Sapporo - Hakodate - Tokyo

Hello Peter,

Yes all these routes are covered by the JR Pass and even better, you get the ride one of the fastest Shinkansen in Japan!

Travel around New Year does indeed get busy and I would advise reserving tickets 3 - 4 days in advance.

I would advise activating the moment when you travel to Hakodate, however you can exchange the JR Pass beforehand and reserve seats as of that moment. Giving you enough time to make the reservations.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Hi Daniel-San

Thanks very much for your advice, it's really useful. We arrive in Japan on 15th December in Nagoya. I am not going ton use the JR pass for the first leg of our trip as it isn't really necessary. However, could we exchange the pass as soon as we arrive and make reservations for the trains from Sapporo - Hakodate- Tokyo then? This would seem like the best idea.

Thanks

Peter

Hi Peter,

Yes you may exchange the pass right away @Nagoya station and reserve all the seats for the validity period of the JR Pass. This way you are sure of seating, be sure to bring a printed list with routes, dates and times when you wish to travel. This will make the process go a lot quicker.

Hope this helps!
Daniel