Sending luggage from the airport to your hotel
You land with heavy cases and tired children, and you would rather arrive with a day bag.
Trains, roads and flights
Reserved or unreserved Shinkansen seats with luggage
You are pulling large suitcases and need seats together, and the unreserved car worries you.
Reserve your seats if you carry large suitcases or need to sit together. Unreserved seats are cheaper in principle but not reliable for families. The Tokaido Shinkansen also has a baggage-size rule, and getting it wrong costs a fee.
What is the oversized baggage rule?
On the Tokaido Shinkansen, add the length, width and height of each bag. Bags of 160 cm or less need no reservation. Bags of 161 to 250 cm are oversized and need a seat with an oversized baggage area. Bags over 250 cm cannot be brought on board 1.
Measure your suitcase with the wheels and handle in place. Many check-in sized bags land near the line.
What does it cost to reserve the right seat?
A reserved seat with an oversized baggage area costs the same as a regular reserved seat, and you can book it one month in advance 2.
If you bring an oversized bag without that reservation, you pay a baggage fee of 1,000 yen including tax 2. At RM 2.603 per 100 yen on 19 October 2026, that is about RM 26 2 3. The ringgit budget tool shows your total.
Why reserve rather than take an unreserved car?
Unreserved cars work for a solo traveller with a small bag. For a family, the problems are seats together and bag placement.
Reserved seats let you choose seats together and place bags where you can see them. See reserved vs non-reserved seat for the basics.
What happens at peak times?
During peak periods, all seats on Nozomi trains are operated as reserved seats 4. Without a reservation, you can buy a seat before boarding, change a non-reserved ticket once without a fee (paying the difference) or take a non-reserved seat on Hikari, Kodama, Mizuho, Sakura or Tsubame the same day 4.
Our Nozomi, Hikari or Kodama guide compares the trains.
What if you hold a rail pass?
Japan Rail Pass holders cannot use Nozomi or Mizuho without a separate Nozomi Mizuho Ticket 5. Plan for Hikari or add the ticket. Our is a rail pass worth it guide helps you decide.
How do you cut the baggage problem?
- Forward main suitcases to the next hotel and carry a small bag. See luggage forwarding to hotel.
- Reserve seats with a baggage area when a bag is oversized.
- Book Smart EX or counter tickets early: see Smart EX vs ticket counter.
- With elders, consider Green Car vs ordinary car.
For child fares, read child fares and infants on trains.
If you travel with big suitcases or need seats together, send your route, dates and bag sizes, and we mark which trains to reserve and which bags to forward.
Keep planning
Child and infant fares on Japanese trains
You travel with children and want to know who pays, who rides free and what the pass costs.
Green Car or ordinary car with elders
You are not chasing luxury, only a little more room for parents on long train days.
Nozomi, Hikari or Kodama: which to take
Three train names stand between you and Kyoto, and you are tired from the flight.
Shinkansen: SmartEX or the ticket counter
You want to book bullet train seats, unsure whether to use an app or a counter.
Central Japan with big suitcases
Your route has trains, buses and mountain towns, and the suitcases are the part you worry about.
Questions travellers ask
How big is an oversized suitcase on the Shinkansen?
Add length, width and height. Up to 160 cm in total needs no reservation. Between 161 and 250 cm is oversized and needs a seat with an oversized baggage area. A typical large check-in suitcase may fall near the line, so measure yours, wheels included.
What happens if I bring a big suitcase without a reservation?
You pay a baggage fee of 1,000 yen including tax, about RM 26, and the conductor may direct you to a designated space. Reserving the right seat when you buy the ticket costs the same as a regular reserved seat, so it is cheaper than being caught.
Can a family sit together in the unreserved car?
Not reliably. Unreserved seats are first come, first served, and busy periods fill them. Reserved seats let you sit together and place bags where you can see them. With children or elders, we advise reserving.
What if my Nozomi is fully reserved?
During peak periods all Nozomi seats are reserved. You can buy a seat before boarding, change a ticket once without a fee, or take a non-reserved seat on another train such as Hikari or Kodama the same day. We plan an alternative for peak weeks.
Sources
Figures are checked against these sources and dated so you can see how current they are.
- JR Central, Oversized baggageaccessed 2026-10-20
- JR Central, Oversized baggageaccessed 2026-10-20
- Bank Negara Malaysia exchange rates (JPY)accessed 2026-10-20
- JR Central, Nozomiaccessed 2026-10-20
- JR Central, Nozomiaccessed 2026-10-20
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