🚅 Green Car vs Standard on the Shinkansen - Is it worth it? 🚅 (Bullet Train in Japan, 2023)

today we're going on the green card for the first time so I'm excited to see what it's like and how it compares to the standard heart because the standard car is amazing enough I think so I'm really excited to try the green card today we're taking the shinkansen from shinagawa in Tokyo to Nagoya I'm going to show you what it's like in the green car compared to the standard car what the seats are like how much space you get and other things you need to know and whether it's worth upgrading to the green car there'll also be some extra tips along the way including those new rules about luggage on the shinkansen I'll show you where to store it and what you need to do if you want to know about taking the shinkansen how to find your platform and all of that I also have a video about that on my channel the links in the description and there's New Japan videos on Thursdays if you want to subscribe there are two classes on the shinkansen the standard car and the green car which is like first class when you buy your Jr pass you can get either a standard pass or a green car pass if you get the green car pass you can travel in the green car whenever you want there's no extra charge otherwise if you're not getting a Jr pass you can buy individual tickets for the green car just like the standard car thank you to Jr Central in London for providing our Jr passes for this trip Japan Railway Central is the train company that runs this section of the shinkansen and all the Jr lines in this Central area of Japan today we're on the newest bullet train on this line the n700s S stands for Supreme it has more comfortable seats a more streamlined shape and if there's an earthquake or a power cut it can power itself to get to the nearest station so you're not left stranded another new feature which thankfully I didn't experience is that if any of the seats are wet Stripes appear on the fabric that you can see before you sit down so the cleaning crew can also know immediately which need changing currently not all the bullet chains on this line are the new n700s if you want to take the newest one I found a timetable online which tells you when it'll be running it's updated every day and that's for Journeys on the line between Tokyo and Kyoto and Osaka the links in the description it was actually quite exciting looking up the times and trying to reserve the right one and then seeing the big n700s logo when it arrived at the station there are signs on the platform that tell you where to wait for each carriage so you'll always be in exactly the right place to go straight to your seat it's very organized pretty please [Music] [Music] oh here we go more about this in a minute I got trapped in the baggage space for a minute while everyone was getting on in the green car you get a moist towel when you get on it's called an ashy body in Japanese it's quite common in restaurants or when you buy food as a sign of good Hospitality it seems like the staff have a list of reservations so they know who to give them to first let's compare the seats in the green car the seats are very comfortable now I've never found the standard car uncomfortable even on long trips like the four hour Journey from Tokyo all the way up to Hokkaido but the green car seats are on another level they're larger more comfortable with more space and extra features there's a little space on the armrest for your drink quite big the buttons here are for reading lights which is on the back of the seat oh that's adjustable as well and this is a seat warmer and you also get a plug socket to charge things so if you need to use your charger there's one in your seat here's the controller for adjusting your seat they actually recline quite a lot this could be really comfortable if you're on a long journey you could even have a sleep it can recline quite a lot and look at this footrest it falls and it's adjustable with the foot pedal so you can have it at the exact position you want to oh I got it I got it now you push the pedal to move the fit rest up and down and in the standard car you don't get a foot rest there's a pull down tray table on the seat in front if you're doing some work or just eating snacks or an EK event a special trained bento box lunch unlike local trains it is okay to eat on the shinkansen and other long distance trains also notice how spotlessly clean the table is I don't know your experience of train travel but that's not always the case in the UK there are hooks to hang up your coat or your bag on the seat in front and on the wall there's another tray table in the seat rest I didn't even realize that was there it falls out somewhere to put your drink there's a little tray by the window they are they're bigger than they went oh that would be brilliant are we on the right side as well yeah is that a blind yes we want a seafood today if you get cold they have blankets so I'm not that tall I'm probably about five foot five but I can pretty much put my feet out straight and not touch the seat in front so much no room in the standard car the seats are noticeably thinner and less plush than the green car but it is still comfortable they do recline but not quite as much you get a fold down Table and there are hooks for your coat there's no light or seat warmer the whole Carriage maybe looks more modern but it's less plush and there's no carpets the standard car has less leg room but it is still a good amount and more than pretty much any other train I've been on there is enough space to put a suitcase in front of your knees if you need to unless you are a lot taller in which case it might be uncomfortable in the green card there are four seats in a row two and two and in the standard car there's five three and two there's a snack trolley so you can buy drinks and snacks if you want to we were just saying if only the plane was this comfortable it wouldn't be so difficult to sleep I always bring a book with me on train Journeys but on the shinkansen I always end up just looking out the window you don't really need any other entertainment because the landscape is constantly changing of course that's the advantage of long train Journeys during the daytime because once it gets dark you can't see anything we just left a Tommy and you can see the sea or you could why do we always go into a tunnel when I start filming out the window going so fast on the bullet train it's really smooth it is not bumpy like You by train you feel it swaying a little bit when you're standing up but it's so smooth pretty quiet as well it's also really quiet in the castle on any drink so it's very calm and you could easily have a sleep if you were enjoying the view it also feels really private sitting here because the seats are quite tall it feels like you've got your own space and people on looking in on what you're doing see the little pedal down there if you're traveling in a group of four you can rotate the seats so you can face each other and that's not just in the green car that's in the regular car as well ladies and gentlemen welcome to machine shop in at all stations let's take a look at the Shared area between the carriages this is the same for all classes as I mentioned it's very quiet in the carriage where you sit so this is where you should come if you need to make a phone call or talk loudly cycling there's a little sink so you can wash your hands and a long mirror and there's two bathrooms here too [Music] we've got a big mirror in the bathrooms as well with the hip an area for baby changing the slit here's all of the toilet buttons here it's very clean I've got to say on some trains this luggage rack is allocated to a particular seat in the carriage which seat it is varies on each train it looks like you could lock your luggage in here this is out of service at the moment so this is inside the regular car and the area with the bathroom is just the same as in the green car there's the lucky track there is from it looks like it used to be a smoking room but it says it's not used anymore since March 2022. and on some trains they turned into it's a good idea use your time well on a long journey if you're working which is forever yep exactly the same peachy view for us today I think it was too cloudy I have seen it before on this trip though you do get a pretty good view where was Fuji I don't know how I missed them maybe I was too busy playing with the seat controls or maybe it was too cloudy I have seen Fuji from this train before and you get a fantastic view make sure you're sitting on the right hand side if you're going away from Tokyo or the left hand side if you're going towards Tokyo there's a couple of members of Staff taking care of [Music] really good service I just had a walk through the train and went in the standard car to see how it compares to the and it does seem a lot more crowded in the standard car I walked through a couple of carriages in the green quite a few empty seats there are a lot more people [Music] see and I guess that means you're more likely to be able to book seats on this is a major benefit of the green car on every Journey on the shinkansen the green car was consistently less busy than the standard car now this was during the off season at the end of February start of March so I can't say what it's like at a busier time of year but I think if you are going at a busy time like cherry blossom season or golden week you'd be more likely to be able to travel at the time you want in the green car because the seats are more likely to be available and you'll be more likely to be able to book those seats at the end and use the space for luggage it also seems right the lighting is a bit more subtle and subdue the Ambiance of the green car is definitely more subtle and relaxed it feels more plush and luxurious the standard car has brighter lights and looks more modern with bright blue seats and a gray color scheme although the design is different on other shinkansen lines another point to note is when you're traveling in the green car you have to have seat reservations in the standard car if you have a Jr pass you can reserve a seat if you want to but you don't have to you can just jump on the unreserved carriage but in the green car all seats are reserved if you have a Jr pass it's free to make seat reservations I made a video a few weeks ago about how to make seat reservations at the ticket machine showing the whole process step by step now onto Luggage in 2020 they introduced new rules about luggage on machine consent if you have oversized luggage you have to reserve the seats at the end of The Carriage which have an extra space behind them where you can pick and put your cases however for most of you I don't think you need to worry about whether your suitcase is oversized because it's only oversized if the width plus the length plus the height is more than 160 centimeters this stand was at the station so you can check these yellow suitcases are the largest you're allowed as checked baggage for most Airlines and they're just within the limit so I think if you checked your luggage in there's a good chance it won't be oversized but if you want to make sure just measure the length width and height add them together and if it's 160 centimeters or less you're fine however even if your suitcase isn't oversized you can still reserve the last seats in the carriage and use this space for suitcases if you want to it doesn't cost any extra you just have to make a seat reservation for those seats it is very convenient Bill's fully reclined there and there's still space to recline even with the suitcases behind and you can see how much the seat goes back so if you haven't reserved the seat at the back for the oversized luggage you're supposed to put your suitcase on the overhead luggage rack there or you can put it by your knees if you want if you're going at a busy time I would recommend making your reservation early because these seats will be in high demand normal I would put them by my Furious foot rest so you can't really fit your suitcase there you could maybe put the mini suitcase in the middle but you would need to put a full-size suitcase on the overhead luggage rack that in the standard car you do have room to put your suitcase in front of your knees it feels just going to test how big the overhead luggage rack is so this is the mini suitcase that fits up there easily our yellow suitcases are large and our backs aren't great so neither a restaurant seed hauling them up onto the overhead luggage rack but according to the official rules that is what you're supposed to do if you haven't reserved the luggage space and if you don't want to put them by your knees medium suitcases would definitely be fine but if you have a large suitcase it is quite heavy to haul up above your head another alternative is to use a service called tacky bin which sends your luggage to your next hotel for you that can often be arranged at your hotel's front desk or at a convenience store I haven't used it myself just to save money because it's free to carry your luggage with you but I've heard a lot of good things it would save the hassle of going through the station with your luggage especially if you're a family or if it's difficult for you to carry your suitcase one thing to note though is for most destinations your luggage arrives the next day so you do need to keep some overnight stuff with you I hope you found that useful as always I've done my best to show you everything so you can decide if the green car is worth it for you before I've always traveled in the standard car and found it very comfortable and better than any other train I've been on if you're on a budget you'll be more than happy with the standard car but if you want to treat yourself and upgrade to the green car it's extremely comfortable especially for a long trip and the fact that it's less crowded would be a great benefit at busy times of year something to think about is that after the Jr pass price increase in October in 2023 for lots of people it will probably work out better to buy your shinkansen tickets individually if you do that it gives you the flexibility to try out the green car for maybe just one of your trips or for a longer journey to be more comfortable or you can treat yourself and travel in style for just one day even if you don't want to Splash out on the green car for every Journey although once you've been on it you might not want to go back to the standard car anyway if you have any questions put them in the comments and I'll see you next time bye foreign [Music]

Channel: Cakes with Faces

Views: 122,892

Keywords: green car, shinkansen, bullet train, shinkansen green car review, japanese bullet train, green car on the shinkansen, shinkansen green car, shinkansen green car is it worth it, shinkansen green car vs standard, green car vs standard car, shinkansen green car luggage, shinkansen green car vs ordinary, japan green car vs ordinary, how to reserve green car shinkansen, green car shinkansen worth it, japan bullet train green car, green car in japan, shinkansen green class

Id: 3_NCLOdzU_k

Length: 17min 35sec (1055 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 29 2023