Booking Wheelchair Seats on the Shinkansen
Booking Wheelchair Seats on the Shinkansen
To book the accessible seating on the shinkansen always meant going in person to the ticket window, telling staff your time/destination and waiting often an hour for them to “check availability”.
As the former transport minister said after hearing about it – it was outrageous.
I’m not sure when it happened (since I haven’t been riding the bullet train much!), but when checking the other day you can now book those tickets on the Tokai Line with the SmartEX app!
Woohoo!
However, I’m not sure this will help foreign visitors. It has been ages since I came here as a tourist, so, I assume ordering with an app is pointless if you are using the JR RailPass. What would tourists do to book tickets in advance?
@ohayotravel or @therealjapan do you know?
- 29 Replies
I’m really interested in it! When I was in Japan, I spent ours waiting in person at Midori Madoguchis to book for wheelchair seating and sometimes I had to come back the next day to finish the reservation, to pick up the tickets or whatever…
Unfortunately, if it’s with an app, it will most probably not work with foreign phones as apps are sometimes only available in a specific country’s App Store (the one that your phone is registered). At least, I had that problem when trying to download apps to book seats at certain restaurants (Kura Sushi), to buy other tickets, etc.
As Josh points out, it’d be nice to know if it works with the Japan Rail Pass for tourists. I may get one next time : )
I should mention that I booked with this site/app: https://smart-ex.jp/top.php
No English.
You can book via the web, so, even if the app isn’t available you could use your phone’s browser… however, you do need to register a credit card and it must be one with second-step password verification – which may be another barrier if your card doesn’t support that.
Oh, found the English!
Even better, I found the instructions for the wheelchair seat reservations in English!
https://smart-ex.jp/en/reservation/reserve_smart/wheelchair/
But, unfortunately, it explicitly says: “This service cannot be used with other tickets such as the Japan Rail Pass, etc.” (https://smart-ex.jp/en/reservation/reserve_smart/attention/)
Thanks for all the info! It’ll come in really handy when I come if I’m not using Japan Rail Pass. Too bad you can’t use it if you’re traveling with another wheelchair user, but it’s still a huge step forward from the previous method! Thanks again!
Only time I used the Shinkansen was with a JR RailPass. At the time I didn’t even think of booking it ahead of time (could of been an issue because we were trying to get to my hotel in Osaka the same day), and even though Tokyo station was busy we didn’t have to wait long in line at the ticket booth. We ended up getting tickets and we were told something like the accessible space may be taken, if so then I’d have to transfer and stow my wheelchair away (wouldn’t of been a big issue if I had to at the time, because my wheelchair was collapsible and my brother who was my helper can transfer me easily). Luckily, the spot was open and we didn’t see anyone else in a wheelchair for the whole trip, so I guess maybe the previous booked guest decided not to go? Next time I’d either plan to get my tickets at the booth really early (if using a JR RailPass), or definitely try to use the site you mentioned to ensure I have an easy ride. Thanks for sharing!
If you can transfer and stow your wheelchair you are likely ok, but if you need to sit in the wheelchair area and stay in your wheelchair you need to confirm since it is reserved seating and the conductor checks tickets. Tokyo to Osaka has trains every few minutes so you often can get something without much of a wait. Lines to other areas have more time between them though.
Also, you can always sit in the deck area between cars – but it is noisier for sure!
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem you can book tickets with an app for JR East (North-east of Tokyo).
Instead, you can request tickets via a form now (instead of going and booking in person). However, you still must go in person to pay for and pick up the tickets in advance. (Though, I suppose if you are buying them at the same station you plan to leave from, you could arrange to pick them up the same day you leave.)
Another unfortunate point is that it seems the form is currently only in Japanese:
Just a short update to say it went very smoothly.
I needed to change trains due to timing and could do it easily on the app.
This morning I arrived at the station 20min before my train, tapped my phone at the gate and got my boarding pass/ticket and told the staff I needed the ramp and was on the train a few minutes later!
Very happy.
Is this still the best way to book? Is there any online option now for booking seats on Shinkansen for wheelchair?
You can book with the app in English now!
Great to know this!
I was reading and I saw under special discount: You cant change reservation after purchase. Cancellation fee will be 320yen. Im not sure if I read that right though.
also, how does this app work with the JR pass?
Unfortunately, in the “Points to Note” you cannot use it with JR Pass, so you will likely need to go to “Midori no Madoguchi” to make reservations if using the pass. 😢
Hello, thanks for all of the helpful links to book in English. I am trying to book 4 seats together. My son (aged 15) will be in a Manual wheelchair for the trip. He will most likely want to transfer so I would book him seat B. I will then book seat A for myself. My questions are – which seats should I book for my husband and other son so we can sit together? (Ihave read that I have to do seperate bookings for each type of seat so am not sure how to make sure we are all together) and at ages 15 and 12, do my kids count as children or adults. Many thanks for your help.
Hello,
I have never booked for 4 people, but my guess would be that if you want to book online, you’ll need to book 3 times in a row:
- wheelchair seat
- companion seat
- remaining two seats
However, as the wheelchair and companion seats are less likely to fill up quickly, it might be best to book the seats for your husband and other son first so you can get seats near the accessible seating first, then go back and buy the accessible seats.
When you buy them you can see a map of the seats so you’ll know if they are near or not. (note all cars on the train have accessible seating so you might need to change the car if you don’t see accessible seats. If the Shinkansen between Osaka-Tokyo it should be car 11.)
Hi. We are travelling to Japan in November as a family of 5. My 11 year old son is in a manual wheelchair and so I am looking at booking wheelchair accessible seat plus a companion seat in advance. I’m using the smartEX app. I am finding that I can’t progress with the booking for Tokyo to Odawara leg as a message comes up that “the currently selected seat cannot be used at the boarding/disembarking station”. I have established that the issue is with Odawara itself as there are no issues with my booking if selecting eg Kyoto with the same criteria. As my son can walk on and off the train, and we could lift his chair up and down if needed, what are my other options here? Thought about selecting oversized baggage seats as option for our trip, but would appreciate any advice as to whether we could put the chair in that space. Don’t want it damaged by other luggage in this space.
thanks in advance
Hmmmm getting the same message…
@cpnheather any thoughts? I know you frequently travel there.
There are definitely accessible seats, so in the worst case scenario you could book in advance at the Midori no Madoguchi booking counter found at most larger JR stations.
Thanks Josh for your reply. We are now thinking of transferring luggage as well as the chair and coming separately
Brilliant, thanks so much for your reply.
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