Take a peek inside the JR Rail Green Car (First Class) on the Hikari Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hiroshima (via Shin-Osaka).
If you have a JR Rail pass, the Hikari Shinkansen (bullet train) will likely be one of the trains you will take traveling to western Japan from Tokyo. You can upgrade your JR Rail pass to a Green Car pass, which allows you to make reservations for the spacious Green Car on any shinkansen that offers them.
Most long range bullet train trips will have a green car (or a few) to choose from. However, to ride the Green Car on a shinkansen using your JR rail pass, you must first reserve tickets at a JR rail pass station. This is easy to do, it makes boarding the train actually more convenient vs ordinary cars, and there is no extra cost (besides the cost of the initial Green Car upgrade), but it’s just an extra step you should be aware of.
Smaller local trains may not have a Green Car at all. An example of this is the local train from Hiroshima to Okunoshima, aka Rabbit Island… no Green Car there. In this case, your JR Rail Green Car pass will still allow you to ride the train, but in a regular seat.
So, if you ever wondered about the Japan Rail Green Car vs ordinary, and if it is worth it, let this help with your decision!
I used JTBUSA.com to purchase my JR Rail Green Car pass, and I used Hyperdia.com to plan my routes. Check them out if you’re planning to travel to Japan!
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Rubix Cube by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Artist:
AloJapan.com