shinkansen with a suitcase: the checklist so you're not that passenger
learned some of this by watching someone else hold up a whole car.
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1
Measure length + width + height together, not just the biggest side
I measured only the longest side once and was wrong by 30cm.
2
Confirm the total is over 160cm before you panic-book anything
3
Reserve the oversized luggage seat if it's 160-250cm
This only applies to Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen lines, not all of them.
4
Book the reservation before you're at the station, not at it
walk-up reservations exist but the good seats near the rack are gone by mid-morning.
5
Know the fee is 1000 yen if you skip the reservation and still bring an oversized bag
6
Ask for a 'tokudai nimotsu seat' if the counter staff looks confused
Said it wrong the first time and got a normal seat with no rack space at all.
7
Pick the last row of the car when booking, that's where the rack is
8
Screenshot the seat reservation before you lose signal underground
9
Get to the platform early enough to actually find your car number
the platform floor markings are exact but the car numbering isn't intuitive if you're jet-lagged.
10
Don't block the aisle stacking bags while everyone else boards
11
Keep your IC card loose in a pocket, not zipped inside the big bag
off-peak trains still move fast through the gates and you will hold up the line digging for it.
12
Have coin lockers at the origin station as a backup plan
13
Know 250cm is the hard cutoff, bigger needs a courier service instead
Takkyubin counters at big stations will ship a bag ahead for you same or next day, cheaper than a taxi anyway.
14
Double check your dates if you booked more than 3 months out
reservation windows and exchange rules move around each year, don't assume an old post is still accurate.
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