John Diaz: [00:00:00] Ever dream of going to Japan, not just once, but every year. Me too. I'm John. And that dream became my mission, which is why I started rewarding routes. A podcast about making Japan travel possible. Year after year, I learned how to leverage credit cards to earn points and miles turning everyday spending into flights and hotel stays across Japan.

Each episode I'll share what I've learned from booking award travel to building meaningful itineraries and deep diving into regions, traditions, and experiences that make this country so special. Let's build your rewarding route one trip at a time. Today we're diving into something that I think is one of the coolest parts of traveling through Japan, and that's the chinen, the bullet train.

It's fast, it's efficient, and honestly it's iconic. And I mean, they even made a pretty bad movie about the bullet train with [00:01:00] Brad Pitt. But other than that, it's iconic. It, it really makes getting around Japan easier back in 2023 during our first trip. It's the only time I've. Been on the sheen between Tokyo, over to Osaka, over to Hiroshima, and then back from Hiroshima all the way to Tokyo.

So I have a lot to learn about the Shehan sends and all the different ones they have in different regions throughout Japan. So let's break it down on how it works, which trains to take, how to buy tickets, and a few things I've learned from my previous experience on the one time I've been on the sh. So what is the sh, what is the bullet train?

Well, this is Japan's high speed rail system. It's very punctual, safe, clean, and extremely quiet. It's surprising because some of these bullet trains can go up to 199 miles per hour, s 320 kilometers per hour, and it's [00:02:00] incredibly smooth. You wouldn't even realize you're going this fast

kind of similar to how airplanes are when you're in the air, you just don't feel it. I find that this is an incredible way to experience Japan and to be able to just look out the window if you have a window seat and see. The countryside to the Sheen Khen and how fast you're going. It's, it's incredible and it really is one of my favorite things about Japan.

I love the Sheen Khan, and this is a side story real quick, but I, I really enjoy change. I think they're probably, they are my favorite, , form of transportation if I had to take one. But right now we're kind of nearing the holiday season and. Something came to my mind of when I was a kid, my parents had a little train track with a train under the tree.

And I found it as a child, so fascinating. And I think that's where I really became fascinated with trains. And when I first started learning [00:03:00] about Japan and learning about these bullet trains, I was so amazed that you can connect to all these major cities in Japan like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hido Fu. By train and they're so convenient and they're so fast, so they can get you to these locations in just a few hours.

And yes, you could book a a plane ticket to those other cities, but then you have to go to the airport to then check in and wait for your flight. Where with the K send, you can show up to the station, grab your ACU bend, which we'll talk more about soon. Hop on your train. Just have a beautiful view right out your window of Japan going through the countryside.

I think that's really incredible, very efficient, very quick, and I think everybody should experience it. If you're going to Japan, either you're going on the golden route down to Kyoto Osaka from Tokyo, or [00:04:00] you're going to cue you or up north to. Hokkaido or Sendai, any of those places, I think people should experience the sh content.

It's a, it's a great way to really move around Japan. Alright, so let's get into it. You'll see different train names based on the region you're going to and the north. You'll see the Hayabusa bu, the Yama Biku and the Achi. In Shu you'll see the Mizuho, Saura and Sub. But I know most people will be taking the todo line, which is the one from Tokyo to Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka.

There are a few other stops on that line, depending on the train you take. So the big three for the todo line is the Nazomi, the He Kadi, and the Kma. Now with the Noomi, this is the fastest of the three for the to Chio line. It's gonna take the fewest stops. It is the more [00:05:00] expensive of the three. And this isn't covered with the JR Pass if you decide to get the JR Pass.

I'll cover it really soon in another segment in this episode. But yeah, it's not covered, so just keep that in mind. Now with the He Kati. This is the train that we took when we first went in 2023. This is the second fastest. It has a little bit more stops, and this is covered by the JR. Pass, the Kma. It stops at every station on that line.

It's the slowest because of that. And uh, it's also covered with the JR Pass. So if you're going a longer distance, maybe you want to go with the Noomi since it's the faster with the fewest stops. Or if you do have the JR Pass and you want to use it, you can hop onto Kodi. Google Maps does a great job of telling you which trains are coming up to the platform.

But we'll talk about when you should take the Kein consent, how to book if you're gonna book [00:06:00] reserved and non reserves. So we'll get more into that. So when should you take Hin Khan? Well, usually you wanna take it when it's a long haul journey. You don't want to take it if it's a short journey, like, um.

Maybe like in Osaka to Kyoto where there, yes, there is a, she send that goes between the two. But you could take a local train for like half the price or even cheaper and it takes just maybe a little bit longer, but it's not worth that hefty price if it's just short trip.

So like if you're going to Tokyo to Kyoto, Osaka to Hiroshima, Osaka to Tokyo. Um, Tokyo over to Sendai or any, anything like that. Um, you'll want to look into getting a Sheen concept, but if they're short there, there's plenty of local trains that you can get on for a lot cheaper. And I have seen that there are some really unique local trains that you can take, some really old ones, some really unique ones, or maybe there's a special theme.

So definitely [00:07:00] do your research on what region you're in, because there are so many different. Types of trains, especially local ones that, that have a theme to it. So it just makes the experience so fun and I can't wait to experience these things for myself and. The more times I go to Japan, the more I'll be able to talk about these different trains and these different experiences and share that with you guys.

And of course, if you guys have been on these trains, definitely reach out because I'd love to hear about these and what region you were in. What train did you take? Uh, what theme was it? So there's just, there's so much to learn and to experience while you're in Japan. So I'd love to hear about it. So now let's get into the topic of should you get a JR Pass.

So in the past, the JR Pass was an incredible deal. I mean, it was a steal to get the JR Pass. And basically what the JR Pass is, is it gives you. [00:08:00] Say we did in 2023, we had a seven day pass and we can ride all the Sheen Con sends we want or anything with JR on that pass for seven days as much as we want it to.

Well they increase. That JR pass by quite a bit and it's really no longer an automatic deal. So now you have to do your calculations and I'll make sure to post a JR Pass calculator in the show notes. If you're interested in seeing all the different pricings and see if it makes sense for you, but in most cases it doesn't make sense anymore and I'll break it down here.

So it's really only worth it if you're doing multiple long she rides. I mean, you're moving at a pretty fast pace, uh, during this trip because you have to hit several cities and several long journeys pretty fast to make up for the price of the JR. Pass. And this is too fast of a pace for myself and [00:09:00] for many travelers.

You don't want to just like hop to city every single day and it, it's just too much because there's so much to experience in these places, in these cities, uh, even the smaller cities. There's just so much to experience. So you, you, whenever traveling to Japan, it's good to take your time and. Experience those places that you visit and with this new increase of price for the JR Pass, , you'd have to be moving really quickly and taking multiple long Sheen Kon rides to make it worth it, so it's not worth it if you're doing the golden route, which is the Tokyo Kyoto Osaka Loop.

Uh, it's, the JR Pass is just too expensive. You're, you're better off just buying those tickets, um, individually for the Xan Send and buying the JR Pass, and especially if you're staying maybe in one region during your trip. It. It's not worth it buying a [00:10:00] JR Pass or slower itinerary. So I'll make sure to plug in the JR Pass Fair Calculator in the description, and you can determine based off of your itinerary if it's worth it for you or not, and compare the individual ticket prices with the pass and.

Yeah, come up with , , the decision yourself there. Alright, so how do we buy the machine content tickets? Well, you can buy them at the station. There's ticket machines, uh, also available in English in multiple languages. You have the JR ticket counters. Uh, they'll be labeled pretty clearly.

You'll know when it's a JR. Counter. You can go in and. The staff are very friendly and they're, um, very accommodating. They'll help you out through the process of, uh, getting the she content tickets and know that your foreign credit cards do work for buying she content tickets. So you're able to do that.

Uh, you can use cash, you can use, I believe, with the ticket machines. You can use your sweeta too. But if you want to continue to rack up some credit [00:11:00] card points, definitely use your credit card with no foreign transaction fees. To make this purchase, 'cause you're gonna make this purchase anyways.

You can also buy Chin on, send tickets online@smartex.jp. I'll go ahead and link that website in the show notes. But yeah, this is what I did, , during my first trip because I wanted to just book in advance and not worry about it. I think now maybe I would just book it at the station, but that's going to depend on the time of year you're going.

We'll get more into that soon. But with Booking online, you can go to Smart ex.jp. You can book your Reserved Round trip. You can change your sh send whenever you want to. There's no fee for that. Uh, it covers the Tokio, the Signo, and the qsu. But, uh, I'll make sure to link the website so that you can see for yourself on how the, uh, booking process online works.

You also have third party apps like Klu, where you can buy your sh content [00:12:00] tickets. You have the Navi time app that you can plan your route on, and you can see what trains there are, what destinations there are. So yeah, I'll go ahead and put those links in the show notes so that you can mess around with them and see it for yourself.

So let's talk about peak periods, because there are certain peak periods in Japan where it's going to be very busy, especially on machine consent. And this is where you'll probably wanna reserve your sheen, consent in your seats in advance. So these dates are going to be, they're not going to be exact dates, but they're going to be kind of a timeframe.

So you have late December to early January, which hits Christmas in New Year's, you'll have late March to early April, which is Saura season. Cherry Blossom season. You'll have late April to early May. This is golden week. This is Japan's probably busiest holiday of the year, and in late July, early August, you'll have Oon.

So you'll [00:13:00] want to, especially during these times of years book in advance and make sure you reserve your seats. That way you are going because these are going to be very packed trains. So on the note of reserved, you have two seating options. You have reserved verse, non-res, reserved. So with the reserve, it's going to cost slightly more than the non-res reserve, but this is a great option for those peak times of the year.

You can also reserve the back rows of, uh, the sheen. Where there's a little bit of space between the seat and the wall, because this is a designated spot for oversized bags. So if you're planning to travel with oversized bags, make sure you reserve those back rows so that you can place your oversized luggage in.

Because if you don't book those seats, you can't put your oversize luggage in those seats. Only the people who book and reserve those seats can use that area to put their oversize in. If you wanna [00:14:00] read more about it. Just Google the Sheen oversized policy. And you'll, you can read more about it there.

There's also some great YouTube videos of only in Japan, uh, with John Dobb. He talks about these sheen content you can visually see. He walks through the trains. He shows you how big your bags, uh, should be, or like the max limit they can be where on the train they go. So there's some really great videos.

Not only, um, only in Japan go has these videos, but there's other creators that have created these videos and that's how. I was able to visually see, , how booking that last row and managing those oversized luggages, um, where they go, because I know some people travel with them personally. I'll never do this because I will just, if I have oversized luggage, I'll go ahead and ship those.

With, , yato, , luggage service, or if your hotel has some kind of delivery service, just have them ship it from that hotel over to [00:15:00] your next destination, because having large luggage through the train stations becomes quite a hassle and a little bit harder to navigate, especially with Japan and its many, many stairs.

Just know that it's just gonna be a lot easier to travel without oversized luggage. Uh, just ship it if you can. It's very affordable. It's very convenient. It's a great option. Highly recommend this. So to mention, with the reserve seat, you're booking a specific seat on a specific train, so you need to a plan accordingly.

Like Tokyo Station, if you're going out of there, because it's a major she consent hub, it's a massive station. You can get lost, you might wanna snack before. So just plan your time accordingly. You'll also wanna reserve seats maybe if you're traveling in a larger group, uh, a bigger family. Uh, also locking in a seat for Mount Fuji.

If you're riding the Tokio line and you're going from Tokyo over to Osaka or [00:16:00] Kyoto, you'll want to be on the right side. If you're traveling the other way, you'll want to be on the left side. So that's something to think about. And if you don't get a reserve seat, you can still manage to see Mountain Fuji.

You'll just have to walk up to where the main doors are normally, where the bathrooms are, and you can look out the main door window and you can see mountain Fuji there if it decides to show itself. I know Mount Fuji can be. Um, covered in clouds for most of the year, especially when we took the, it was mostly covered in clouds.

I was able to see the very tip, uh, when some clouds started to move on, but it wasn't like a full on grand, epic view of Mount Fuji. I'll see it eventually. No worries. So with non reserved, you can get on any train for that day that you booked for. Uh, just know it is a first come first serve. It's not a good option during those peak times that I already mentioned, because you might end up waiting [00:17:00] several trains.

You're just not sure of how PACT or how many seats are gonna be available for non-res reserve. Usually for shean senders, about three to five cars for non reserve, but if you're traveling there during non-peak times, you should be completely fine. There are plenty of seats for you to get on, and the sheens are pretty frequent and they're on time, so.

It should be no problem. And I like the idea of non-res reserve, even though I did reserved my first time, I think I will do non reserve the next time I go because when you book a non-res reserve for the day that you plan on traveling. You can explore whatever station you're going out of. Let's use Tokyo Station as an example.

So you wanted to go to Character Street in Tokyo Station and maybe visit the Pokemon store or the Jiggly store, maybe the Lego store, or there are just so many different shops and restaurants within Tokyo Station. Uh, you can get lost in that station [00:18:00] easily, but you can really enjoy yourself. You can do a lot of shopping, a lot of eating, and just go at your own pace.

And whenever you're ready, you can go over to the platform where the machine content is, and then just hop on the next train that's available. Get on your seat and be on your way. Now, with the sheen, there are three types of classes when it comes to seating. There's the standard. Which is the majority of the train.

Then you have the green, which is like an upper class or like a business class I think that I've never been on. I thought standard was completely fine, very comfortable. Plenty of leg room. Uh, just everything you really need in a standard. But if you're wanting to spend a little bit more and you want maybe even more space, then you can go for the green class or you can even go for the grand class.

And if you're curious about these different, um, seat classes, definitely go on YouTube and there's so many walkthrough videos in the machine content and then you can visually see, oh, okay, I like that. Or maybe, [00:19:00] uh, the green or grand class isn't for me, so I'll stick to the standard. So you can determine, and I, trust me, I use YouTube for everything.

I watch so many walkthroughs of, of different cities, different, uh, different areas, ways around the station. I just like to visually see things before I travel there. Uh, I don't know. I like to map things out in my head and then it just makes traveling there. I can notice certain areas and then I can find my way around.

Area is a lot quicker and a lot easier without feeling stressed, but definitely look at those videos so you can compare to different classes and just know the rules of the oversized luggage. I'll make sure to also post a link about that in the uh, show notes. But yeah, like I mentioned, ship the luggage.

If you, if it's oversized, try to ship it because it's just gonna be a lot easier for you and it's a less of a hassle to kind of bring it around with you and, and manage it through a train station. They can get a little bit [00:20:00] chaotic. This then leads us over to navigating the station, kind of what we were already mentioning.

But there are plenty of signs, , showing you around where the sh consent is in the station that you're at. You'll have your tickets that'll get you through the gate, find your platform, and just make sure you check the car numbers. They'll be on the outside of the train. Uh, I believe they're near the main doors of each car.

And your seat number. Just note that hin sense and trains in general are very punctual, so. If you have a reserved, don't be late, because they will leave right on time and if you're just a little bit late, it'll leave without you. But it's okay because you can still, if you have a reserve, you can still get on the next gen consent.

The only thing is you lose that reserve seat and you would go non-res reserve. But there's ways around that and we'll get to it. So just before you board, you'd want to get something to eat for the She content. I just, this just [00:21:00] adds to the awesome experience of. Uh, what the bullet train is and just being able to look out the window, just going so fast and, and viewing the countryside of Japan as you're going between major cities.

And grabbing an eki Ben is a great way to experience the SH content. So in the train stations, before you go through the ticket gate to the uh, platform where your shehan is, you'll see EEN shops and you'll see other different shops around the station. And Japan really does a good job of displaying the foods that are inside the.

ACU Ben, and they do such a good job of making the fake food looks so real. Like in the displays, you'll see this all throughout Japan. You'll see like in restaurants, they'll have like a fake food display and they do. It's so detailed and it looks like the plates right there in the window. It's not, it's, it's just a fake display.

But yeah, you'll see most of the times they'll have a display. I remember [00:22:00] seeing one wall where it was a tall wall and it showed you all the ECU bends the store had and what was within them. So I would say just have fun picking one out. There are so many different types. There's regional specialties.

There's even ECU bends shaped as the sheen or anime characters. So pick whatever piques your interest or whatever you prefer. If there's a certain meal that you like, you'd go for that. So just have fun with it and enjoy the meal on machine content. You also wanna stop at a vending machine to grab a drink.

Uh, these can be found all throughout the station or even on the platforms of the machine consent. So yeah, grab yourself a drink to pair with that ECU bend that you're taking on. Also, I should know, I think snack carts on trains are slowly phasing out. I believe there was a snack cart on our she consent, but I don't think it was on all of 'em.

So. That's why grabbing something to eat or a snack would probably [00:23:00] be best if you do it before getting on the train. And that way you know you have something to eat and you picked it out yourself and yeah, it's nice. So what you can expect onboard, there is wifi, so you can connect to the wifi. Basically when you get on the train, there are multiple restrooms.

Uh, it's very quiet and peaceful. It's just train etiquette. In Japan, you'll want to be quiet and make sure you're not playing any loud music or playing, talking on the phone or anything. Just stay quiet and enjoy the journey to your next destination. They also have table trays. They have power outlets. Uh, the announcements are in Japanese and English, so no worries there.

It's a very nice ride, a very smooth ride. Uh, the seats recline a little bit. Plenty of leg room space. So just enjoy the journey and say maybe you had to use your phone on the train. You could just get up and go into between the cars where the restrooms [00:24:00] are. And just make the phone call there. I can also see myself being in these areas once my baby boy's here, because I know he's not gonna be quiet all the time and maybe just between the cars.

It's a good area if he's, uh, being a bit fussy that I can take him and maybe look out the window and, and calm 'em down before coming back to the seats. That's what I imagine in my mind. I'm sure people have great stories about this and traveling with families. Hopefully I can connect with people like that and, and we can talk about the, um, talk about that on this podcast.

And I'm hoping to, uh, to start talking to other people and hearing their experiences of traveling to Japan, maybe, um, hearing experiences of people using credit card points to make their way over. And how they redeemed those trips and the activities they did and the things they ate. So that's what I'm hoping, or that's what I'm, I'm definitely going to do, actually.

I'm going to have [00:25:00] these interviews , and just. Connect with more people, and I think it'll just create more value for this podcast , and for you listening, and we can all learn from it. So it's exciting. And now you're arriving at your destination, so you'll want to make sure that you prep for your arrival.

You'll normally hear like a jingle. In, in the Shehan Sen, just like with many trains, they, they love the jingles and the sounds of Japan are just another aspect that I love. But yeah, you'll want to make sure you're prepared. You grab your luggages, you move closer to the main doors because like I mentioned, the shehan scents are very punctual, so they will not wait for you.

They will leave at the time they need to leave. And if you're still. Trying to get your things together and you're not ready. By the time the door closes, well, you're going to the next destination. You'll wanna make sure you have your ticket that you use to get into the train, and you're [00:26:00] gonna use that as you're leaving the train station.

So make sure you hold onto that ticket. Don't lose it, uh, because yeah, you use it to enter the train, uh, the she consent platforms, and to exit the station. Once you arrive at your destination, signs are all over the place. So just follow the sign. Uh, Google Maps normally tells you what exit you need to leave out of, so that's also a handy app just to have and to navigate your way around the station once you arrive.

Now let's talk about what if you missed your train. So for non-res reserve, if you book non reserve, that's no problem because you can get on. Any train the day that you booked a four. So that's, that's no worries there. But if you did reserve for a specific train and time, well, like I mentioned before, you would just go on the next train as unreserved.

So you would pick one of the cars that's unreserved for the sheen and you would just go there. You lose your, you lose out on that reserve seating that you had. So if you are a larger [00:27:00] family. Um, just try to get there early because it's first come, first serve, and then you guys can all manage to get in and sit all together.

But say you have oversized luggage and you really wanted that backseat, well, what you can do is you can visit the office, the ticketing office of JR. And you can talk to the staff there. They're very accommodating. You'll most likely pay a fee for creating a new reservation. I'm not sure how much it is, but I know it's not the full cost of a brand new ticket for machine content.

It's just like a small fee for just re reserving a seat on a specific train in time. So no need to panic. You're good there. You just, if you need to make that reservation, if you have oversized luggage. Just go ahead and go to the office and they'll make that booking for you so you can get that specific seat.

So overall, the Hansen is such an amazing way to. Journey around Japan, going from different [00:28:00] cities all throughout the north, all the way to the south. I can't wait to ride them more and experience other shi K senses. And there are different themed shi K senses coming. I know there's a Mario themed one coming soon, which I would love to ride.

I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to. Because sometimes there're only limited time, but there are just so many different routes and so many different Han sends. And I think my favorite so far that I've seen I haven't been on is the, uh, hi Abusa, because that's the fastest Hansen in Japan. So I'd, I'd like to write that.

And I also know there's a moment where two Shi Conans connect to each other. To become one. And I don't, I, I just know about this. I don't know much of it, but I'm going to find out and once I do, I'll, I'll make another, she send video and as I travel more and I talk to and connect to more people, then we can dive [00:29:00] deeper into these conversations and that.

Just so exciting for me, and I hope it is for you to just know it's, it's very easy to navigate. It's very easy to book, and I highly recommend the Sheen content. I found it to be such a joy and such a fun experience to be on, especially with my Eki band. I got a little dessert to go with it. I believe it was some kind of mochi, and it truly does add to the experience of your trip.

So I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you got a better idea of. What the, she consent, the bullet train is how you can book it, what non reserve and reserves are, and if you have any questions, just feel free to reach out to me. I'd love to help out in any way possible as I'm still learning about the Sheen consent and I'm still learning so much about the, uh, fabulous.

Trains in Japan. There are so many and there are so many different routes and so many places I want to see, and I'm sure that you want to see. So I'd love to connect with you and, and hear your stories if you have any for me. And, and also [00:30:00] before I forget, I'm going to link in the show notes the JR Pass Calculator.

Uh, some articles I read about for the sheen that I found valuable. The, uh, website for the Smart Ex jp, which is a website you can book the reserved seats on, uh, some videos, maybe some walkthroughs that you guys can visually see what the sheen content platforms look like, what the oversized area looks like.

And yeah, and some maybe another article on what oversized baggage limits are, because those are slightly getting tweaked here and there, uh, from time to time because tourism has become such in demand for Japan, it's become so popular. And for good reasons, it's, it's a fantastic country and it's great to navigate your way around the country with Ding Khan.

So I hope you enjoyed this episode and I'll catch you on the next one. See [00:31:00] ya.