JR Tokai and JR West will operate the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen “Nozomi” bullet trains with all seats reserved during the year-end and New Year holidays. The period covered is from December 26 to January 4, 2026.
During major holidays (GW, Obon, year-end and New Year holidays), when the number of passengers is particularly concentrated, the Nozomi Shinkansen will operate with “all reserved seats” instead of the non-reserved seats normally reserved for Nozomi cars 1 and 2 so that more travelers can reserve and be seated on these trains. All trains running on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen (between Tokyo and Hakata) during the applicable period will be operated with reserved-seat tickets.
Also, during the period when all seats are reserved, even tickets that allow boarding only in non-reserved seats (such as non-reserved seat express tickets), including Shinkansen commuter passes “FREX and FREX Pal”, cannot be used to seat passengers on the Nozomi.
Except for “Nozomi” trains, “Hikari”, “Kodama”, “Mizuho”, and “Sakura” trains will have unreserved seats as usual during the above period.
© Source travel watch