did see that in your video. Hope we can do that. Love all your videos! Enjoy your trip with Kanae!

[@michaelhughes3273]

If his head pops out of that green door, that sounds like some Ken Shimura comedy skit.

[@AlanVByrnes]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@gondolier62]

I usually prefer the side having less sun exposure..... maybe why it was popular....

[@Ryan-hp6xs]

13:38 😂

[@springboard9642]

Is kit kat not a copyrighted name in Japan?

[@grahamjones6519]

John is the PIN limited to 4 characters?

[@_aomori]

編集ほぼ無しでめちゃくちゃ喋るあたりスーツに似てる。 Your style of movie is pretty like movies of "Suit train" who is popular Japanese train KZbinr, because both of you talk fast and a lot without editing.

[@1946pepper]

Does the Shinkansen go to Nagasaki yet? they were in the Process of building a new station and area...….

[@onlyinjapanGO]

Not yet - I made a live stream about the progress 10 months ago. Still under construction. kzbin.info/www/bejne/raSpcmqXosuYhqM

[@baliwalknshops1517]

Hey John what's up

[@slickdealer2099]

Carlos Ghosn: I can show you a faster way to travel in Japan. Or out.

[@onlyinjapanGO]

Sourav Biswas 😂

[@birdyrichards7807]

Question: if I buy with reservations tickets and miss that train time on my tickets will I still able to sit at my reservation seats? (Just curious)

[@WANDERER0070]

Probably NOT bc someone else may buy those seats Thats why I always buy NON reserved seat It takes a while to get oriented and buy food so its easy to get lost and miss the train especialy when its busy station and help is hard to find

[@birdyrichards7807]

s3xyScorp true and thank for responding!

[@rieeeeeeko]

Hi! Can anyone help me with this? I planned to purchase a 'reserved' ticket from Fukuoka to Tokyo a month in advance. Is it possible to use the ticketing machine? I'm avoiding online booking because of my indecisive schedule in Japan. Also, do I need to transfer route/line when in Osaka? Thank you!

[@nateshf9303]

My wife and I are doing similar trip, but reversed (Tokyo>Hiroshima>Hakata>Kumamoto). Haktata to Tokyo with a transfer at Shin-Kobe is a 6-hours ride. We assume the machine lets you book/print ahead of time but a month seems long. Hopefully someone has real experience with this.

[@rieeeeeeko]

@@nateshf9303 I finally did it in Japan, the max it can do is 3 days apparently

[@Mimeh53]

I looked up Only In Japan TV on Instagram, but it was not found. ??

[@onlyinjapanGO]

Instagram.com/onlyinjapantv

[@Mimeh53]

ONLY in JAPAN * GO Thanks John. Got it! 👍🏼

[@syquek77]

Oshida? Going to Ginzan Onsen? :P

[@1denisflores]

Can you use American credit cards without pin numbers?

[@onlyinjapanGO]

Where the card is from doesn’t matter if it’s MC, Visa, AMex ... but the PIN replaces a signature. You’ll want to do that. It’s only for cards with chips I believe. At supermarkets, you don’t need it. Sometimes you have to sign anyway like when I get gasoline at the gas station from attendant.

[@1denisflores]

@@onlyinjapanGO Thank you for your response :)

[@SyaoranLiClow]

Maybe this time I'll use the Shinkanzen once without my Japan Rail Pass.

[@onlyinjapanGO]

If you only taking it once ... it can work out :) take the night bus back - save a night on accommodation. Just bring ear plugs and eye mask. ¥3500 to Osaka from Tokyo! - advance ticket deals from some companies.

[@SyaoranLiClow]

@@onlyinjapanGO Yeah I'll check out my itinerary, I’ve some ideas already for next November, and maybe check if I can make it with a Japan Rail Pass for one or two weeks, and the rest of the long journey I can take a bus or a short Shinkanzen trip. We will see, still nine and a half months to go. Thanks as always John.

[@DJ-nn6vg]

How far is your destination for $120 per person on that train?

[@NsiderCustomrobo13]

Yeah, that's what I was wondering! So expensive! Also was that $120 one way or round trip?

[@artie4017]

Do you have a nozomi video like this?

[@onlyinjapanGO]

Artie it’s the same for ALL trains. Nozomi is the name of the super express in the Tokaido Shinkansen (to Kyoto / Osaka / Hiroshima) and just select that - the menu system for it will come up. YOU pick the train time and ALL trains including the Nozomi will automatically appear like in this video for the Yamagata Shinkansen. With that said, try here :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHaTgJ93ftCCgtU

[@Mimeh53]

Painless and simple, but.....not exactly a cheap way to travel, eh? $$$$$!

[@yukokraus5528]

Madoguchi not maruguchi

[@rudykhan2133]

😊 Hi

[@user-wg2tl5rc5k]

どこに行こうとしてるのか、銀山温泉か

[@xcalibertrekker6693]

That's a lot of money to ride on a train for just a short time. :-(