Review: Nozomi Shinkansen Green Car (Tokyo to Osaka)

After a five-night stay at the Conrad Tokyo, we headed off to the next part of our Japan vacation which included the Conrad Osaka and the Roku Kyoto LXR. Traveling via Shinkansen was the obvious choice due to the efficiency compared to domestic air travel, and we were looking forward to seeing more of the country during our train ride.

When I was researching for this vacation, many resources stated you could just buy your Shinkansen tickets the day of your desired travel at the station with no issue. However, for those individuals who value planning all aspects of their travel in advance, I came across an opportunity that makes it possible to book the Shinkansen “First Class” Green car for only a few dollars more than a standard car ticket would cost.

Let’s take a look at how you can book the Nozomi Shinkansen Green Car for nearly the same price as the standard car, and what you can expect on your next Green Car Shinkansen adventure.

Booking The Nozomi Shinkansen Green Car

If you are looking to travel efficiently around Japan, booking the Nozomi Shinkansen is the way to go. The Nozomi train is the fastest train available on the Tokaido Shinkansen line and it operates at a maximum speed of 300 km/hr, taking only 2 hours and 27 minutes to travel from Tokyo Station to Shin-Osaka Station.

While all Shinkansen trains are a major cut above the public transportation offered in North America, the Green Car is considered the “First Class Car” of Shinkansen travel. Customers will enjoy additional legroom, 2×2 seating (as opposed to 3×2 seating in the Regular Car), the ability to order snacks and drinks at a cost, and an overall more enjoyable experience.

There are a few ways to purchase Shinkansen tickets, and one way in particular allows customers to save a significant amount of money when booking the Green Car. The table below showcases the options available, their pricing in Yen, and the approximate conversion to Canadian Dollars, at the time of writing (September 2024).

If you are interested in booking the Green Car, you can save $33 CAD per person on this route, simply by booking greater than 3 days in advance. Even better, it’s only $13 CAD per person more to book the Green Car over the Standard Car, when booking more than 3 days in advance of travel.

International travelers who are looking to book their Shinkansen tickets in advance to benefit from the advance purchase Green Car discount can use the Smart EX platform. Customers will need to create an account, but there are no issues with using international personal details when registering.

However, there have been data points from other customers who have had issues using their international credit card to purchase Shinkansen tickets via Smart EX, but I had no problems using my American Express Hilton Honors Aspire card (US). Any card that offers additional verification, such as SafeKey by American Express, is a great option for making any online purchases with Japanese merchants before your vacation.

Once you make your ticket purchase, you will receive a QR code ticket that can be used to board (or you can pick up your tickets at the station). 

One of the best features of buying tickets in advance is that you can attach your tickets to a Prepaid IC card, such as Suica or Pasmo, once you obtain a card in Japan. iPhone users can also add a digital Suica card to their mobile wallet in advance of their vacation, which is well worth doing.

If you want to tie your IC card number to your Shinkansen ticket, simply access your reservation on Smart EX and click “Designate IC Card”, where you will need to enter your IC card number to attach it to your ticket.

Once you have attached your IC card to your ticket through the Smart EX platform, you just need to tap your IC card at the gate and your seat selection details will print out on a separate paper ticket. Keep this paper ticket just in case it is requested by the conductor.

This process was super easy and made navigating and boarding the Shinkansen much less stressful than it otherwise could have been. We arrived at Tokyo Station about 45 minutes before our scheduled departure to have some time to shop and ensure we could find our platform before departure.

As an aside, there typically isn’t a need to book Shinkansen travel in advance unless you are traveling during peak busy times (such as Golden Week or any Japanese long weekends). The majority of travelers will get by just fine by purchasing tickets at the station, as trains run frequently all day long. 

However, if you are a planner, and would rather lock down your ticket in advance, booking the Green Car in advance is a stellar deal.

Cabin Arrangement

The Green Car on the Nozomi Shinkansen has a 2×2 seating arrangement, making it a great option for couples who are traveling together. Seats A & B are on one side of the cabin, with A being a window seat, and seats C & D are on the other side of the cabin, with D being a window seat.

For our journey from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka, we chose seats 3A & 3B. On the return from Kyoto to Tokyo, we chose 10C & 10D for some variety and different views, including a nice and cloudy view of Mount Fuji.

Seat

The seats in the Shinkansen Green car are comfortable and offer more than enough space and legroom to make the multi-hour journey very enjoyable. Each seat comes with its own power outlet, perfect for keeping your devices charged throughout the ride.

The side view below showcases how much room these seats have. The footrest is adjustable and also folds out for additional comfort.

If you do need to store any carry-on pieces of luggage or smaller, there is a storage rack above the seats that runs the length of the cabin. If you are traveling with bigger pieces of luggage, you will need to purchase a ticket that gives you access to the limited amount of storage space in each car.

Alternatively, consider using a luggage shipment service as they are an incredibly efficient and affordable tool to move your bigger checked bags between destinations. For example, we shipped our luggage from Conrad Tokyo to Conrad Osaka at a cost of $22 CAD per piece of luggage, and it was handled completely by the hotel. We were even able to charge the purchase to the room to earn bonus Hilton Honors points.

Dragging big pieces of luggage on trains and between train stations is definitely not the way to visit Japan, so look into alternatives like this to reduce the stress of moving between locations on your trip.

Every seat has a netted storage pouch that contains a tax-free shopping book plus the instructions to order food on the train; more details on that later.

The tray table folds down and can slide forward towards the passenger. There was more than enough room to use a laptop and have a drink on the tray table at the same time. There is also a smaller table that comes out of the armrest if you just need space for a drink.

Each seat also has electronic controls that passengers can use to recline, should they wish.

All in all, the Shinkansen Green Car makes for a very comfortable and enjoyable ride. In fact, we even looked forward to these travel days during our time in Japan as a way to relax on the way to our next destination.

Bathroom

There are a few bathrooms available in each car, and they are exactly what you would expect from a bathroom on a train.

Dining

While no meal service exists in the Shinkansen Green Car, there is an option to order snacks and drinks should you be interested.

Once we were settled after boarding, an attendant came around to hand out packaged wet towels.

In the seat storage pouch, there is a card that has a QR code if you wish to order food and drinks during your train ride. Note that this service is cash only and payment will be taken when items are brought to your seat.

While we had brought some snacks and drinks onboard, we decided to try out the service. Once accessing the QR code, I had to enter the train number, car number, and seat number. There were a minimal number of options available including salty packaged snacks, sweet snacks, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages.

The order was delivered far earlier than the expected waiting time and everything was reasonably priced. 

While the service worked well, it is a much better idea to make your purchases at the train station before boarding as they will have a much better selection, especially if you are interested in something more substantial for your journey, like a bento.

Entertainment

WiFi

If you are looking to kill some time during your next Shinkansen ride, free WiFi is available for all passengers.

Passengers will need to connect to the WiFi network and provide a valid email address. Once submitted, they will receive an email to verify their email address, and will then be connected to the network. The speeds were ok for getting work done and messaging, and it was nice to not have to hotspot off of my mobile device’s data with Google Fi.

Conclusion

While I wouldn’t pay significantly more money to travel in the Nozomi Shinkansen Green Car, the fact it can be booked for only a few dollars more per person than the regular car when booking in advance makes it a great deal for the additional perks and space you receive. The ride was comfortable, quiet, and an incredibly efficient and practical way to travel around Japan.

When I return to Japan, I won’t hesitate to use Smart EX to pre-book Green Car tickets again.