Can you ride the Nozomi without a reservation over New Year in Japan?

Only standing. From December 25, 2026 to January 5, 2027, JR Central runs every Nozomi all-reserved, a peak-period rule that began over the 2023-24 New Year. An unreserved ticket still lets you stand in the deck areas of ordinary cars, but you may not get on a crowded train. The Hikari, Kodama, Mizuho, Sakura and Tsubame keep their unreserved cars as usual.

Can you get an unreserved seat on the Hikari during the year-end rush?

Usually, if you board at Tokyo and can wait. One comment on 39 likes reckons that if you let two Hikari go at Tokyo Station you'd be sure to get a seat, while a rider who boarded at Shinagawa on December 30 found the unreserved cars full of standing passengers. At Shin-Yokohama, unreserved riders were sent to the decks of cars 11 to 16.

Which unreserved car on the Tokaido Shinkansen is easiest to get a seat in?

Car 1, by one rider's count: at stations along the way about 30 to 40 percent fewer people board it than car 2, which makes up for it having fewer seats. At the starting station the difference is small. Another commenter (9 likes) was glad of the tip that car 2 is the unreserved car to aim for.

Travel Tips & HonneYouTubecomments on a 2023 video9/24/26, 7:35 AM

"Let Two Hikari Go at Tokyo Station": Can You Ride the Shinkansen Unreserved in Japan's Year-End Rush?

「東京駅でひかりを2本見送れば確実に座れそう」——年末年始の帰省ラッシュ、新幹線は自由席で乗れるのか

By Rakutaro · Tokyo, Japan

Shinkansen (Japan's Bullet Trains)Nationwide New Year

"Let Two Hikari Go at Tokyo Station": Can You Ride the Shinkansen Unreserved in Japan's Year-End Rush?

Only on the Hikari and Kodama, and a 2023 Japanese thread says the real trick is where you get on: at Tokyo you sit after letting a train or two go, from Shinagawa or Shin-Yokohama you stand. The 419-comment video rode a Hikari unreserved car at the peak of the year-end rush, the first New Year after JR Central took unreserved cars off the Nozomi at peak times. Riders mostly back the change (one comment on 56 likes calls it how the Nozomi was meant to be), with a smaller camp who would rather stand than be tied to one train. Under that sit the boarding tips, and a pun on the train names that sums up the mood: nozomi means hope, hikari light and kodama echo.

These comments are from a video published in 2023. Prices, rules and crowds may have moved since; anything we checked ourselves is marked with a source.

“Anyone trying to ride unreserved from Shinagawa at this time of year is either new to travel or has no common sense, as far as I can tell.”

この時期に品川から自由席に乗ろうとする人は旅慣れてないか常識知らずとしか思えん

— @さなだおしょう

This placeWhat Japanese people say about Shinkansen (Japan's Bullet Trains)Read all 10 roundups on the place page

What Japanese people said — picked from the top 200 of 419 comments

They only added unreserved cars to the Nozomi as a compromise when it became the standard train. The Nozomi, the top-tier service, started out all-reserved… This is arguably how it was supposed to be, so I'm all for it.
のぞみを標準化するために妥協的に自由席入れただけで、元々は最上級車種であるのぞみは全席指定で始まってますからね…本来あるべき姿はこれだったりするから自分は大賛成
— @genkou0918Most liked56 likes
That they got through this insane number of trains this smoothly, the all-reserved effect is incredible,,,
このエグい本数でここまでしっかり捌ききれたの、全席指定の効果が凄すぎる、、、
— @すぱじ55 likes
Making the Nozomi all-reserved was the right call after all. By the way, on the Tohoku Shinkansen you can't get a seat on the Yamabiko either at peak times.
やっぱのぞみ全車指定席は正解だなちなみに東北新幹線のやまびこも繁忙期だと座れなくなる
— @ウニオカシロヒゲ38 likes
I'd rather go unreserved, even on a packed Hikari, because I can board whenever I like. With a reserved seat I hate feeling like I have to catch that exact train.
好きなタイミングで乗れるから混んでてもひかり使ってでも自由席が良いです指定席だとこの時間に乗らなきゃいけないと思うのが苦手
— @育男-n1o4 likes
Still, I wish they'd knock a little off the reserved seat fee....
でも指定席料金ちょっとぐらいは安くして欲しいよね....
— @アポロクッキー9 likes
The unreserved cars were full from Tokyo, so unreserved passengers at Shin-Yokohama were being directed to the decks of cars 11 to 16.
東京で自由席がいっぱいなので、新横浜駅の自由席のお客さんは11〜16号車のデッキに誘導されてました
— @hiroshima532117 likes
Getting to the toilet partway through would be a pain.
途中でトイレに行きづれぇ
— @マストシ20 likes
In an A seat there's no way I'm going to the toilet. I'd come back and find someone sitting in it.
A席では絶対トイレに行けない。行って帰ってきたら誰か座ってそう
— @かがみ純2 likes
The easiest option is not going home at all lol
一番楽なのは帰省しないことだw
— @by34229 likes
Every time I see a video like this, or expressway traffic jams on the news, I'm grateful that both of our families live in the same city as us, so we never have to travel home.
こういう動画や、ニュースでの高速道路の渋滞を見るたび、夫婦そろって実家が同じ市内で、帰省しなくていいことに感謝したくなる
— @katuoeipam8 likes
No hope, no light, only the echo of despair.
望みも光もない、絶望の声がこだまする
— @wakiyaku-c1g53 likes

What Japanese people do instead

I thought this was going to be an emergency year-end masochist challenge, but I'm glad you got a seat. Judging by this, if you let two Hikari go at Tokyo Station you'd be sure to get a seat.
年末に緊急ドM企画かと思いきや座れたようで良かったです。この様子だと東京駅でひかりを2本見送れば確実に座れそうですね。
— @buriedarmy39 likes
The Hikari to Okayama was crowded, with lots of people standing in the unreserved cars (Dec 30, from Shinagawa). If you're riding unreserved, board at Tokyo, or take the Kodama.
岡山行きのひかりは混んでて自由席は立ち客がたくさんいた(12/30、品川から) 自由席に乗るなら東京から、もしくはこだまで行きましょう
— @pandamu240 likes
Surprising that almost nobody boards the unreserved cars at Shin-Yokohama. Even normally you basically can't get a seat, so I book reserved. For some reason lots of people board unreserved at Kyoto, though. In a normal year my sense is that on the Kodama you can get a seat partway even at peak times, but who knows. At peak times I mostly ride the Kodama unreserved. When I'm short on time it's a reserved seat on the Nozomi, though.
新横浜駅からの自由席乗車がゼロに近いというのは意外ですね。普段でもまず座れないから指定席を取りますね。なぜか京都は自由席乗車が多いですけど。いつもの年なら「こだま」を使えば、繁忙期でも途中からは座れるイメージですが、どうでしょう。私は繁忙期は「こだま」自由席利用が多いですね。時間がない時はのぞみ指定席ですが。
— @nori-tabi8 likes
On New Year's Day I went from Okayama to Shin-Osaka on the Kodama and from Shin-Osaka to Tokyo on the Hikari. On New Year's Day there was none of the crowding in this video, and there were a few empty seats in the unreserved cars.
元日に岡山→新大阪をこだま、新大阪→東京をひかりで移動しました。元日だとこの動画のような混雑はなく、自由席は空席がちらほらありました。
— @rr-qd4rd0 likes

FAQ

Can you ride the Nozomi without a reservation over New Year in Japan?: Only standing. From December 25, 2026 to January 5, 2027, JR Central runs every Nozomi all-reserved, a peak-period rule that began over the 2023-24 New Year. An unreserved ticket still lets you stand in the deck areas of ordinary cars, but you may not get on a crowded train. The Hikari, Kodama, Mizuho, Sakura and Tsubame keep their unreserved cars as usual.
Sources: railway.jr-central.co.jp · nikkei.com — checked 2026-09-24
Can you get an unreserved seat on the Hikari during the year-end rush?: Usually, if you board at Tokyo and can wait. One comment on 39 likes reckons that if you let two Hikari go at Tokyo Station you'd be sure to get a seat, while a rider who boarded at Shinagawa on December 30 found the unreserved cars full of standing passengers. At Shin-Yokohama, unreserved riders were sent to the decks of cars 11 to 16.
Which unreserved car on the Tokaido Shinkansen is easiest to get a seat in?: Car 1, by one rider's count: at stations along the way about 30 to 40 percent fewer people board it than car 2, which makes up for it having fewer seats. At the starting station the difference is small. Another commenter (9 likes) was glad of the tip that car 2 is the unreserved car to aim for.

Can You Smoke on the Shinkansen? "I Was Appalled by the Amount of Smoke in the Smoking Car": Japanese Riders on the Booths Japan Closed

“Over 20 years ago, when I used the shinkansen for a business trip, I was appalled by the amount of smoke in the smoking car. I suppose that was the good old days in its own way, but honestly, when I picture that sight, I welcome today's move toward non-smoking.”

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What Japanese people said — picked from the top 200 of 419 comments

What Japanese people do instead

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