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Central Japan Railway Company
West Japa n Railwa y Compa n y
Nozomi Trains to Operate with All Reserved Seats on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen during 2024
Obon Period
During the three major peak periods,(*1) Nozomi trains will operate with all reserved seats (no non-reservedseats*2) on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen.
During the year-end and New Year period in FY2023 and the Golden Week period in FY2024, when thismeasure was applied, non-reserved seats on Nozomi trains were switched to reserved seats, resulting inincreasing the number of reserved seats in regular cars per train by approximately 30%. This enabled morecustomers to make seat reservations and also eliminated the need for customers to wait for a long time on theplatform to ride in non-reserved seat cars, making their trip more comfortable.
Based on these results, we have decided that Nozomi trains will also operate with all reserved seats during
the Obon period in FY2024, which will be the next peak period among the three major peak periods, asdescribed below.
We will use the “12 Nozomi Timetable” between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka as before and increase the numberof train services directly linking the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen sections in order to offer more train
services and seats. In addition, with the EX Service,(*3) reservations may be made up to one year in advance.
Once you have decided on your schedule for the Obon period, it is recommended to book a reserved seat sothat you can travel with peace of mind.
*1 The three major peak periods are Golden Week (a period of holidays in Japan from the end of April tothe beginning of May every year), Obon (a period around mid-August in Japan when many people takevacation), and the year-end and New Year holidays.
*2 Normally, a Nozomi train has non-reserved seats in Cars No. 1 through No. 3.
*3 The EX Service consists of “Express Reservation” (annual fee: 1,100 yen including tax) and “SmartEX” (no annual fee), which are online reservation and ticketless boarding services for the Tokaido,
Sanyo, and Kyushu Shinkansen. For details, please see the Express Reservation website(https://expy.jp/) and the Smart EX website (https://smart-ex.jp/).
Please note that reservations made one year in advance are limited to some seats and products.
1. Implementation period
August 9, 2024 (Fri.) – August 18, 2024 (Sun.)2. Target sections and trains
All Nozomi trains operating on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen (between Tokyo and Hakata) during
the above period

3. Others(1) Responses to passengers with non-reserved seat limited express tickets, etc.
・ During the period when Nozomi trains operate with all reserved seats, passengers with tickets thatallow them to ride only in non-reserved seats (non-reserved seat limited express tickets, etc.), including
the Shinkansen commuter passes “FREX” and “FREX Pal,” will not be able to be seated on Nozomi
trains.
・ During the above period, non-reserved seats will be available on trains other than Nozomi trains(Hikari, Kodama, Mizuho, and Sakura trains) as usual.
* Passengers with non-reserved seat limited express tickets and other tickets can only board Nozomi
trains if they stand in the deck area of regular cars. (If they are seated in a reserved seat on Nozomi
trains, they will be required to pay the designated reserved-seat limited express fare.)* If non-reserved seats on trains other than Nozomi trains become crowded, passengers with nonreserved seat limited express tickets and other tickets may be advised to board a Nozomi train while
standing in the deck area of regular cars. In that case, they may be asked to wait on the platform or toride in a different car than the one they have lined up for. Thus, they may not be able to board a trainsmoothly. To ensure safe train operation, please cooperate with the guidance from the staff.
* In the event of a major transportation disruption, Nozomi trains may operate with all non-reserved seats.
(2) Other responses
In addition to the above, we plan to respond to passengers with non-reserved seat limited express
tickets and other tickets on trains and at stations almost in the same way as during this Golden Week
period. Specific information will be announced at stations and on our website as soon as it is available.
(3) Future responses
For the year-end and New Year period in FY2024 and beyond, we will determine the period when
Nozomi trains will operate with all reserved seats and how services will be provided, based on whatdays of the week the holidays fall on, predicted passenger trends associated with it, and past results.