Shinkansen and Limited express trains – Wheelchair Seats
Shinkansen and Limited express trains – Wheelchair Seats
Hello everyone!
We are a travel agency specializing in wheelchair-accessible travel in Japan, and we’d like to share some information with you (as long as it isn’t for our advertisement).
Today, we booked wheelchair-accessible seats on the Shinkansen and limited express trains for our customers. While each train typically has between two and six wheelchair seats, we found that our selected trains were fully booked on the very first day tickets became available. Fortunately, we were able to secure seats for our customers, but this was the first time we experienced such high demand – we were very surprised!
On the bright side, this means that more and more people are traveling around Japan using wheelchairs, which is great to see! However, if you have specific travel plans, we highly recommend booking your train tickets as early as possible.
Most trains become available for booking one month in advance, and some can be booked via an app. If you would like us to assist with ticket arrangements, kindly let us know at least one month in advance so that we can do our best to secure your seats.
We hope you have a wonderful trip to Japan!
- 9 Replies
This is good to know. What app can I use for booking wheelchair seats on trains please? Many thanks!
Hi @sophieelwes -san!
Here is the official JR application.
You can book and purchase Shinkansen tickets for the section from Tokyo – Kyoto – Osaka – Kagoshima.
https://smart-ex.jp/en/reservation/reserve_smart/wheelchair/
Some other private railway companies have online booking sites as well.
Thank you Wheelchair Travel Japan for this useful warning.
i take the opportunity to ask you for some question. Once we purchase the wheelchair seat tickets via SmartEx app, is it needed to do something more by our side (like contact to the train assistation for assistance to the train or whatever)? Or it’s fine just going there with the wheelchair tickets?
Thanks
Best regards
Hi @msp -san,
Thank you for your question!
Yes, if you purchase wheelchair seats via the SmartEx app, you basically just need to go to the station on the day.
However, you will need to have your QR-ticket or registered IC card or paper ticket ready (please check the app instructions for details), and ideally you should get to the ticket gate at 30 minutes before departure (at the latest 20 minutes), and ask the assistant staff.
It can take time to get from the ticket gate to the platform, and the train won’t wait for you when it’s time to departure. To make sure you get on the train, we recommend you get to the station early!
As we are a travel agency, when we book tickets for our customers, we contact the train assistance service in advance to make sure.
Have a nice trip!
Super, thank your for your reply. We will purchase tickets through the app you pointed and being there soon to get the QR.
Regarding the assistance you mentioned to contact to be sure, how we can contact them??
Thanks in advance
Hi Marcsubiron @msp -san,
Your questions give me the chance to deepen my knowledge. Thank you!
I looked into how to consult in advance from outside Japan about wheelchair support on JR trains.
JR Central Telephone Center: +81-50-3772-3910 +dial 4 (Weekdays 9am-17pm JST)
(Shinkansen Tokyo-Nagoya-Kyoto-Osaka, etc.)
JR East Infoline: +81-50-2016-1603 (Everyday10am-18pm JST)
(Shinkansen Tokyo-Sendai-Akita-Aomori, Tokyo-Nagano-Kanazawa, Tokyo-Niigata, etc.)
However, what they are saying is that unless you have a wheelchair with an unusual shape or size, there is no need to contact them in advance, and you can just go to the station on the day.
If I could add one more tip, when you get to the first JR train station on your itinerary, show all the tickets you have to the staff, and they may be able to contact all the stations for you.
Wow, that’s an amazing answer by your side. Thank you for your incredibly support and this useful information.
Best regards
Marc
Hello,
we are coming back to Japan in late october.
Last year, we went to Tokyo station to book 1 wheelchair space ticket + 1 companion seat for several Shinkansen journeys, about 1 week before the travels. Do you think we can keep this method this year for booking wheelchair seats, or do you think we would reserve them 1 month before using the app ?
Thanks in advance for your advice,
regards
Hello Stephane @sdefreyne -san,
I’m glad we could have a discussion on this topic.
Yes, in my opinion, I recommend using the app or using our/other companies’ services to book seats as early as possible. I checked again yesterday and there are some wheelchair seats on the Shinkansen that were booked on the very first day of sale.
Also, it takes 1.5-2 hours to buy wheelchair tickets at the Tokyo Station Ticket Center this week.
As a person who loves to travel (not as an agent), I hope all travellers spend their time doing something more enjoyable instead of wasting it.
Thank you!
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