Nozomi & Mizuho Shinkansen with JR Pass

[bluejeans]

At least, on the national one?  The extra time on a Hikari isn't really an issue but waiting half an hour for the next train vs about 3 minutes certainly is.

[katoftw]

doubtful.

 

pretty sure the nozomis are 30 min intervals also in normal operational times, not 3 mins.

 

i find the people on reddit or guide loosing their shiz over the fact they cannot use the nozomi services with nation wide jr pass quite funny.  20-25 minutes between Tokyo and Osaka shouldn't really butt hurt so many people.  but it does.  they fail to see the massive savings being on offer.  and if you loose 50 minutes of your 2 week holiday.  so be it.  better that paying full price.

Edited September 27, 2018 by katoftw

[bluejeans]

12 minutes ago, katoftw said:

doubtful.

 

pretty sure the nozomis are 30 min intervals also in normal operational times, not 3 mins.

 

i find the people on reddit or guide loosing their shiz over the fact they cannot use the nozomi services with nation wide jr pass quite funny.  20-25 minutes between Tokyo and Osaka shouldn't really butt hurt so many people.  but it does.  they fail to see the massive savings being on offer.  and if you loose 50 minutes of your 2 week holiday.  so be it.  better that paying full price.

 

Interestingly i along with someone else both made the same mistake (I was meant to go to Odawara, not sure about the other person) and they weren't asked to pay for a ticket, just transfer at Nagoya.  However they then proceeded to call someone and brag about how "being Japan etc etc" they could get away with it... felt like telling them off like I did the people on the subway loudly making fun of the procedure for buying alcohol at a grocery store.

 

EDIT: What happened to the Tokaido shinkansen timetable?  I went to check the frequency and it's just being redirected to the JR central front page.

 

EDIT EDIT: The other annoying thing about the pass is you can't catch the last few services for the night since they're all Nozomi.

Edited September 27, 2018 by bluejeans

[katoftw]

Just had to check the timetable as you last few services comment intrigued me.  Last 3 services are Nozomi as mentioned.  That is an interesting fact  But I'd be curious how many temp visitors wanna travel after 9pm? 0 to 1 per night?

 

And 4-6 Nozomi services per hour, so every 10-15 minutes on average.  Sometime closer due to extra Kodamas and Hikaris depending on time of day.

[bluejeans]

3 minutes ago, katoftw said:

Just had to check the timetable as you last few services comment intrigued me.  Last 3 services are Nozomi as mentioned.  That is an interesting fact  But I'd be curious how many temp visitors wanna travel after 9pm? 0 to 1 per night?

 

And 4-6 Nozomi services per hour, so every 10-15 minutes on average.  Sometime closer due to extra Kodamas and Hikaris depending on time of day.

 

I've certainly been caught out a couple of times (wanting to make the most of my holiday)

 

Using the same logic though, the Hayabusa should also be excluded from the JR pass?

[Yavianice]

It is certainly not unusual for me that I have to cut my night short because I have to take the regional JR lines instead of the last Nozomi. I'd highly appreciate if they would allow people to use the last few Nozomi services.

[bluejeans]

3 minutes ago, Yavianice said:

It is certainly not unusual for me that I have to cut my night short because I have to take the regional JR lines instead of the last Nozomi. I'd highly appreciate if they would allow people to use the last few Nozomi services.

 

Plus they allow it for a few of the regional passes in any case.  I believe it's just a holdover from when the Nozomi used to cost significantly more.  How much longer did it take you using the regional lines?  I had to stay the night in Nagoya due to this and never considered using the regional lines (it also caused me to fall over and cut myself at the capsule hotel, giving me an introduction to the Japanese health system 😛)

Edited September 27, 2018 by bluejeans

[Yavianice]

2 minutes ago, bluejeans said:

 

Plus they allow it for a few of the regional passes in any case.  I believe it's just a holdover from when the Nozomi used to cost significantly more.

 

That's exactly what it is. And rules are rules, so, I reckon it won't be changed anytime soon (though -maybe- for the olympics they realize they should add Nozomi's to ferry all the tourists they want to attract around efficiently? who knows). Similarly, I made the mistake of going to a completely empty reserved seat section between the last two stops of a Kodama Shinkansen thinking that, since I have a JR pass and nobody can get on anymore, it does not matter. I was immediately told to go away since rules are rules. I'd say it's one of the (arguably few) downsides of Japan.

[bluejeans]

1 minute ago, Yavianice said:

 

That's exactly what it is. And rules are rules, so, I reckon it won't be changed anytime soon (though -maybe- for the olympics they realize they should add Nozomi's to ferry all the tourists they want to attract around efficiently? who knows). Similarly, I made the mistake of going to a completely empty reserved seat section between the last two stops of a Kodama Shinkansen thinking that, since I have a JR pass and nobody can get on anymore, it does not matter. I was immediately told to go away since rules are rules. I'd say it's one of the (arguably few) downsides of Japan.

 

I was on a Hayabusa which had no window seats available and they were nice enough to let me sit in the green car between stops... I stuck my nose into gran class just to see what it looked like, and immediately overheard a rich white person mock my casual clothing.

[Suica]

I cairtanly am an early and late traveler myself. Would be cool if Nozomi trains were included in the rail pass. My option to really safe time between East and West Japan has always been the Sunrise Express though. With the rail pass you pay either nothing extra if you go for the Nobi-Nobi-"seat" or you pay the rough equivalent of a night in a hotel if you choose a cabin.

[JR 500系]

Another point is that some Nozomi runs NON-STOP from Tokyo to Hakata, which is GREAT for travellers with gigantic luggages, and no need for transfers... Hikari and Kodama needs a transfer either at Shin-Osaka or Shin-Kobe (more recommended since it doesn't require one to go to the next platform whatsoever... 

[bluejeans]

6 hours ago, JR 500系 said:

Another point is that some Nozomi runs NON-STOP from Tokyo to Hakata, which is GREAT for travellers with gigantic luggages, and no need for transfers... Hikari and Kodama needs a transfer either at Shin-Osaka or Shin-Kobe (more recommended since it doesn't require one to go to the next platform whatsoever... 

 

Are they Nozomi trains branded as Mizuho, or actual Nozomi branded?

[Densha]

Try to do at least some research yourself. Just looking at Wikipedia already shows that Mizuho services run from Kagoshima-Chuo to Shin-Osaka, and that Nozomi services run from Hakata to Tokyo.

[Kamome]

I recently travelled to Kyoto with my visiting family on a long weekend in September.  Having a visa I can no longer obtain a JR pass but my family members had them. 

 

We we live in Kyushu and the JR pass restricts use of the Nozomi and Mizuho services. The annoying part was, to get to Kyoto, we had to use the Sakura service to Osaka and then change. The Sakura was absolutely rammed. Reserving seats was a nightmare and we ended up having reservations on a much later train than we hoped for. Due to this, we took our chances in Non reserved on an earlier train.

The irony of this tale is that had we booked seats on a Nozomi, there were plenty of seats available at anytime we wanted. Having family members with JR pass restrictions on Nozomi services was the only hold up and would’ve allowed much easier travel for everyone, including the 4 empty reserved seats that we didn’t use.

Perhaps tighter rules as to how Nozomi services could be used would be more appropriate as there’s so many of these services each hour. Perhaps just restrictions on rush hour times.

[katoftw]

Getting out of Hakata towards Honshu has always been horrible early morning. As yeah there is many usable services. Had same issue 2011 and 2014.

 

Our last trip we used a early say 630am railstar service, then switched at Okayama for a Hikari bound for Tokyo.

Edited September 28, 2018 by katoftw

[Suica]

13 hours ago, katoftw said:

Our last trip we used a early say 630am railstar service, then switched at Okayama for a Hikari bound for Tokyo.

This!

 

Those 07:00+ Shinkansen are full with people only commuting shorter distances, like Kokura. I also booked the 06:30 Hikari Rail Star and then changed trains in Tokuyama. There are ways to get to where you want in time but it requires planning ahead and trying different options.

Edited September 28, 2018 by Suica

[Sacto1985]

I do think that we'll see soon an updated Japan Rail Pass where you can ride the Nozomi and Mizuho trains, but you'll have to pay extra fare for the privilege.

[westfalen]

I've found it a little more inconvenient travelling between Tokyo and points west, especially that involve passing through Osaka, since the Nozomi services were introduced but it's not a big deal to me, after all you're not in Australia or North America were there is only one train per day (or maybe per week) to choose from.

 

The thing that annoys me more than the Nozomi ban is JR East's growing number of trains with only reserved seats such as the Hayabusa services. To me this takes away the main advantage of a rail pass to me, the ability to alter your plans on the run by just walking onto the station and catching the next train that comes along.

 

 

[chadbag]

You can walk in on a whim and take a reserved train -- you just visit the Midori no Madoguchi and get the reservation ticket.  I do this often -- go to the station, get the reservation, then go to the platform and get on it.   A minor inconvenience but it basically allows you to do what you want.

 

[bluejeans]

6 hours ago, westfalen said:

I've found it a little more inconvenient travelling between Tokyo and points west, especially that involve passing through Osaka, since the Nozomi services were introduced but it's not a big deal to me, after all you're not in Australia or North America were there is only one train per day (or maybe per week) to choose from.

 

The thing that annoys me more than the Nozomi ban is JR East's growing number of trains with only reserved seats such as the Hayabusa services. To me this takes away the main advantage of a rail pass to me, the ability to alter your plans on the run by just walking onto the station and catching the next train that comes along.

 

 

 

Just walk on, take a seat if there is one, but make sure you don't occupy it when people are getting on in case it really is reserved?  Or just sit down in the aisle like I did coming back from Sendai...

[westfalen]

When I change my plans on the spur of the moment it sometimes really is the spur of the moment as in the train is pulling in and no time to find and line up at the green window and maybe it's the 40 years of working for the railway and putting myself in the conductor's shoes but something in me goes against walking onto an all reserved seat train and just sitting in an empty seat.

[Suica]

On 10/27/2018 at 6:49 AM, westfalen said:

The thing that annoys me more than the Nozomi ban is JR East's growing number of trains with only reserved seats such as the Hayabusa services. To me this takes away the main advantage of a rail pass to me, the ability to alter your plans on the run by just walking onto the station and catching the next train that comes along.

Getting a seat reservation has never been a big deal for me. I've picked up a seat several times shortly before departure, even at big stations like Tokyo Station.

[Densha]

Staff Comment

Changed to topic title to something more sensible.

[katoftw]

31 minutes ago, Densha said:

Staff Comment

Changed to topic title to something more sensible.

User comment

It was fine the way it was