The Tokyo to Kyoto and Osaka bullet train, the 東海道新幹線 (とうかいどうしんかんせん, Tōkaidō Shinkansen), is run by JR Central. Its own online booking service is smartEX (スマートEX, sumāto ii-ekkusu), shared with JR West and JR Kyushu. It works in English, books seats up to a year ahead, and lets you ride with a QR code on your phone or a tap of your Suica.
This guide walks through smartEX from sign-up to the ticket gate, using JR Central's own pages. We checked every step, price and rule on smart-ex.jp on October 22, 2026. Prices change (JR Central has announced new EX prices for 2027), so check the links at the bottom before you book.
What smartEX covers
smartEX sells tickets for three connected Shinkansen lines:
- Tokaido: Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shin-Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka
- Sanyo: Shin-Osaka to Kobe, Okayama, Hiroshima and Hakata
- Kyushu: Hakata to Kumamoto and Kagoshima-Chuo
It cannot book any other line. For the Shinkansen north of Tokyo (Sendai, Kanazawa, Niigata), use JR East's Ekinetto instead: see our Ekinetto booking guide.
smartEX also cannot be used with the Japan Rail Pass. With a JR Pass, reserve seats at a station instead.
Step 1: Register
Go to smart-ex.jp/en and tap Register. Enter your email address, then open the link smartEX sends you. Accept the membership agreement and fill in your name, date of birth, a password, your credit card and, if you like, your IC card.
Things to know before you start:
- You must be 18 or older.
- Use a regular credit card with 3D Secure. smartEX recommends a normal physical card: mini cards and virtual cards cannot be used for some things, such as refunds. Debit and prepaid cards may be refused.
- Make sure emails from "@expy.jp" reach your inbox. One-time passwords and your membership ID come from that domain.
- The IC card is optional. You can add one later, or ride with a QR code instead.
Registration is done when you get an email with your 10-digit membership ID. JR Central notes that you may not be able to pick up paper tickets from machines on the day you register, so sign up a few days before your trip.
Step 2: Search for a train
Log in with your membership ID and password and tap Search Train. Enter the date, a departure or arrival time, the two stations and the number of people (1 to 6), then tap Continue.
Tick Search only Direct Trains if you don't want to change trains.
Step 3: Pick a train, fare and seat
The results list trains in order of departure, with seat availability:
- ○: seats available
- ▲: filling up
- ×: sold out
Trains marked Discount have Hayatoku seats (more on those below). Pick a train, then choose the fare and seat type: 普通車指定席 (ふつうしゃしていせき, futsūsha shiteiseki, reserved seat), グリーン車 (gurīn-sha, Green Car, first class) or 自由席 (じゆうせき, jiyūseki, non-reserved). You can open a seat map, or simply ask for a window or aisle seat.
Tip: Going from Tokyo toward Kyoto, Mount Fuji appears on the right side of the train. In a standard car, that is the E seat by the window.
Step 4: Pay
Press Purchase. smartEX charges your registered card at once, and your booking details arrive by email. All times on the site are Japan time and all prices are in yen.
Step 5: Board with a QR code, an IC card or a paper ticket
QR-Ticket. In the app or site, open My Trips, tap Details, then Display QR-Ticket. On iPhone you can add it to Apple Wallet. Hold the code over a Shinkansen ticket gate with the QR mark. Keep it: you need it again to exit.
IC card. If you registered a Suica or another transit IC card, just tap it at the Shinkansen gate. The Shinkansen fare comes from your credit card, not the card's balance. At Tokyo Station, if you walk in through a regular JR entrance such as the Marunouchi side, tap the card at both gates; in the Suica area the card needs at least the minimum fare on it to pass.
Paper ticket. Pick it up at a station ticket machine with your pickup code and login password.
Whichever you use, take the small slip the gate gives you, called Seat Information. The conductor may ask to see it, and without it you can be charged the full fare again.
What it costs
From JR Central's smartEX price sheet, standard reserved seat on a Nozomi, regular season, one way, one adult (prices in effect since April 1, 2025):
| Route | smartEX price |
|---|---|
| Tokyo to Nagoya | 11,100 yen |
| Tokyo to Kyoto | 13,970 yen |
| Tokyo to Shin-Osaka | 14,520 yen |
| Tokyo to Hiroshima | 19,560 yen |
| Tokyo to Hakata | 23,610 yen |
The slower Hikari and Kodama are a little cheaper: Tokyo to Kyoto costs 13,650 yen. Add 200 yen in the peak season and 400 yen in the busiest weeks, or take 200 yen off in the quiet season. A child's ticket is about half.
Hayatoku 21: the cheapest way to book early
EX早特21 (イーエックスはやとくにじゅういち, EX Hayatoku 21) gives you a discounted reserved seat on a Nozomi if you book between one month and 21 days before your trip (by 11:30 p.m. on the 21st day). Prices are the same on weekdays and weekends:
| Route | EX Hayatoku 21 | You save |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo to Kyoto | 12,430 yen | 1,540 yen |
| Tokyo to Shin-Osaka | 12,980 yen | 1,540 yen |
| Tokyo to Hiroshima | 15,390 yen | 4,170 yen |
| Tokyo to Hakata | 17,920 yen | 5,690 yen |
The catch: seats are limited on each train, you cannot change the booking (only refund it and book again), and it is not sold during Golden Week, Obon or the New Year holiday.
When you can book
The regular smartEX fare goes on sale at 5:30 a.m. one year before the travel date, and you can book until 4 minutes before departure. For trains more than a month away, you choose from a provisional timetable, and smartEX confirms your exact train and seat by email one month before you travel. Hayatoku fares, oversized baggage seats and some other seats only go on sale one month ahead.
You can book at any time of day, but the seat map is off from 11:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Japan time.
Changes and refunds
With a regular smartEX ticket, you can change your train as many times as you like for free, up to 4 minutes before departure, as long as you have not yet gone through the gate or picked up a paper ticket. Changes must stay within three months of the original purchase date.
A refund before departure costs 320 yen per seat. If you miss your train, you can still ride later the same day in a non-reserved car.
Big suitcases need a special seat
If your bag's length, width and height add up to 160 cm or more (up to 250 cm), you must book a seat with an oversized baggage area. Without one, you pay a fee on board. Choose this seat type when you search, and book it the day tickets go on sale, one month ahead: it cannot be requested earlier.
Japanese words you'll see at the station
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 予約 | よやく | yoyaku | reservation |
| 指定席 | していせき | shiteiseki | reserved seat |
| 自由席 | じゆうせき | jiyūseki | non-reserved seat |
| 号車 | ごうしゃ | gōsha | car number (7号車 = car 7) |
| のりば | のりば | noriba | platform, boarding area |
| 乗り換え | のりかえ | norikae | transfer |
| 発車 | はっしゃ | hassha | departure |
| 早特 | はやとく | hayatoku | early-booking discount |
| 特大荷物 | とくだいにもつ | tokudai nimotsu | oversized baggage |
| 払い戻し | はらいもどし | haraimodoshi | refund |
One useful sentence
If you need help at the gate or the ticket office:
スマートEXで予約しました。どの改札から入ればいいですか。
Sumāto ii-ekkusu de yoyaku shimashita. Dono kaisatsu kara haireba ii desu ka.
"I booked on smartEX. Which gate should I go in through?"
〜ばいいですか (~ba ii desu ka) means "what should I do?", literally "would it be good if I…?". Swap in any verb: どこで買えばいいですか (doko de kaeba ii desu ka, where should I buy it?).
Before you go
Wondering if a Japan Rail Pass would be cheaper? Our JR Pass fare math for 2026 compares the pass with smartEX prices for seven common trips.
Our Japanese travel phrases cover the station, the Shinkansen ticket office, the konbini and the hotel desk. Heading north too? Read about JRE GO, JR East's new 1-minute Shinkansen booking app.
Sources, all checked on October 22, 2026: JR Central's smartEX service page, registration guide, booking guide, booking hours, QR-Ticket and IC card boarding pages, baggage rules, the price sheet and the EX Hayatoku 21 prices.