After a great visit to Osaka, it was time to head back to Tokyo and begin our journey home. I originally wanted to fly between Osaka and Tokyo, and onward to Dallas, but award space on the Osaka-Tokyo leg never opened up. Instead, we opted for the train with a quick overnight in Tokyo before heading home the next day.
Booking Our Shinkansen Trip
Similar to our trip between Tokyo and Kyoto, the hardest part about the journey was booking the tickets. Thankfully, on the trip down, I figured out how everything worked which made it easier the second time around. While you can purchase tickets at the station, we were traveling during a busy period so I wanted to ensure we had seats reserved in advance.
We booked our Green Car (First Class) tickets via the smartEx App which was the easiest way to book tickets. After booking our tickets, I received a confirmation email but no tickets. In the email was a code which I had to go back and use to pull my tickets in the app.
Boarding Our Shinkansen Train
We had some issues with the Uber pickup at our hotel which put us in a tight window for making the train. Thankfully, Japanese trains and accompanying rail stations are extremely efficient and, despite arriving at the station with less than 10 minutes before departure, we still had time to grab snacks before our train arrived at the platform.
Tokaido Shinkansen
Nozomi 32
Shin-Osaka-Tokyo (Osaka-Tokyo)
Seat: 16D (Green)
N700A
Scheduled: 3:45p-5:15p
Actual: 3:45p-5:15p
Between Kodama (Slowest, all-stops), Hikara (fewer stops than the Kodama), and Nozomi (Super Express), there are trains departing on the line for Tokyo every few minutes.
Tokaido Shinkansen Green Car Seating
Our seats were located in Car 8, a Green Car (think First Class) in the middle of the train. Green Car seats are arranged in a 2-2 layout and are spacious and plush. The fabric covers seemed old school but they were comfortable.
I assigned us seats 16C and 16D. These were located on the left side of the train when heading northbound.
Legroom in these seats were good and there was a footrest available that was comfortable to use. At 6′ 2″, I typically find these annoying as they get in the way. Thankfully I was able to use this one without issue.
The footrest had two positions. It could either be folded up at an angle or opened where it would sit flat, depending on your preference.
In the armrest closest to the window is the manual recline control for the seat.
On the other side, in the shared armrest, are the controls for the reading light and automated seat recline. The light itself is built into the seat as part of the headrest. Power outlets are also located here.
On top of the armrest is a small tray table, similar to what you’ll find in domestic first class on U.S. carriers.
The primary tray table folded down from the seat in front and was large. I was able to work on my laptop throughout the trip without issue.
A secondary tray table is located in the armrest and can be accesses by pulling up on the armrest. This tray is nice if you need space for a drink and small snack but don’t want to hassle with the full sized tray.
Our Trip
We pulled out of Shin-Osaka Station right on time (I love the efficiency of Japanese rail) and started our journey towards Tokyo. Located in the seatback pocket were some magazines as well as instructions on how to order on-board. As I mentioned in my earlier Shinkansen review, this service is only provided for Green Car passengers.
Due to the short journey between Osaka and Kyoto, the online ordering wasn’t activated until after we departed Kyoto Station. I found the system to be incredibly difficult to use and I got many error messages before I was finally able to connect.
Once the system came online, I managed to order a beer, to accompany the snacks that we brought on board, which arrived a few minutes later. A moist towelette was also provided.
After enjoying my beer, I headed back to check out the lavatory. In addition to full service lavatories, there were smaller ones that featured urinals only.
On the way back to my seat, I got a great shot of the car layout, which had plenty of space for folks to spread out.
The rest of the trip went by quickly and I alternated between looking out the window at the Japanese countryside and working on my laptop.
Arrival
Unsurprisingly, we pulled into Tokyo Station right on time. After our train came to a stop we made our way from the Shinkansen tracks down into the bowels of Tokyo Station to find the subway station. From there, we caught a Ginza Line train over to our hotel for the evening.
Summary
I really enjoyed my Tokaido Shinkansen Green Car experience. The ride between Osaka and Tokyo is roughly two and a half hours and I’d definitely recommend the Green Car experience over the Ordinary Car assuming the difference in price isn’t outrageous. The finicky onboard ordering system was a bit of a disappointment but, It wouldn’t deter me from taking this train again.