rec

I am trying to figure out the seat widths in the ordinary cars on the Tokaido and Tohoku Shinkansens.

Also, on the side of the car that is two seats wide, does the armrest between the two seats move up?

I am just debating whether to go green or ordinary.

Tnx.

shuigao

I'm too lazy to look up measurements; they're probably 10-20% wider than a typical aircraft economy seat, but have loads of legroom and are plenty comfortable for a 3-4 hour journey.

rec

Thanks. I am still trying to determine if the arm rests between the seats can be risen up.

=m

evergrn

44cm wide according to a couple websites.

Armrest does go up.

nishimark

In case it matters to whoever is reading this thread, the seats can also rotate to face the opposite direction. There's usually a foot pedal to step on to release it. So, for example, a party of 4 or 6 can sit facing one another.

railroadtycoon

Varies on the model of train but usually around:

Green cars have 1160mm seat pitch.
Ordinary cars have 1040mm seat pitch.

Green cars have 475mm seat width
Ordinary cars have between 430-460mm seat width

Compared to Economy on many airlines which offer between 431-452mm seat width but only about 787-890mm in pitch.

You get more pitch in the regular car in the Shinkansen than airline economy and even compared to domestic first class you get a little more in pitch in the regular car in the Shinkansen.

CaliforniaSteve

Got back from Japan about three weeks ago, where we traveled extensively on the Shinkansen. I'm 6'3" tall and I had plenty of legroom in the regular cars. I don't think the added legroom in Green is worth it. As to the arm rest, the middle ones can be lifted entirely on both the two seat side and the three seat side.

jib71

Green is not worth it for legroom, but there have been times when I've had a large seat neighbor in a regular car and wished for a little more elbow room.

Gradfly

If you're using a railpass, the ordinary reserved seats are more than enough imho. One thing I'd recommend is booking the side that has two seats. From my recollection, the ordinary seat layout is 2+3. Check this site out if you want more info about JR and rail travel in country. Its the most comprehensive Japanese rail travel resource that I've found.

evergrn

More and more people of size in Jpn these days.

abmj-jr

In my past experience, the reservation agents almost always have taken a look at me (6'5" 265lb) and just booked me into a 2x seat whenever one is available. I don't know if they have some internal code or marking, but the other seat has stayed vacant, giving me a double to myself, as long as any open seats remain in the car. The only time I get a seatmate is when the car fills up completely.

This was more common back in the day when full trains were not so common. Nowadays, it might not work out that way. It also assumes that one reserves seats well in advance, as I usually do. When I have had to grab a train at the last minute, all bets are off and I get what is available, often with a seatmate. Even at my size, I don't usually have much trouble sitting with someone else in the ordinary car 2x seats.