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Activation and reservation question

jamothy
jamothy
over 9 years ago
4 answers

Firstly due to arrive at Haneda airport on the 30th april at 21:30 (JP time) and planning on staying a night in Tokyo, then on the 1st of May getting a train to Hakodate in southern Hokkaido.

Does this shinkansen require a seat reservation to be made? Also am I able to collect my pass with an exchange order and then validate it and use it on the same day? If not just means I would have to stay an extra night in Tokyo first as even arriving at Haneda at 9:30pm is too late to collect a railpass, let alone the time after collecting baggage/passing customs etc.
Thanks in advance for any answers, Matt. :)

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Daniel-san
19375 posts
over 9 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

Yes, the Hayabusa Shinkansen to Hokkaido requires a reserved seat. The JR Office will be closed when you arrive (closes at 18:30 at Haneda). This means you'll have to start the following day by exchanging the JR Pass and reserving your ticket.

A bit of a problem is that you are traveling during Golden Week, this is beside the New Year period, the busiest day of the year and trains can be sold out.

Being flexible, with your trip is the best option. I.e. having an extra night in Tokyo if tickets are sold out.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

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jamothy
jamothy
4 posts
over 9 years ago

Thanks for the reply and it is as I expected. Currently looking at using the JAL one way explorer pass for 10800 yen at the moment to fly from Haneda to Hakodate and then I have an extra 3 days to use my pass as I can validate it for a couple of days later, and then have time at each place to reserve tickets for trains if I have to.
Thanks again for confirming my suspicions, Matt.

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