This posts introduce you to the way to travel from SHINAGAWA to KYOTO by “Shinkansen”.

Shinkansen is “新幹線” in Japanese, which means “bullet train”, operated by Japan Railways (JR).
It conveys you to the destination rapidly than ordinary train, highway bus. The network covers through Japan.

The price varies according to the distance, seat types.
There are two types of seats, one is Ordinary seat and the other is Green seat.
For example, when you choose ordinary seat from Shinagawa to Kyoto costs around 14,000 yen.

Green seat is more expensive than ordinary seat. You can choose either “One-way” or “Round trip.”

There are several types of Shinkansen.
Between Shinagawa and Kyoto, it is called Tokaido Shinkansen and there are Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama. Travel time varies depending on the type of Shinkansen. Nozomi allows you to travel from Shinagawa to Kyoto in less than 3 hours. It is operated by JR Central. Osaka is very close to Kyoto, so you can visit them at the same time, it takes only 30 mitutes by local train, don’t need to use Shinkansen.

Shinkansen is a five-seat row of three and two seats, with seats A, B, C, D and E from the three-seat side. Window seats are A and E, but if you want to see Mt Fuji, reserve seat E. Seats on the Shinkansen fill up fast from the window, so early booking is essential. you can specify your seat when you buy an express ticket.

You can buy a ticket online in advance by using the following site.

「Tokaido Sanyo Kyushu Shinkansen Online Reservation Service (smart EX)」
(This system covers for west part of Japan, such as Kyoto, Osaka etc.)
3 step process will be need to buy tickets, at first registering the membership then make a reserve the ticket after that you can board.

It is also possible to download the mobile app on your phone, iPhone and Android. You can choose how to board by using QR-Ticket, ticket or IC card.

When you use QR-Ticket on your phone, you can board the Shinkansen by simply holding the QR-Ticket over the Shinkansen ticket gate. No need to pick up your tickets! It means that if you print out or add to Apple Wallet (only iOS user), and bring your QR-Ticket to the station, you can board the Shinkansen by simply holding the QR-Ticket over the Shinkansen ticket gate.

When you use ticket, you have to pick up your tickets from a ticket vending machine, etc. prior to boarding the Shinkansen. You will need the pickup code and the login password (4-8 alphanumeric characters) to pick up your tickets. It will be complicated to do.

When using an IC card to board the Shinkansen, “Seat Infromation” will be issued from the Shinkansen ticket gate. Make sure to pick it up before boarding the train. Just touch your IC card to the ticket gate and board the Shinkansen.

Enjoy your wonderful trip to Japan(^^