Free Shinkansen tickets for kids travelling with parents during special JR promotion

Fastest bullet train on the most popular line offers incredible rebate deal for limited time.

There are a lot of great things you can say about the Shinkansen. It’s fast, reliable, convenient, and just plain cool. One thing you can’t call Japan’s bullet train, though, is particularly cheap, as it’s one of the pricier ways to get around the country.

There’s an exception going on right now, though, for travelers who’re taking their kids on the Shinkansen. Central Japan Railway Company and West Japan Railway Company, the two JR divisions who operate the connected Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines, are currently offering an incredible deal in which adults who are purchase a Shinkansen ticket can take their children along with them effectively for free.

The limited-time promotion works through JR’s EX Press and Smart EX online reservation/IC card system. When reserving an adult ticket for a reserved or green car seat on a Nozomi Shinkansen on the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen lines, you can add up to five children’s tickets to the reservation, and if your train trip takes place during the campaign period and everyone in your group has their own IC card, the entire cost of the children’s tickets can be refunded to your credit card within two weeks after your ride.

It’s an especially sweet deal since the Nozomi is the fastest Shinkansen class and the Tokaido/Sanyo line is the most popular, running from Tokyo in the east to Fukuoka in the west with stops at top-tier tourism destinations like Kyoto, Osaka, Himeji, and Hiroshima along the way. As an example of the savings potential, a Nozomi ticket from Tokyo to Shin Osaka Station costs 14,520 yen (US$128) for adults (riders aged 12 and up) and 7,250 for children (aged 6-11), so you’ve got a discount to your total ticket cost of about 33 percent if you’re travelling with one kid, roughly 50 percent if you’re travelling with two, and over 70 percent if you’re travelling with a group of five kids.

▼ Though you will still have to pay full price for any of the famous Shinkansen ice cream your kids want to eat during the ride.

The promotion is part of JR’s 20th anniversary celebration for the EX Press/Smart EX system and runs from November 24 to December 19.

Source: Central Japan Railway Company via IT Media
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