Biting the Bullet (Train): Riding the Shinkansen between Tokyo and Kyoto

When it comes to intercity train travel in Japan, there’s only one way we wanted to travel. The infamous Japanese bullet train – or shinkansen. With Tokyo and Kyoto being 450km apart, a “local” train would take 9 or 10 hours. The shinkansen? Just 2 hours and 15 minutes. Not the cheapest way to travel but definitely the fastest and the most comfortable. Read on for our experience of riding the Tokyo to Kyoto bullet train, including how to buy tickets and most importantly, what to eat!

We travelled from Tokyo to Kyoto during our 9 day Japan trip. You can view all the rest of my Japan content here – and there’s a lot to share!

What is the Shinkansen?

Shinkansen describes both the high-speed bullet train and the high-speed rail network that connects Japan. There are nine main lines that form the network, including underwater tunnels connecting Japan’s islands to the north and south of Honshu. Tokaido is the line which connects Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka – and the line that we will be travelling on, named after the road that connected Tokyo and Kyoto during the Edo period

There are three Shinkansen that serve Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka: Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama. Nozomi is the fastest, with the fewest stops, but also the most expensive. Kodama is the slowest and stops at all intermediate stations; Hikari is the same price as Kodama but is faster and makes less stops. Hikari is the best option if you have a JR Rail Pass

When we originally booked our ill-fated trip to Japan in 2020 it made sense to purchase a JR Rail Pass to travel around the JR network, including the Hikari and Kodama shinkansen. (The fastest train, Nozomi, is not included). Fast forward five years though, and a significant price hike for the Rail Pass, it made more sense for us to “pay-as-you-go”. If you’re considering purchasing a JR Rail Pass, pop your planned journeys into a fare calculator like this one to see if will make your travel cheaper.

Shinkansen tickets

You can either purchase Standard tickets – reserved or unreserved seating – or tickets in the Green Car. This is the shinkansen equivalent of first class, with quieter carriages, guaranteed reserved seating, power outlets, reading lights and footrests.

Tickets can be purchased in advance online, or at the station, either at a ticket machine or at a ticket desk. There will generally be English speaking staff available to help.

If you have oversized luggage – that is, the sum of length+width+height is over 160cm (but under 250cm) then , you need to book special seats with access to the “oversized baggage compartment” We found the option for this on the ticket machines – not as though we needed it as we were travelling light.

Luggage forwarding is commonly used in Japan and it’s an excellent way of being able to move around the country by public transport without lugging suitcases. Because there are A LOT of steps at train and metro stations. It’s convenient, cost-effective and reliable – we dropped our cases off at the Yamato kiosk at Kabukichō Tower in Tokyo and our suitcases were waiting for us on check-in day in Osaka.

Our Shinkansen experience

Free from our bulky suitcases – our Kyoto wardrobe being whatever we can fit in a backpack and a tote bag – we head for Shinjuku station for the final time. We’re finally getting the hang of the best entrances and exits, and now we’re leaving. It’s MUCH quieter on a Saturday, without all the commuters. We hop on the Maranouchi Line for the 20 minute journey to Tokyo Station.

Tokyo Station is NOT quiet. In a bit of a blur we follow the crowds and the signs for shinkansen transfers. We’re after the Tokaido Line so we follow the blue signs. Thankfully everything is very clearly marked in both Japanese and English.

Buying our tickets

We locate the ticket machines, with thankfully no queues. I let Mr Fletche take charge of this bit. Even though we’ve watched YouTube videos of the ticket-buying process we carefully do a dummy run so we know what we’re buying before proceeding. We want reserved seats, in a Standard Car. We don’t need to worry about luggage storage, and we’re not overly fussed about booking the highly sought-after “Fuji-view” seats.

Keen to give ourselves plenty of time – and with the next couple of trains already fully booked – we book a train at 1pm. We’re issued two tickets each, one to cover the “limited express” – i.e the shinkansen – and one to cover the base fare. We’re on the Nozomi, the fastest of the three lines to Shin-Osaka via Kyoto.

💹 Our tickets cost 15000 JPY per person, around (£71.50) 💹

Tickets tucked away safely we head off to find somewhere in the station for a late breakfast. After all, we have 90 minutes to kill. WK2 provides an ideal spot, close to the ticket gates. One acai bowl and an iced tea later and we’re ready to pass through the ticket gates. We have to insert both tickets together. I get through the gates fine but Mr Fletche has stumbled over his tickets. Literally a second later there is a smiling member of staff eager to assist. This is something we found all over Japan – customer service staff that actually provide customer service without tutting or rolling their eyes.

The essential bullet train snack – ekiben

Despite only just having breakfast, my mind turns to lunch. As it so often does. And riding the shinkansen means ekiben – a train station bento box. It’s frowned upon to eat on local trains in Japan, yet positively encouraged on the shinkansen. If I’d worried about where to purchase the aforementioned ekiben, my mind was soon put to rest. Once through the ticket gates, we face row after row of bento boxes containing every food combination possible. I’m like a kid in a pickled sweetie shop.

Of course I buy too much. We did NOT need a bento box AND a box full of breaded pork and rice. Although we almost forget to eat it, panic eating fifteen minutes before we reach Kyoto.

We locate our platform in plenty of time, and find the designated waiting spot for our car. In fact, we have time to see the train before ours arrive. I watch the sleek nose edge into the station whilst Mr Fletche goes for a wander, camera in hand. He leaves me in charge of the bags. And the bento boxes.

Our train finally pulls in and we line up at the designated spot. Unlike UK trains, it’s not a free-for-all; everyone queues politely. We watch fascinated as staff go through the cars, turning each row of seats 180° so every seat now faces forward.

We’ve not booked any special seats, but the amount of legroom that we have is phenomenal. I almost don’t know what to do with my legs with all this space. We stow our backpacks on the luggage rack above our seats; this space could easily take a carry-on sized suitcase.

We settle down for the journey. Excitement runs high but in all honesty, once you’re on the train, it’s actually just another train. I certainly didn’t ever feel like I was travelling at 177mph. Although the trains at home don’t have smartly uniformed guards passing through, bowing at every carriage before they exit. Our seat neighbour gets off before our train reaches Kyoto so we have the opportunity to spread out a little more for that last-minute train picnic.

Just after 3pm we’re pulling into Kyoto Station. Our train is continuing it’s journey on to Shin-Osaka but we are leaving this iconic bullet train behind. From now on, it’s slower travel only.

I try my hardest to keep the information in this travel guide up to date; however if you notice anything has changed please let me know! Happy travels, Emmalene