[moyagray]

So I have completed our reservations for the Shinkansen using the JR Smart Ex website. I registered with the app using my credit card and this was straightforward.

Booking our reservations was not straightforward but not difficult once I understood the seating diagram.

But understanding that took a very long time for my brain to wrap around because there wasn’t a clear nor obvious explanation on the site. And that required me to search and search and search until I found a little tiny explanation that said seat E is the wheelchair assistant’s seat.

However once I found that explanation I was able to make two separate bookings. I’m still not sure that we will be next to each other but we are on the same train and in the same car!

As noted by Josh, one must make completely separate bookings for the wheelchair space and the wheelchair assistant. The seating chart will present you with seat choices based on the type of ticket you are purchasing.

For the assistant booking it would appear that the seat designation is “E” in whatever row you choose.

FYI the Nozomi trains with wheelchair spaces only seem to be available once per hour.

Finally, I downloaded the app to my phone so I can easily access my reservation.

Thanks again, Tak and Josh for your recommendations!