Originally Posted by
alan11
I agree with others that the train and stations are usually not at all hard to navigate and English is plentiful.
But do note, if taking oversized luggage (3 side dimension more than 160cm) then you now need to have a seat reservation for this on the Tokaido Shinkansen (central railway bullet train for Kyoto to Tokyo). If you don't get the seat reservation you may need to pay a 1000yen fee on the train for each big suitcase, and may also have a bit of an issue with finding a place to put it (the trains weren't designed for hordes of foreign tourists bringing suitcases big enough to fit a full grown human in).
This link explains its all:
https://global.jr-central.co.jp/en/i...sized-baggage/
This has
never been an issue for us -- but If I had to pay less than $7.00 usd for a bag -- peace of mind is way more precious.... The storage areas on the shinkansen have always been more than sufficient -- but I do agree that they are not meant for foreign tourists trying to bring 20 rice cookers home...