Originally Posted by
mactoolsix
The more I read the more concerned I'm getting.
My wife and I will be in Japan for a month - Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Hakone & Nikko. March 15th to April 14th (cherry blossom time). We are planning on using JR Rail passes.
We travel light (for 30 days) - we each have 22" roller bags with removable back packs, which we always carry-on and store in airplane overhead compartments. However I'm reading there is very limited space on the Shinkansen bullet trains.
Considering purchasing Green car passes if only to have a bit more luggage room.
Are there overhead storage compartments on the trains?
Would you recommend Green car passes due to the expected number of additional train riders?
I've also read that some trains require an additional "Super Limited Express ticket" plus the JR pass? How do we know which trains will require this?
My wife and I put both of our 22" rollers and one of our carry on personal bags in the rack above the seats without spilling over into the other rows. This was a Green car so figure an ordinary car with slightly reduced legroom/pitch should be fine with the personal items underneath. I wouldn't purchase the Green car just for luggage storage.
The rail pass doesn't apply to two of the Shinkansen trains (not to worry, there are slightly slower Shinkansen trains on the same routes) and GranClass (above Green cars) on certain routes. If in doubt, the green ticket office can tell you when making seat reservations.
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