Shinkansen Green Car vs Local Train Green CarFares, Seats and Tickets
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This is Part 3 of our guide to paid seats on Tokyo trains. In Part 2, we looked at the Green Car on Tokyo’s local trains and how to buy the ticket with Suica. This time we put it side by side with the Green Car on the shinkansen. Both are run by JR, and both are called “Green Car”, but they work in quite different ways.
Same name, two different things
Picture this. You arrive at Tokyo Station by shinkansen in a Green Car, and you want to carry on to Yokohama. On the JR platform, you see a train with a Green Car sign.
Can you ride it with your shinkansen Green Car ticket? No. You need a separate Green Car ticket for the local train.
Here is the short version.
On the shinkansen, the Green Car is reserved. You pay the fare plus a limited express charge and a Green Car charge, and your seat is fixed when you buy the ticket.
On JR local and rapid trains around Tokyo, the Green Car is unreserved. You pay the fare plus a Green Car ticket only, from ¥750 with Suica (JR East, Green Car fares).
The differences at a glance
Swipe the table sideways to see more →
| Shinkansen Green Car | Local-train Green Car | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you find it | Tokaido, Sanyo, Tohoku, Joetsu, Hokuriku and other shinkansen lines | Local and rapid trains on the Tokaido, Yokosuka, Chuo Line Rapid, Ome, Takasaki, Utsunomiya, Joban and Sobu Line Rapid lines, the Shonan-Shinjuku Line and the Ueno-Tokyo Line JR East, Green Cars (Japanese) |
| What you pay on top of the fare | Limited express charge and Green Car charge | Green Car ticket |
| Seat | Fixed when you buy JR East, reserved and unreserved seats on the shinkansen (Japanese) | Unreserved, take any empty seat JR East, Green Cars on Local Trains |
| Example fare | Tokyo to Nagoya on the Nozomi, ¥14,960 in the Green Car, ¥11,300 in a reserved ordinary seat (regular season, one adult, one way, fare included) JR Central, revision of Nozomi and Mizuho charges (Japanese) | Up to 50 km ¥750, up to 100 km ¥1,000, 101 km and over ¥1,550 (with Suica) JR East, Green Car fares |
| When it is full | You have your own seat | You still need the ticket if you stand JR East, Green Car fares |
| The ticket is valid for | The train and seat printed on it | One trip on the day you buy it JR East, Green Cars on Local Trains |
The shinkansen Green Car, a reserved first-class seat
The shinkansen Green Car is a step up from an ordinary reserved seat. You choose your seat when you buy the ticket (JR East, reserved and unreserved seats on the shinkansen (Japanese)).
On JR Central’s N700S trains on the Tokaido Shinkansen, a Green Car seat is 480 mm wide, compared with 440 mm and 460 mm in the ordinary cars, and it has a footrest (JR Central, N700S (Japanese)).
The price is the fare plus a limited express charge and a Green Car charge. From Tokyo to Nagoya on the Nozomi, a reserved ordinary seat costs ¥11,300 and a Green Car seat ¥14,960, a difference of ¥3,660 (JR Central, revision of Nozomi and Mizuho charges (Japanese)).
Prices are going up
JR Central and JR West have announced a new Green Car charge on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen for trips from December 15, 2027. It covers the Green Car on every train, the Hikari and Kodama included. Tokyo to Nagoya by Nozomi in the Green Car is due to become ¥18,050.
The reserved-seat charge on the Nozomi and Mizuho is also going up for tickets bought from July 1, 2027. A reserved ordinary seat from Tokyo to Nagoya by Nozomi will be ¥11,880 (JR Central, revision of Nozomi and Mizuho charges (Japanese)).
If you are reading this after 2027, please check the current fares.
My impression is that many people pay for the Green Car because they want a quiet car. Just my own view.
On the Tohoku and Hokkaido, Hokuriku and Joetsu Shinkansen, some trains have a Gran Class car, a step above the Green Car (JR East, E5 series, JR East, E7 series).
The local-train Green Car, an unreserved double-decker
Many JR East local and rapid trains around Tokyo carry two double-decker Green Cars. On the Chuo Line Rapid, for example, two of them are coupled into the train (JR East, Green Car service on the Chuo Line Rapid and Ome Line (Japanese)).
Every seat is unreserved. Sit in an empty seat and touch your Suica to the reader above it. When the lamp turns from red to green, you are done (JR East, Green Cars on Local Trains). With a paper ticket, an attendant comes to check it.
You do not need a limited express ticket, only the fare and a Green Car ticket. But because nothing is reserved, you may have to stand on a busy day, and you still need the Green Car ticket if you stand (JR East, Green Car fares). If you would rather move to an ordinary car, tell the Green Attendant (JR East, Green Cars on Local Trains).
Fares, how to buy with a Suica card or Welcome Suica Mobile, and what to do on board are all in Part 2, with photos.
A shinkansen ticket does not cover the local Green Car
This is the mistake people make most often.
The two Green Cars have separate charges and separate tickets. If you get off the shinkansen at Tokyo and take a Tokaido Line Green Car on to Yokohama, you buy a new local Green Car ticket.
The local Green Car ticket is valid for one trip on the day you buy it (JR East, Green Cars on Local Trains). For a round trip, buy another one for the way back.
If you have a Japan Rail Pass
With the Green Car pass, you can use both ordinary cars and Green Cars without paying extra, and that includes the Green Cars on local and rapid trains. With the ordinary pass, you pay an additional fee to sit in a Green Car (JAPAN RAIL PASS, Train accommodations).
Two exceptions are worth knowing. The Nozomi and Mizuho can be used only if you buy a separate special ticket for pass holders before you board. And in Gran Class, the pass covers only the basic fare, so you pay the limited express charge and the Gran Class charge yourself (JAPAN RAIL PASS, Train accommodations).
How to buy each ticket
Shinkansen Green Car
JR reserved seats go on sale at 10:00, one month before the day the train leaves its first station, at station ticket offices and travel agencies (JR East, ticket sale dates (Japanese)).
On JR Central’s Tokaido Shinkansen, the smartEX service lets you book online and ride by touching an IC card at the gate. There is no annual fee (JR Central, smartEX (Japanese)).
If you would rather book before you arrive, Japan Experience sells shinkansen tickets online in English. On routes such as Tokyo to Kyoto, you can choose a Green Car seat.
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↓ Shinkansen tickets on Japan Experience ↓
Living in Japan? NAVITIME Travel arranges JR shinkansen and limited express tickets anywhere in Japan and delivers them to your home or office. Apply at least two days before you travel. The site is in Japanese: PRJR新幹線・特急のチケット手配♪窓口・券売機に並ばずに自宅で受け取り！【NAVITIME Travel】
Local-train Green Car
Buy a Suica Green Car ticket at the green machines on the platform or in an app, or a paper ticket from a machine outside the gates or at the ticket office of a major station (JR East, Green Cars on Local Trains). The step-by-step guide is in Part 2.
JR limited expresses have Green seats too
To make things more confusing, some JR limited express trains on conventional lines also have Green seats. The Saphir Odoriko to the Izu Peninsula, for example, is all Green seats (JR East, Saphir Odoriko (Japanese)).
JR East’s limited expresses around Tokyo are ridden with a reserved-seat ticket or a seat-undesignated ticket, and there are no non-reserved limited express tickets for them (JR East, limited expresses from Tokyo). A local Green Car ticket alone is not enough, because a limited express needs a limited express ticket (JR East, passenger regulations (Japanese)). Special trains like the Saphir Odoriko are covered in Part 5.
Which one do you need?
If you are traveling between cities, say from Kyoto or Osaka to Tokyo, the shinkansen Green Car is the one to choose when you want to sit back with your luggage and souvenirs.
Once you are in Tokyo, for trips such as Tokyo Station to Yokohama or Omiya, the local-train Green Car is plenty.
The paid seats on private railways, such as Odakyu’s Romancecar, are a different system again from JR’s Green Cars. They are covered in Part 7. For an overview of every kind of paid seat, see Part 1.
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Practical information
- Checked on October 19, 2026
- Shinkansen Green Car, example Tokyo to Nagoya by Nozomi, ¥14,960 (reserved ordinary seat ¥11,300; regular season, one adult, one way). The Green Car is due to become ¥18,050 for trips from December 15, 2027
- Local-train Green Car With Suica, up to 50 km ¥750, up to 100 km ¥1,000, 101 km and over ¥1,550. Paper ticket ¥1,010, ¥1,260 and ¥1,810
- Japan Rail Pass The Green Car pass covers Green Cars, local trains included. The ordinary pass needs an additional fee
- Official pages JR Central, revision of Nozomi and Mizuho charges, JR Central, N700S, JR Central, smartEX, JR East, reserved and unreserved seats on the shinkansen, JR East, E5 series, JR East, E7 series, JR East, ticket sale dates, JR East, Green Cars on Local Trains, JR East, Green Car fares, JR East, Green Cars, JR East, Green Car service on the Chuo Line Rapid and Ome Line, JR East, Saphir Odoriko, JR East, limited expresses from Tokyo, JR East, passenger regulations, JAPAN RAIL PASS, Train accommodations (the JR Central pages and most JR East pages are in Japanese)
- Photos The shinkansen photo at the top is by David Dibert on Pexels, and the Green Car photo is a free stock photo from PAKUTASO.
Note: Fares and rules change. Please check the official JR information before you travel.
Affiliate note: This article contains affiliate links to Japan Experience and NAVITIME Travel. If you book through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
