Shinkansen rules for luggages have changed. From now on, you will need to reserve a special seat for your oversized bags. JR announced a new policy for travelers with certain luggage size, to reserve certain seats on certain Shinkansen routes.
Luggage with size of 161-250 cm requires a reservation for an extra seat. Whereas luggage with size of 160cm and below, can be brought on without a reservation. You can place it in front of you, or in the overhead luggage rack, but make sure that it doesn’t jut out so that it could fall or be bumped. And light enough to be lifted by you.
For luggage over 250 cm, it won’t be allowed at all. If you are having an enormous luggage, you can consider shipping the luggage with a delivery service.
Here are Shinkansen routes affected by the new luggage rules:
- Toukaidou Shinkansen (Tokyo to Osaka)
- Sanyou Shinkansen (Osaka to Fukuoka)
- Kyuushuu Shinkansen (Fukuoka to Kagoshima)
Unfortunately these are major routes, especially the Toukaidou Shinkansen, the one you will take to travel between Tokyo and Kyoto.
Reserving the luggage rack
Starting from May 24, 2023, you can also reserve the space in the baggage compartment on the Toukaidou Shinkansen and Sanyou Shinkansen. There is a baggage area, and baggage compartment.
For the baggage area, you need to reserve seats at the last row to use the luggage area, and there will be a dedicated space behind them for oversized luggage.
For the baggage compartment, you can choose to book the aisle seat (top compartment), or the window seat (bottom compartment). The dimensions available are: 80 x 60 x 50 cm for the upper space, and 80 x 60 x 40 cm for the lower space.
You can lock your things in the baggage compartment with an IC card, such as Suica or Pasmo. You also need to reserve certain seats to be able to put your luggage in the compartment (This is only available in some cars on the Nozomi, Hikari, and Kodama Shinkansen services).
How to calculate your baggage size
There will be baggage sizers at all Toukaidou Shinkansen stations, so you can always recheck before boarding. You will need to add the width, height, and depth together, for the overall dimension. The max dimension to measure is 50 cm (W) + 80 cm (H) + 30 cm (D).
Sport equipment, musical instruments, wheelchairs, strollers, etc. do not need reservations, and size doesn’t matter. But if you want a more comfortable journey, we recommend you reserve an oversized luggage seat.
How to reserve luggage space on the Shinkansen
You will need to book the special luggage before getting on the train, but it won’t cost more than a regular reserved seat. They are complementary with a JR Pass. You can book the ticket one month in advance. Please note that you can’t use these seats if you have an unreserved train ticket.
You may only bring two items of luggage on Shinkansen, and they cannot exceed 30 kg in weight. You can still take advantage of the luggage rack on the Hokuriku, Jouetsu, Tohoku, Yamagata, Akita, and Hokkaido Shinkansen. Local trains and subways also do not need a reservation.
If you forget to book, you will be charged a ¥1,000 fee and the guard will put your luggage in a designated space, or they might ask you to take a different train if you haven’t boarded yet.
There are alternatives to load it onto a Shinkansen if you have too much luggage to handle. One, you could send your luggage separately with a delivery service. Or two, leave it behind in a safe luggage storage.
If you want to take the Kodama (unreserved) Shinkansen service, there are limited baggage seats on Kodama trains because they go slower and are not often used by commuters. There may be one car for reserved seating, or maybe none in some cases, so please make sure to check when booking.
Hope this information will help you to prepare your trip to Japan, and make your trip goes well when the time comes.
Source:
https://tokyocheapo.com/travel/transport/new-shinkansen-luggage-rules/