Golden Week, Obon and New Year: crowded trains and all-reserved Shinkansen

All-reserved Nozomi

• In the busiest periods JR Central and JR West turn the Nozomi non-reserved cars into reserved cars, on every Nozomi between Tokyo and Hakata. [1]
• 2026 Golden Week period was 24 April to 6 May. The periods are announced for each fiscal year. [1]
• 2026 Obon period was 7 to 16 August. [1]
• New Year 2026/27: Nozomi is all-reserved from 25 December 2026 to 5 January 2027. [1]
• From autumn 2026 three-day weekends are added too, for example 21 to 23 November 2026. [1]
• Hikari, Kodama, Mizuho, Sakura and Tsubame keep their non-reserved cars as usual. [2]
• With only a non-reserved ticket you may still board a Nozomi in these periods, but only to stand in the deck area. [2]

Limited expresses

• JR Central's Hida, Shinano and Nanki limited expresses are also all-reserved in the busiest periods (Golden Week, Obon, Silver Week, New Year). [3]
• If those trains are full, a limited number of standing tickets (same price as non-reserved) are sold for a set train and car. [3]

When to book and what it costs

• Reserved seats go on sale at 10:00 one month before the travel day. [2]
• Reserved-seat express fees change with the season (off-peak, regular, peak, busiest). [4]
• JAPAN RAIL PASS holders: seats are especially hard to get from 1 to 6 May and 18 to 23 September; Obon and New Year are also very busy. [5]
• JR Central asks travellers to book early. [2]

Applies to

JR Central (Central Japan Railway Company), JR West (West Japan Railway Company)

• Sanyō Shinkansen JR West
• JR Tokaido Shinkansen JR Central