Originally Posted by
ponder
I never had any trouble finding a seat, even when the rest of the train seemed to be packed to bursting.
And that's not worth money?
To my mind, main benefit of the green pass is the improved chance of getting a reserved seat. Outside of peak travel periods, this may be unnecessary (especially if your plans are flexible). But for people who intend to visit Japan during certain holidays, a green pass might mean the difference between standing and sitting on some long journeys.
Originally Posted by
mrploddy
There are travel centres at most major stations. This guarantee's you a seat.
For short term visitors who come to Japan during peak travel periods, there are situations where the regular reserved seats on some trains are sold out long before the visitor even arrives in Japan. Planning in advance and going to the railway station won't help in those situations. But here are a few tactics that can help:
- If you go to the train's first station and join the queue for an unreserved car very early, you may be able to snag an unreserved seat.
- If you have a green pass, you may find that the green cars have available seats after the regular cars are sold out.
- If you are unable to reserve a seat for the entire trip, you may find that there are seats available for some portion of the trip. For example, you may find that Osaka to Tokyo is fully booked, but you can get seat reservations from Nagoya to Tokyo. (Few people who are paying cash for their tickets will try this).