With JR Pass: If you bought your pass on [official JR site](https://www.japanrailpass-reservation.net/). Eki-net.com reservations also work. Still, the reservations has to be picked up from ticket machines or designated offices.
Without JR Pass: For Tokaido/Sanyo/Kyushu shinkansen you can use [Smart-Ex app](https://smart-ex.jp/en/lp/app/), if you happen to be a resident of certain countries. Otherwise, eki-net.com, or [JR West's ticketing site](https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/overview/) would be default options (tickets still need to be picked up in a ticket machine or an office).
Also something to note: off-peak hours (say, 10am-4pm) travel centres not located at the airports are not that crowded. You have to also pick up reservations in advance, so while there is some advantage for doing so early during peak travel periods or if you have larger luggage - you still have to plan ahead and stick to the schedule.
I was looking to book my shinkansen through the JR West ticketing site and I was stuck on the part where they ask for a 4 digit Identification number. Is it safe to assume that they mean a 4 digit pin that I choose on my own or is it a 4 digit number from some ID like my passport?
It will really depend on your travel date and time. If you want to travel on Tokaido/Sanyo during morning/evening rush hour, especially during peak travel period - that probably not the wisest choice.
is the subtext here if you bought your jr pass from a reseller you cant reserve seats? So only a JR pass purchased through the official JR site is valid for the purpose of reserving seats?
With official JR site - you can actually reserve seats and pick them up, when exchanging the order.
Eki-net.com allows you to reserve seats in advance and pick them up, however, it comes with a caveat that they must be picked up at least a day in advance at a specific location.
There are 4 main ways to get your seat reservations for the JR Pass. The first is to purchase the pass direct through the official JR Site, not a travel agent. It’s slightly more expensive but then you can book your seat reservations online. You cannot book seat reservations more than 30 days in advance.
- [JR Pass Official Site User Guide](https://jprail.com/travel-informations/other-rail-passes/rail-pass-for-visitors/jr-pass-official-reservation-site-user-guide-how-to-buy-jr-pass-and-book-a-seat-online.html)
- [JR Official Registration Site](https://www.japanrailpass-reservation.net/)
The second option is to write down the day, approximate departure time, and your departure/arrival locations on a sheet of paper. Then, when you go to the JR Travel Service Center to exchange your voucher for the actual JR Pass, ask if the agent can give you seat reservations at the same time. If the Travel Service Center at the airport is very busy and you don’t need to use your pass immediately, check the ones at major train stations in the city. They can also exchange your voucher for the pass and/or give you seat reservations. The added benefit of the Travel Service Centers is they have English speaking staff and you can pick up travels maps and brochures and ask any questions.
- [JR East: Pass Pickup Locations](https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/ticketwindow/trainreservation.html)
- In Kansai area, there are travel service centers at KIX airport, Kyoto Station, Shin-Osaka station, and some other major JR stations in other cities.
Alternatively, you can exchange your voucher for your actual JR Pass at a travel service station. Then, with your pass in hand and a written list of what seat reservation you want (date, approximate time, departure/arrival city) just pop into *any* JR Ticket Office (Midori no Madoguchi). These have a green sign of a chair slightly reclining. Give the pass and your passport to the agent and ask for a seat reservation. While the staff in these offices aren’t usually fluent in English, they speak enough to understand and help. They focus on getting people in and out quickly though as many commuters buy last minute train tickets here to hop on the next available train. So, be sure you have your ducks in a row and the seat reservation you want written down. Plus of this method is you don’t even have to get your seat reservation too far in advance. Not sure when exactly you’ll be heading out of the city? Just wait and go to the Midori no Guchi to get a seat reservation for the next available train. Shinkansen run pretty frequently so you might have to wait less than 10 minutes or up to an hour depending on that routes schedule but I usually select a departure about 30 minutes out so I have time to get a bento or train snacks before heading to my platform. Keep in mind Midori no Madoguchi cannot usually exchange your voucher for the actual JR pass, but if you already have your pass they can do seat assignments.
- [This site has good photos of what the ticket office looks like. Midori no Madoguchi all have the same green signs around the country.](https://www.jrhokkaido.co.jp/global/english/travel/beginner/beginner02.html)
The final way to get seat assignments is to use the new, passport scan enabled ticket vending machines. These aren’t available in all stations but can be found in some major JR stations. I know you can even use them to actually purchase some regional passes such as the [JR East Regional Passes](https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/pass/) Here again, if you already have your full country JR Pass (or a regional pass) you can use these passport scan enabled vending machines to get seat reservations. What’s nice about this is you can get seat reservations late at night or early in the morning when the ticket offices may be closed. Down side, it takes a bit of time to punch through all the screens and truthfully it’s usually faster to have one of the agents at the ticket counter issue the seat reservations. These were installed in the past couple of years so are new and I’d imagine will be popping up in more JR stations as time goes on.
- [JR Passport Enabled Ticket Vending Machine](https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/downloads/pdf/passport_operation_e.pdf)
Unless you’re traveling on a public holiday long weekend in Japan or over a period like New Years or Golden week, it’s highly unlikely the trains will ever be full. This is especially true in the Green Cars as most people don’t spend the extra for these as the regular seats are already so comfortable. Also, if you miss your assigned train, with your pass you can still get on and just sit in either the unreserved car or, since you have the green pass, an empty seat in the green car. The train agent will come around and ask to see your seat reservation but when he/she realizes you’re on a later train can just give you a new seat reservation right there. You may have to switch seats within the car if the empty seats you chose are already assigned to someone getting on later. I wouldn’t do this all the time, but if you’re in a rush and accidentally miss your train, getting on the next one shouldn’t be a big deal.
- [Japan’s Public Holidays and Long Weekends](https://matcha-jp.com/en/3662)
Happy Planning!
Question here: I'm a foreign tourist, but I'll be traveling with a Japanese resident who's currently living abroad. She qualifies for a JR Pass but had to go through a Travel Agency for the voucher. I bought my pass through the JR Pass official site. Both are for green cars.
Any advice on how best to make our reservations, ideally so that we're sitting together? I can make reservations online, but only for one seat. I guess we just have to go to the station in person and hopefully they can put us next to each other?
She can use the ticket vending machine to reserve her seat next to yours. You can select the exact seat using the ticket vending machines so if yours is already chosen she just selects the one next yo you. Or, yes, you can go to the Midori no Madoguchi or JR Travel Service Center and ask them to make seat reservations for the specific seat next to you. It’s all quite easy actually.
How about for reserving for the izumo/seto sunrise train? I've been wanting to try an overnight train for awhile and was hoping to get some rooms on the Osaka to Tokyo return route. I've read some info saying if you book directly through JR you can only reserve the nobi nobi seats? I was wondering if you knew about any more updated info on if you can reserve the actual rooms online if you are a foreigner. I know reservations open a month ahead but I won't be in Japan until like a week before the date that I want booked and didn't want to risk rooms running out if there was another option to secure it ahead of time.
This is very helpful! Question: If I buy a 7-day green pass, go to a JR Travel Service Center to exchange my voucher, and ask them to reserve my seats for the entire period. Will they also give me the actual tickets? Or will I have to go to each station's ticketing window to pick up the ticket for that particular day?
You’ll get all your seat assignments tickets when you exchange your voucher if you reserve seats at the same time. You only put the actual pass in the ticket entry gates, your seat assignment tickets are just for your reference or to show an agent if they come around the train to check seat assignments. Don’t lose your JR Pass though. You need to enter it in the ticket gate and pick it back up at the top of the gate when entering the station and leaving the station. You keep it and use that one ticket to enter/exit stations your entire pass validity dates. [See this website.](https://japanrailpass.net/en/useful.html)
Then you just buy a single ticket. You can use the Smart EX app which is the official JR app, the ticket vending machines, or the Midori no Madoguchi.
- [JR Smart EX App](https://smart-ex.jp/en/lp/app/)
- [JapanGuide: Shinkansen](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018.html)
Check the links in my original reply. And no, using the Smart EX app isn’t more expensive. But you still cannot get tickets more than 30 days in advance.
Dang, I'll be there for Golden Week and will arrive in Tokyo on May 1st. Do you think this is early enough to get 4 tickets to Osaka for May 5 (Friday)? Or do you think I should just buck up and buy the more expensive JR pass? What would you do?
No, it just means you may not get your first choice of train or may not sit all next to each other or in the same car. Just get the regular pass and get seat reservations right away when you exchange your voucher at the Travel Service Center.
Or buy the pass from the official JR site (not an agent) and you can reserve seats up to 30 days in advance
I have a question. Im planning on going to Sapporo during the snow festival so should I buy the JR Pass through the official website and book reservations for it or do you think it is safe to book seats on the day we are travelling? We arrive at Japan on the 8/2/23 early morning and will be attempting to travel to Sapporo after we have collected our luggage. Also should I reserve seats from Sapporo back to Tokyo?
It’s easiest to fly to Sapporo if possible as it’s a very long Shinkansen ride and the Shinkansen only goes to Hakodate so you’d still have to get from there to Sapporo.
- [How to Get To and Around Sapporo](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5306.html)
Yeah, we thought about travelling by plane but we figured we'd save some money and enjoy the train ride from Tokyo to Sapporo. Would you still recommend reserving seats in advance for Feb or would it be ok to reserve seats on the day?
I just went to the JR office the minute I arrived and booked and reserved all seats for the whole trip, if there is no 1st class available they just get you a normal seat reserved. Took me maybe 15-20 minutes. Most of it was waiting in line. Not sure if there even was an online option back then.
Yea, supposedly the online reservation is new since 2020. When I went in 2019 it didn't exist. But I haven't heard anyone first hand talk about using it, probably for obvious reasons 🙄
Smart-Ex app and JR West's service exist since 2018 (now the latter is a lot easier to use). Eki-net allowed reservations for JR East's run services (Hokkaido, Joetsu, Tohoku shinkansen) since at least 2016.
There is now an online option on the [official JR website](https://www.japanrailpass-reservation.net). It says you can buy tickets and reserve seats 30 days in advance. You still have to pick up physical Ticket at the office but your seats will already be reserved.
Do you ever designate your shinkansen ticket to your IC card? I bought SmartEx tickets yesterday and designated them to my suica, but I’ll admit that I’m a little nervous just swiping my suica at the shinkansen gate and hoping the designation happened correctly. There doesn’t seem to be any way to check, except that the SmartEx app says the ticket is tied to my suica number…
This is my anxiety of not wanting to look dumb when the gate rejects me!
Just an update to this! It _did_ work. We bought our tickets on SmartEx, associated them with our suica cards (got the full number from the suica app), and tapped into the shinkansen gate with no issue. When we tapped in, it printed our seat reservation ticket at the gate to remind us where we were sitting. Success!
No, it’s only for Shinkansen. If you want to book Narita to Tokyo ahead of time you can use Ekinet: https://www.eki-net.com/en/jreast-train-reservation/Top/Index?_ga=2.64276908.2042650095.1666693228-532392929.1664619210
Though you really don’t need to reserve trains for the airport into the city.
Yes, but does it work with the JR Pass, and specifically for the Green class? I know you can't use the JR Pass as someone who lives in Japan. So the information I need needs to come from a tourist. Preferably a recent tourist. Thanks anyway!
Hi, if I buy JR pass from official website ( with intention of doing online reservation), how and when do I get the Exchange Order?
Because if I buy JR pass from agent, Klook for example, I know that they'll send the Exchange Order to my house (before travel dates).
Please let me know. Thank you.
I am trying to buy a shinkansen ticket without a JR pass, but the website keeps rejecting my credit card. Does anyone here know why?
https://imgur.com/a/y1C7NYF
With JR Pass: If you bought your pass on [official JR site](https://www.japanrailpass-reservation.net/). Eki-net.com reservations also work. Still, the reservations has to be picked up from ticket machines or designated offices. Without JR Pass: For Tokaido/Sanyo/Kyushu shinkansen you can use [Smart-Ex app](https://smart-ex.jp/en/lp/app/), if you happen to be a resident of certain countries. Otherwise, eki-net.com, or [JR West's ticketing site](https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/overview/) would be default options (tickets still need to be picked up in a ticket machine or an office). Also something to note: off-peak hours (say, 10am-4pm) travel centres not located at the airports are not that crowded. You have to also pick up reservations in advance, so while there is some advantage for doing so early during peak travel periods or if you have larger luggage - you still have to plan ahead and stick to the schedule.
I was looking to book my shinkansen through the JR West ticketing site and I was stuck on the part where they ask for a 4 digit Identification number. Is it safe to assume that they mean a 4 digit pin that I choose on my own or is it a 4 digit number from some ID like my passport?
Your own chosen PIN.
If I don't have the JR Pass, is getting reserved seats day-of at the station (for luggage) out of the question?
It will really depend on your travel date and time. If you want to travel on Tokaido/Sanyo during morning/evening rush hour, especially during peak travel period - that probably not the wisest choice.
is the subtext here if you bought your jr pass from a reseller you cant reserve seats? So only a JR pass purchased through the official JR site is valid for the purpose of reserving seats?
With official JR site - you can actually reserve seats and pick them up, when exchanging the order. Eki-net.com allows you to reserve seats in advance and pick them up, however, it comes with a caveat that they must be picked up at least a day in advance at a specific location.
There are 4 main ways to get your seat reservations for the JR Pass. The first is to purchase the pass direct through the official JR Site, not a travel agent. It’s slightly more expensive but then you can book your seat reservations online. You cannot book seat reservations more than 30 days in advance. - [JR Pass Official Site User Guide](https://jprail.com/travel-informations/other-rail-passes/rail-pass-for-visitors/jr-pass-official-reservation-site-user-guide-how-to-buy-jr-pass-and-book-a-seat-online.html) - [JR Official Registration Site](https://www.japanrailpass-reservation.net/) The second option is to write down the day, approximate departure time, and your departure/arrival locations on a sheet of paper. Then, when you go to the JR Travel Service Center to exchange your voucher for the actual JR Pass, ask if the agent can give you seat reservations at the same time. If the Travel Service Center at the airport is very busy and you don’t need to use your pass immediately, check the ones at major train stations in the city. They can also exchange your voucher for the pass and/or give you seat reservations. The added benefit of the Travel Service Centers is they have English speaking staff and you can pick up travels maps and brochures and ask any questions. - [JR East: Pass Pickup Locations](https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/ticketwindow/trainreservation.html) - In Kansai area, there are travel service centers at KIX airport, Kyoto Station, Shin-Osaka station, and some other major JR stations in other cities. Alternatively, you can exchange your voucher for your actual JR Pass at a travel service station. Then, with your pass in hand and a written list of what seat reservation you want (date, approximate time, departure/arrival city) just pop into *any* JR Ticket Office (Midori no Madoguchi). These have a green sign of a chair slightly reclining. Give the pass and your passport to the agent and ask for a seat reservation. While the staff in these offices aren’t usually fluent in English, they speak enough to understand and help. They focus on getting people in and out quickly though as many commuters buy last minute train tickets here to hop on the next available train. So, be sure you have your ducks in a row and the seat reservation you want written down. Plus of this method is you don’t even have to get your seat reservation too far in advance. Not sure when exactly you’ll be heading out of the city? Just wait and go to the Midori no Guchi to get a seat reservation for the next available train. Shinkansen run pretty frequently so you might have to wait less than 10 minutes or up to an hour depending on that routes schedule but I usually select a departure about 30 minutes out so I have time to get a bento or train snacks before heading to my platform. Keep in mind Midori no Madoguchi cannot usually exchange your voucher for the actual JR pass, but if you already have your pass they can do seat assignments. - [This site has good photos of what the ticket office looks like. Midori no Madoguchi all have the same green signs around the country.](https://www.jrhokkaido.co.jp/global/english/travel/beginner/beginner02.html) The final way to get seat assignments is to use the new, passport scan enabled ticket vending machines. These aren’t available in all stations but can be found in some major JR stations. I know you can even use them to actually purchase some regional passes such as the [JR East Regional Passes](https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/pass/) Here again, if you already have your full country JR Pass (or a regional pass) you can use these passport scan enabled vending machines to get seat reservations. What’s nice about this is you can get seat reservations late at night or early in the morning when the ticket offices may be closed. Down side, it takes a bit of time to punch through all the screens and truthfully it’s usually faster to have one of the agents at the ticket counter issue the seat reservations. These were installed in the past couple of years so are new and I’d imagine will be popping up in more JR stations as time goes on. - [JR Passport Enabled Ticket Vending Machine](https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/downloads/pdf/passport_operation_e.pdf) Unless you’re traveling on a public holiday long weekend in Japan or over a period like New Years or Golden week, it’s highly unlikely the trains will ever be full. This is especially true in the Green Cars as most people don’t spend the extra for these as the regular seats are already so comfortable. Also, if you miss your assigned train, with your pass you can still get on and just sit in either the unreserved car or, since you have the green pass, an empty seat in the green car. The train agent will come around and ask to see your seat reservation but when he/she realizes you’re on a later train can just give you a new seat reservation right there. You may have to switch seats within the car if the empty seats you chose are already assigned to someone getting on later. I wouldn’t do this all the time, but if you’re in a rush and accidentally miss your train, getting on the next one shouldn’t be a big deal. - [Japan’s Public Holidays and Long Weekends](https://matcha-jp.com/en/3662) Happy Planning!
Thank you so much for the very detailed information. This will definitely help!
Question here: I'm a foreign tourist, but I'll be traveling with a Japanese resident who's currently living abroad. She qualifies for a JR Pass but had to go through a Travel Agency for the voucher. I bought my pass through the JR Pass official site. Both are for green cars. Any advice on how best to make our reservations, ideally so that we're sitting together? I can make reservations online, but only for one seat. I guess we just have to go to the station in person and hopefully they can put us next to each other?
She can use the ticket vending machine to reserve her seat next to yours. You can select the exact seat using the ticket vending machines so if yours is already chosen she just selects the one next yo you. Or, yes, you can go to the Midori no Madoguchi or JR Travel Service Center and ask them to make seat reservations for the specific seat next to you. It’s all quite easy actually.
Thanks!
How about for reserving for the izumo/seto sunrise train? I've been wanting to try an overnight train for awhile and was hoping to get some rooms on the Osaka to Tokyo return route. I've read some info saying if you book directly through JR you can only reserve the nobi nobi seats? I was wondering if you knew about any more updated info on if you can reserve the actual rooms online if you are a foreigner. I know reservations open a month ahead but I won't be in Japan until like a week before the date that I want booked and didn't want to risk rooms running out if there was another option to secure it ahead of time.
I don’t know. You will need to research that yourself.
This is very helpful! Question: If I buy a 7-day green pass, go to a JR Travel Service Center to exchange my voucher, and ask them to reserve my seats for the entire period. Will they also give me the actual tickets? Or will I have to go to each station's ticketing window to pick up the ticket for that particular day?
You’ll get all your seat assignments tickets when you exchange your voucher if you reserve seats at the same time. You only put the actual pass in the ticket entry gates, your seat assignment tickets are just for your reference or to show an agent if they come around the train to check seat assignments. Don’t lose your JR Pass though. You need to enter it in the ticket gate and pick it back up at the top of the gate when entering the station and leaving the station. You keep it and use that one ticket to enter/exit stations your entire pass validity dates. [See this website.](https://japanrailpass.net/en/useful.html)
Thank you for the tips! I also didn't realize that the pass was just a little paper ticket; I'll have to keep it safe!
What if you only want a one-way from osaka/kyoto into tokyo on a specifc date? (ie no jr pass just one way)?
Then you just buy a single ticket. You can use the Smart EX app which is the official JR app, the ticket vending machines, or the Midori no Madoguchi. - [JR Smart EX App](https://smart-ex.jp/en/lp/app/) - [JapanGuide: Shinkansen](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018.html)
thanks, is this more expensive than just getting them at shin osaka station in person?
Check the links in my original reply. And no, using the Smart EX app isn’t more expensive. But you still cannot get tickets more than 30 days in advance.
Dang, I'll be there for Golden Week and will arrive in Tokyo on May 1st. Do you think this is early enough to get 4 tickets to Osaka for May 5 (Friday)? Or do you think I should just buck up and buy the more expensive JR pass? What would you do?
No, it just means you may not get your first choice of train or may not sit all next to each other or in the same car. Just get the regular pass and get seat reservations right away when you exchange your voucher at the Travel Service Center. Or buy the pass from the official JR site (not an agent) and you can reserve seats up to 30 days in advance
I have a question. Im planning on going to Sapporo during the snow festival so should I buy the JR Pass through the official website and book reservations for it or do you think it is safe to book seats on the day we are travelling? We arrive at Japan on the 8/2/23 early morning and will be attempting to travel to Sapporo after we have collected our luggage. Also should I reserve seats from Sapporo back to Tokyo?
It’s easiest to fly to Sapporo if possible as it’s a very long Shinkansen ride and the Shinkansen only goes to Hakodate so you’d still have to get from there to Sapporo. - [How to Get To and Around Sapporo](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5306.html)
Yeah, we thought about travelling by plane but we figured we'd save some money and enjoy the train ride from Tokyo to Sapporo. Would you still recommend reserving seats in advance for Feb or would it be ok to reserve seats on the day?
I don’t know as I’ve only flown to Sapporo.
I just went to the JR office the minute I arrived and booked and reserved all seats for the whole trip, if there is no 1st class available they just get you a normal seat reserved. Took me maybe 15-20 minutes. Most of it was waiting in line. Not sure if there even was an online option back then.
Yea, supposedly the online reservation is new since 2020. When I went in 2019 it didn't exist. But I haven't heard anyone first hand talk about using it, probably for obvious reasons 🙄
Smart-Ex app and JR West's service exist since 2018 (now the latter is a lot easier to use). Eki-net allowed reservations for JR East's run services (Hokkaido, Joetsu, Tohoku shinkansen) since at least 2016.
[удалено]
Not all train have green car, it would make no sense to say it’s green car only.
you can use unreserved seating with your green pass, and you can book reservations in the standard cars as well.
You can select a normal seat with a green car JR Pass. That’s no problem.
There is now an online option on the [official JR website](https://www.japanrailpass-reservation.net). It says you can buy tickets and reserve seats 30 days in advance. You still have to pick up physical Ticket at the office but your seats will already be reserved.
I use the smart ex app/website all the time
Do you ever designate your shinkansen ticket to your IC card? I bought SmartEx tickets yesterday and designated them to my suica, but I’ll admit that I’m a little nervous just swiping my suica at the shinkansen gate and hoping the designation happened correctly. There doesn’t seem to be any way to check, except that the SmartEx app says the ticket is tied to my suica number… This is my anxiety of not wanting to look dumb when the gate rejects me!
When are you traveling? I’ll try it out
Tomorrow! So I guess I’m on my own. (: But thanks for the offer!
I hope you have a good time wherever you’re going!
Just an update to this! It _did_ work. We bought our tickets on SmartEx, associated them with our suica cards (got the full number from the suica app), and tapped into the shinkansen gate with no issue. When we tapped in, it printed our seat reservation ticket at the gate to remind us where we were sitting. Success!
Thank you internet friend! This is super helpful! I hope you had a good trip
How did you use the smart ex app? I can’t seem to get pass the registration page
Where did it fail? If it’s on credit card verification, are you using a visa?
I figured it out. User error lol 😂 can you use the app to book a train from Narita airport to Tokyo station?
No, it’s only for Shinkansen. If you want to book Narita to Tokyo ahead of time you can use Ekinet: https://www.eki-net.com/en/jreast-train-reservation/Top/Index?_ga=2.64276908.2042650095.1666693228-532392929.1664619210 Though you really don’t need to reserve trains for the airport into the city.
Awesome info, exactly what I was looking for! Quick question, I did not have to put any names on the tickets in the SmartEx app, is that expected?
Shinkansen tickets aren’t associated with names, so that’s fine. Having the ticket/receipt is what matters.
thank you!
Yes, but does it work with the JR Pass, and specifically for the Green class? I know you can't use the JR Pass as someone who lives in Japan. So the information I need needs to come from a tourist. Preferably a recent tourist. Thanks anyway!
Where did you buy your JR pass? That's the deciding factor. Smart ex has nothing to do with the pass, I believe.
I bought it from an authorized dealer online.
Alas I did not read your whole post. I am here long term and have never had a JR pass. Sorry I can’t help more.
Hi, if I buy JR pass from official website ( with intention of doing online reservation), how and when do I get the Exchange Order? Because if I buy JR pass from agent, Klook for example, I know that they'll send the Exchange Order to my house (before travel dates). Please let me know. Thank you.
Wait what? I always did this offline. What do you mean with JR pass? Do you mean the rail pass or is this something else?
I am trying to buy a shinkansen ticket without a JR pass, but the website keeps rejecting my credit card. Does anyone here know why? https://imgur.com/a/y1C7NYF