Practical guides 23
Does a child under 6 need a Shinkansen ticket?
A separate reserved seat needs a child ticket, even for a baby. For a lap journey, check the age and the number of young children travelling with each ticket holder.
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Yes, if the child will use a reserved seat of their own. Even a baby needs a child ticket for that seat. An accompanied child under six can usually travel free on an adult’s lap, but the third and any further children aged one to five accompanying one adult or child ticket holder need child tickets. This guide focuses on ordinary reserved seats on the Tokaido Shinkansen, such as Tokyo to Kyoto.
01
Decide who needs their own seat before booking
- Write down each child’s age on the travel day and decide whether a lap journey is realistic for your family.
- For a separate reserved seat, include the under-six in the child passenger count. Check the assigned seats together before paying.
- At a ticket counter, give the route, travel date, children’s ages and number of seats wanted. Ask staff to confirm the complete family booking.
02
Buy the journey as well as the seat
- An under-six’s own reserved seat requires both the child basic fare and the child Shinkansen limited-express charge. A seat-only supplement is insufficient.
- JR classifies ages one to five as infants and under one as babies. The two-per-ticket-holder allowance counts infants; babies are a separate category. An infant travelling alone also needs a child ticket.
03
Show this in Japanese
4歳の子どもにも指定席を1席取りたいです。
I would also like one reserved seat for my four-year-old. Change the age as needed.Lap or reserved seat?
| Child | On an adult’s lap | Own reserved seat |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1 | Free | Child ticket |
| Ages 1–5: first two per ticket holder | Free | Child ticket |
| Ages 1–5: third and further per ticket holder | Child ticket | Child ticket |
04 · A WORKED EXAMPLE
Two adults and a four-year-old want three seats
For this hypothetical family, book two adult passengers and one child passenger. Booking only the adults gives the family two reserved seats, even though the four-year-old may travel free on a lap.
Choose the seating arrangement while seats are available; an empty-looking seat on board is not a reservation for your child.
05 · MAKE THE DECISION USEFUL
Check age six and the booking method
These two details can change what you enter online or do at the station.
A six-year-old visiting from abroad
The normal child-fare ages are six to eleven. JR Central’s exception for a six-year-old not yet in elementary school applies only to schools under Japan’s School Education Act. A later school-starting age in your home country does not extend free infant travel. Use the child category for that six-year-old.
SmartEX reservations and transfer gates
Add the under-six’s reserved seat as a child booking; some Hayatoku discount products have no child option. For a child aged one to five using an IC card assigned to their SmartEX seat, show that card to staff at the Shinkansen transfer gate when connecting from a conventional train. SmartEX directs these children through the staffed passage.
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