Coming this fall: SmartEX reservations up to 1 year in advance
Jun 15, 2023, 9:39 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: SFO
Posts: 181
Coming this fall: SmartEX reservations up to 1 year in advance
As reported in a few news site, including Impress Watch, https://www.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1509029.html, users will be able to reserve Tokaido-Sanyo-Kyushu Shinkansen tickets up to one year in advance instead of the currently one month (+ 7 days pre-reservation) using SmartEX.
I wonder if there will be additional discounts for booking a bit more in advance instead of the current 21 days discount. This update will make my life easier so I don't have to time my reservations individually with my expected travels between Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
I wonder if there will be additional discounts for booking a bit more in advance instead of the current 21 days discount. This update will make my life easier so I don't have to time my reservations individually with my expected travels between Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
Jun 29, 2023, 4:24 am
#2
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the air
Programs: Occasional RTW club
Posts: 6,924
How good is the discount? I used to make prebookings for shinkansen back when they ran every half an hour and it was actually sometimes a challenge to get seats, but these days, if you don't get the one you want, there are at least 3 more in the subsequent 10 minutes, so is it really worth prebooking ahead of time?
Jun 29, 2023, 9:10 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: SFO
Posts: 181
How good is the discount? I used to make prebookings for shinkansen back when they ran every half an hour and it was actually sometimes a challenge to get seats, but these days, if you don't get the one you want, there are at least 3 more in the subsequent 10 minutes, so is it really worth prebooking ahead of time?
To me, the ability to book the seats for the oversized luggages is nice, especially if I can book ahead. If it's peak travel season, then you might not be able to find a space for your (large) luggages. It's not for everyone but it's nice the option exists.
Jun 29, 2023, 9:52 pm
#4
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the air
Programs: Occasional RTW club
Posts: 6,924
As someone pointed out all the different discounts you can get with SmartEX https://smart-ex.jp/en/product/ , the 3 weeks advance booking Hayatoku 21https://smart-ex.jp/en/product/hayatoku/ex_21/ you can get between 10% to 25% discount.
To me, the ability to book the seats for the oversized luggages is nice, especially if I can book ahead. If it's peak travel season, then you might not be able to find a space for your (large) luggages. It's not for everyone but it's nice the option exists.
To me, the ability to book the seats for the oversized luggages is nice, especially if I can book ahead. If it's peak travel season, then you might not be able to find a space for your (large) luggages. It's not for everyone but it's nice the option exists.