Discrepancy between 'JR Shinkansen Timetable' and hyperdia.com?

Hi there,

Can you post to link to the Hyperdia search you did?

I was unable to find a problem myself.
-Daniel

I searched for all trains from Tokyo station to Kyoto stations: http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=TOKYO&arv_node=KYOTO&via_node01=&via_node02=&via_node03=&year=2016&month=07&day=21&hour=09&minute=11&search_type=0&search_way=&transtime=undefined&sort=0&max_route=10&faretype=0&airplane=off&ship=off&sprnozomi=off&utrexprs=off&slputr=off&exprs=off&slpexprs=off&liner=off&regular=off&bus=off&walk=off&privately=off&lmlimit=null&search_target=route&facility=reserved&sum_target=7

Or use this tinyurl: https://tinyurl.com/j7x56xx

Similar resultset when I tried Shinagawa instead. I suspect the departure date (2016/07/21) 09:xx might be 'out-of-range'. Or maybe my query was bad.

In any case, I found the PDF files at http://english.jr-central.co.jp/info/timetable/ much more informative except for missing platform numbers which can be helpful for 1st timers.

Hi again!

Hyperdia generally updates its timetable up to 3 months in advance. Doing longer searches than that may not always work. I recommend making a search closer to this date, time tables are only published 3 months in advance anyway, so looking for July is not very representative.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Thanks Daniel. That make sense. I shall try again in May 2016 when I'm ready to purchase JR passes for my family of 4.

Questions: I plan to use JR passes bouncing between Narita Tokyo Kyoto Osaka Nara. And I was looking at the 'Green' pass. Is it worth the extra price? Are there more onboard luggage space on 'Green' cars? We will be traveling with 3 large(check-in size) luggage and 2 carry-ons. I know there are available overnight luggage forwarding services but not sure if my stays - 3nights in Kyoto and 2 nights in Tokyo - are too short just in case the service takes longer than 24hr. What do you suggest?

Thanks again.

Hi again!

Using Green Class between Tokyo - Kyoto can be nice but it is optional for sure. Trains between Kyoto and Tokyo general have a lot of Green Seats, so you generally travel in quiet. At the same time, Green Class is not that different from Normal Class on the Tokaido Shinkansen (other lines have a much bigger difference).

In short, I would say. Do it if you don't have to worry about the money, otherwise using a normal coach is fine too.

Also, just take your luggage on the Shinkansen, I think that would work best given the amount of days you'll travel.