Updated 2025 Guide: Traveling with Oversized Luggage on the Tokaido & Sanyo Shinkansen

When traveling on the Shinkansen with large suitcases, ensuring your own comfort—and that of other passengers—matters a great deal. For travelers carrying bulky or oversized luggage, the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen offer designated seating and storage options to keep your journey smooth and stress-free.

Below is the most up-to-date guidance as of November 2025, including newly available luggage shelves and how our service can help arrange the right seats for you.

When You Need an Oversized Baggage Seat

On the Tokaido Shinkansen (Tokyo–Shinagawa–Shin-Yokohama–Nagoya–Kyoto–Shin-Osaka) and the Sanyo/Kyushu Shinkansen, passengers traveling with items whose total dimensions exceed 160 cm and up to 250 cm must reserve a “Seat with Oversized Baggage Space.”

These seats are located in the very back row of each car:

• 5 seats per car in Reserved Ordinary Cars

• 4 seats per car in Green Cars

This system works similarly to seat assignment rules for checked luggage on international flights, though exact measurements may differ.

Other Shinkansen lines and most limited express trains have open luggage storage areas within the cars, so special reservations are not required there.

New for 2025: Deck-Area Luggage Shelves Are Now Available

As of 2025, the Shinkansen now offers an additional option:

✔ Deck-area luggage shelves (4-tier) are open for all passengers.

• Located in the vestibule (deck) area between cars

• No reservation required

• You may use these shelves anytime if space is available

This means that even if you can't reserve an oversized baggage seat, you still have practical alternatives.

Because JR has introduced the deck-area luggage racks as a trial measure, there is a possibility that they may become unavailable in the future.

Other Storage Options

Even beyond oversized-seat storage and the new deck shelves:

✔ Overhead shelves are available above every seat in all cars.

These are not meant for very large items, but they do provide another storage option depending on the size and weight of your belongings.

How Our Service Can Help

On our product pages, you’ll find convenient checkboxes where you can indicate special seating preferences:

• Oversized baggage seat

• Mount Fuji-side seat

• Wheelchair-accessible seat

If you tick any of these, we will try our best to arrange the requested seat(s) based on availability.

Should your request not be possible, we will notify you promptly.

Availability: What You Should Know

Oversized baggage seats are limited, and the demand can be high.

✔ They sell out especially quickly during peak seasons, such as the year-end holidays.

✔ The closer you get to your travel date, the fewer seats remain.

In the final days before departure, these seats are often completely sold out.

Because of this, we recommend including your seating preferences at the time of booking whenever possible.

Final Notes

Traveling with large luggage on Japan’s Shinkansen doesn’t have to be complicated. With designated seats, newly available deck-area shelves, and multiple storage options, you can enjoy a comfortable and organized experience throughout your journey.

Our team is here to help ensure you get the seats and arrangements that best fit your needs.