How to Distinguish Between Adult and Child Tickets
If it is your first time to ride the Shinkansen, reading Shinkansen tickets may look a little complicated. JR-East (East Japan Railway Company) has the official web page explaining how to read Shinkansen tickets.
How to Read Tickets | Ticketing | JR-EAST
https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/ticket/examining.html
However, there are a few missing points on that official web page.
1. Child Fare Tickets
One of our customers asked us, "Which are child fare tickets and which are adult fare tickets?" Hmm... there is no explanation about it on the JR official web page.
If you understand Japanese or Chinese characters, you can easily tell whether a ticket is for child or not, but there is no English description on a ticket!
There is a mark of Chinese character "小" in upper right corner of a Shinkansen ticket as circled red below for child fare tickets. The Chinese character, "小", means small in Chinese and Japanese.
2. Set Ticket (回数券, kaisūken)
Set ticket (回数券, kaisūken) for Shinkansen are widely used in Japan because you can get a small discount. However, set ticket is issued only in Japanese characters, and JR ticket vending machines sell set tickets only through Japanese display. So if you want to use set ticket for Shinkansen, you should be able to read Japanese to purchase a ticket and ride Shinkansen.
Don't worry. We purchase tickets with English for you. Even when we use set ticket, we arrange to issue separate reservation tickets which have English description.
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Seat guide
Reserved Seat (Ordinary Reserved Seat)
Your seat is reserved and secured when you book your tickets, allowing you to head to the station with peace of mind.
Think of it as "economy class" seating.
Green Reserved Seat
Enjoy better seats and free blankets. Popular among Japanese business people, executives, and those who prefer a comfortable travel experience.
Consider it "business class" seating.
GranClass
Known as the "First Class" of Shinkansen seats.
Available only on the Hokuriku and Tohoku Shinkansen lines, these seats offer airline-like amenities and meals (only on select trains).
They are the most expensive option.
Unreserved Seat
You can take any open seat in the unreserved cars on the departure date (no departure time will be indicated on your ticket).
This is the best option if cost is your priority and you are traveling during less crowded seasons or times.