Hi everyone. JR East via Ekinet permits purchase of tickets/seats on the Resort Shirakami Joyful train. However, that route always shows (for me, at least) as unavailable for booking if you choose "Seat reservation (use a pass)" and then try to find a departure. However, if you go via the "Purchase tickets" route you can successfully buy tickets/seats. That's a bit frustrating!

As I will only arrive in Japan a few days before I take that train, I would prefer to be able to get a seat successfully earlier and without charge, given I will have a JR East pass at the time. Does anyone know if there's a workaround for this problem?