Should I book a reserved seat on the Shinkansen?

Yes, according to almost every Japanese rider in these threads. Unreserved cars are shrinking, they overflow into the reserved cars in peak season, and the one rule regulars give for riding unreserved is to board at the origin station where the train starts empty.

Do I need to reserve space for a large suitcase?

On the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen, bags over 160 cm in total dimensions need a seat with oversized-baggage space, reserved at no extra charge. Japanese commenters are blunt about people who skip the reservation and dump bags there anyway: tell the conductor immediately, and they want JR to enforce it.

Can you still smoke on the Shinkansen?

No. The onboard smoking rooms on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen closed on 16 March 2024 and the space now holds emergency drinking water. Smoking rooms remain inside the ticket gates at every Tokaido Shinkansen station, on the platform at five of them and in the concourse at the rest.

Where do these come from?

From the comment sections of Japanese YouTube videos — food crawls, hidden-gem tours, honest reviews. We quote real comments only, show the actual like counts at the time of collection, and link back to the source video.

How accurate are the translations?

Each quote keeps the original Japanese alongside the English. We adapt slang so it reads naturally, but we never change the meaning or invent comments.

Dossier

Shinkansen (Bullet Train) Tips From Japanese Riders

新幹線

Ten roundups from Japanese comment threads, 5,608 comments with 173 translated, and the through-line is that riders want the rules enforced, not relaxed. The most-liked comment (1,124 likes) calls it the great irony of the Shinkansen: the trains keep getting better while the passengers get worse. The practical consensus underneath it: book a reserved seat, reserve the free oversized-luggage space instead of dumping a bag in it, and if you must ride unreserved, only ever board at the origin station (519 likes). That holds in the year-end rush too, when the Nozomi goes all-reserved and riders back the change. Smoking on board ended in March 2024 and the threads barely argued. On the JR Pass after the price rise, and on whether station bento are still worth it, they split.

10 roundups · 10 source videos · 173 comments translated · 16,244 likes on them

The videos hold 5,608 comments in total; we read the top 1,620 of each and translated the ones that shaped the consensus.

Tracking since Jul 17, 2026 · Updated Sep 24, 2026

Verdict across 2 roundups2 split

The most-liked comments about Shinkansen (Japan's Bullet Trains)

Ranked by real like counts across every roundup. Each one links to the article it came from.

The greatest irony: the quality of the trains keeps improving while the quality of the people riding them keeps dropping.
交通機関としての質が向上していく中で、乗る人の質が著しく低下してるってのが最大の皮肉だな
— @xyzmylife19471,124 likes
From: Shinkansen Unreserved Seats Are Disappearing — Japanese Riders on Reserved vs Unreserved, and How They Actually Get a Seat
Back when the Tokaido Shinkansen had dining cars, people who couldn't get an unreserved seat would apparently order the cheapest dish and camp there for the whole ride.
東海道新幹線に食堂車があった頃、自由席に座れなかった客が食堂車で安い料理を注文して、長時間粘っていたような事が多かったらしいね。
— @光義皆川737 likes
From: Shinkansen Unreserved Seats Are Disappearing — Japanese Riders on Reserved vs Unreserved, and How They Actually Get a Seat
This has the same smell as people parking in your spot without asking.
無断駐車と同じ臭いがする。
— @きてないか575 likes
From: Shinkansen Oversized Luggage: The Free Reservation Rule Tourists Miss — and Japanese Riders Are Fed Up
I love the travel feeling of the night bus so I end up taking it every time. The moment you board with that late-night buzz is the best part. The dawn air when you arrive at your destination tastes so good
夜行バスの旅感が大好きで毎回乗ってしまう　深夜ワクワクしながら乗り込む瞬間が1番楽しい　目的地に着いた時の明け方の空気が本当に美味しい
— @借金王-i1z522 likes
From: "The Poor Man's Companion, the Night Bus. Every Time I Swear Never Again, and Then It's Cheap So I Book It Again": Night Bus or Shinkansen, Settled by Japanese Travelers
People who board with an unreserved ticket, find no seats, and just plant themselves in a reserved car. People who tell a seated passenger to give up their seat because their kid looks tired. Full unreserved cars cause way too much trouble.
自由席で新幹線乗って自由席が空いてないから勝手に指定席に座るクズ子供が座れ無いから辛そうなので席譲ってほしいと座っている人に譲れと言うクズ自由席満席によるトラブル多すぎ
— @ツルヤス-b6r498 likes
From: Shinkansen Unreserved Seats Are Disappearing — Japanese Riders on Reserved vs Unreserved, and How They Actually Get a Seat
I'm a night bus lover, but a four-across seat with someone next to you and no curtain is rough, I'll admit
夜行大好き人間だけどやっぱ４列で隣いてカーテン無しは辛いやなぁ
— @user-ro3qp7he7e477 likes
From: "The Poor Man's Companion, the Night Bus. Every Time I Swear Never Again, and Then It's Cheap So I Book It Again": Night Bus or Shinkansen, Settled by Japanese Travelers
Fines. Necessary.
罰金必要。
— @user-zw3iq6fi2q460 likes
From: Shinkansen Oversized Luggage: The Free Reservation Rule Tourists Miss — and Japanese Riders Are Fed Up
The real problem with unreserved seating: in peak season, the overflow floods into the reserved cars and stands in the aisle. And those standees wedge their rock-hard suitcases against the knees of people like me who are sitting there. A punishment I paid a reservation fee to receive. All-reserved trains killed that alone, and it's heaven. Thank you, JR.
自由席の難点はシーズン期に自由席からあふれた客が指定席に押し寄せて立ち客になる事。その立ち客はとっても堅いキャリーケースを座っている私のヒザ元に押し込んでくるのさ。指定席料を払って受ける罰ゲーム。全席指定でアレが無くなっただけでも天国さ。ありがとうございますJRさん。
— @チーズホンデュー388 likes
From: Shinkansen Unreserved Seats Are Disappearing — Japanese Riders on Reserved vs Unreserved, and How They Actually Get a Seat

What Japanese people recommend instead

For you, then, the overnight train Having the Sunrise Express deliver you to Tokyo while you lie down is fun too
そんなあなたに夜行列車の旅をサンライズエクスプレスで寝そべってる間に東京まで送り届けてもらうのも楽しいぞ
— @TabitoTravel880 likes
From: "The Poor Man's Companion, the Night Bus. Every Time I Swear Never Again, and Then It's Cheap So I Book It Again": Night Bus or Shinkansen, Settled by Japanese Travelers
Unreserved seats: only ever board at the origin station.
自由席は始発に限る
— @sumomo-x8v519 likes
From: Shinkansen Unreserved Seats Are Disappearing — Japanese Riders on Reserved vs Unreserved, and How They Actually Get a Seat
What you can actually do, right now, is tell the conductor immediately.
現時点で出来ることは即座に車掌さんに言う事ですね。
— @tsukadontsukadon256 likes
From: Shinkansen Oversized Luggage: The Free Reservation Rule Tourists Miss — and Japanese Riders Are Fed Up
Night bus. The Hakata-go, 15 hours from Hakata to Busta Shinjuku. I recommend the four private premium compartments. I'm boarding from Hakata on the 27th of next month.
夜行バスです。博多からバスタ新宿までのはかた号15時間。 4部屋のプレミア個室がおすすめです。来月の27日に博多から乗ります。
— @大分宇目のラブライバー223 likes
From: "The Poor Man's Companion, the Night Bus. Every Time I Swear Never Again, and Then It's Cheap So I Book It Again": Night Bus or Shinkansen, Settled by Japanese Travelers
Conclusion: nothing beats the overnight train
結論:夜行列車しか勝たん
— @ma-ru_foi102 likes
From: "The Poor Man's Companion, the Night Bus. Every Time I Swear Never Again, and Then It's Cheap So I Book It Again": Night Bus or Shinkansen, Settled by Japanese Travelers
These days an ekiben is something you buy at a department-store food fair and eat at home. When you actually board a limited express or a Shinkansen, what you pick is an onigiri or a bento from the convenience store in the station. Of the fair-priced ekiben I bought at those events, the ones I still remember for taste are Yokokawa's kamameshi, Mori Station's ikameshi and Takasaki's daruma bento.
いまや駅弁は百貨店の催事場で買って自宅で食べるものになっている。いざ特急、新幹線に乗る時に選ぶのは駅内にあるコンビニで売っているおにぎりや弁当になる。催事場で買った手頃価格の駅弁でいまだに美味さが記憶にあるのは横川の釜めし、森駅のいかめし、高崎のだるま弁当あたりかな。あと新幹線にビュッフェがあった頃、たまに食べたカレーライスはなぜか美味しく感じたな。
— @okachimachi197380 likes
From: Japan's Ekiben Are Disappearing — Japanese Riders on Why, and Whether a ¥1,000 Station Bento Is Still Worth It

Places named across these roundups

Hiroshima AirportMihara, Hiroshima Prefecture
The airport in the thread's crosshairs. No rail link; the limousine bus from Hiroshima Station is about 50 minutes for 1,500 yen and runs on the expressway, which is why commenters call the arrival time hard to predict (62 likes). Fog cancellations are a seasonal risk (30 likes).
Sources: hij.airport.jp
Map
Iwakuni Kintaikyo AirportIwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture
The instead. Fewer Haneda flights, but the connecting bus from JR Iwakuni Station's east exit is 7 minutes and 200 yen, and it pairs neatly with a Miyajima day (21 and 19 likes).
Sources: iwakuni-airport.jp
Map
Shiraichi StationHigashihiroshima
The JR back door to Hiroshima Airport, 13 to 15 minutes away by connecting bus. Commenters are split on it: it avoids the expressway, but one warns the local line itself is prone to delays (62 likes).
Sources: hij.airport.jp
Map
Hiroshima Bus CenterNaka-ku, Hiroshima
The other limousine departure point, in the middle of the shopping district rather than at the station. A Hiroshima commenter (46 likes) points out the two stops run roughly equal numbers of buses, so there are more departures than the timetable at the station suggests.
Map
Ekibenya Matsuri (Gransta Tokyo)Tokyo Station, inside the ticket gates on the Central Passage
Named in the thread as where one rider buys bento when there is time, with a station convenience store as the fallback (10 likes). JR East Cross Station lists it inside the gates on the Central Passage, open from 5:30.
Sources: gransta.jp
Map
Oginoya Yokokawa Main Store (Toge no Kamameshi)
The clay-pot kamameshi named twice in the thread as a survivor. Sold at the Yokokawa main store and, as commenters note, at expressway service areas — one of the ekiben that found a second door (confirmed operating as of mid-2026).
Map
Ikameshi Abe Shoten (Mori, Hokkaido)
The stuffed-squid ekiben from Mori Station, made since 1941. Commenters say to buy it at a department store's Hokkaido fair instead — the maker's own account matches: platform selling at Mori Station is down to roughly two weeks in midsummer (as of mid-2026).
Sources: ikameshi.co.jp
Map
Kiyoken (Shiumai Bento, Yokohama)
The box the thread uses as its price benchmark. It crossed ¥1,000 in February 2025 (¥950 → ¥1,070) and rose again in February 2026 (as of mid-2026) — the moment one 233-like comment calls "the era turning."
Sources: kiyoken.com · kiyoken.com
Map
Shinkineya (Gyuniku Domannaka, Yonezawa)
The Yonezawa beef bento a commenter names as surviving via the local michi-no-eki. The maker's shop is by Yonezawa Station's west exit, and the bento is also carried at stations along the Tohoku Shinkansen (as of mid-2026).
Map
Minamoto (Masu-no-Sushi, Toyama Station)
The trout-pressed sushi one commenter loves but has stopped buying on price. Sold at the Toyama Station shop by the central gate, inside the Toyamarché complex a commenter mentions (as of mid-2026).
Map

Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.

Questions the roundups answer

Every roundup about Shinkansen (Japan's Bullet Trains)

FAQ

Should I book a reserved seat on the Shinkansen?: Yes, according to almost every Japanese rider in these threads. Unreserved cars are shrinking, they overflow into the reserved cars in peak season, and the one rule regulars give for riding unreserved is to board at the origin station where the train starts empty.
Do I need to reserve space for a large suitcase?: On the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen, bags over 160 cm in total dimensions need a seat with oversized-baggage space, reserved at no extra charge. Japanese commenters are blunt about people who skip the reservation and dump bags there anyway: tell the conductor immediately, and they want JR to enforce it.
Sources: global.jr-central.co.jp — checked 2026-09-15
Can you still smoke on the Shinkansen?: No. The onboard smoking rooms on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen closed on 16 March 2024 and the space now holds emergency drinking water. Smoking rooms remain inside the ticket gates at every Tokaido Shinkansen station, on the platform at five of them and in the concourse at the rest.
Sources: travel.watch.impress.co.jp · jr-central.co.jp — checked 2026-09-15
Where do these come from?: From the comment sections of Japanese YouTube videos — food crawls, hidden-gem tours, honest reviews. We quote real comments only, show the actual like counts at the time of collection, and link back to the source video.
How accurate are the translations?: Each quote keeps the original Japanese alongside the English. We adapt slang so it reads naturally, but we never change the meaning or invent comments.

Sources — 10 videos

Every number on this page comes from the public comment sections of these videos. The creators deserve the views.

More places

Japan Etiquette (What Japanese People Actually Do)Japanese Shrine Etiquette Cycling in Japan (Rules Japanese Riders Follow)