The short answer for the Tokaido Shinkansen (Tokyo–Nagoya–Kyoto–Osaka): you can bring a stroller, you do not have to reserve anything, and folding it is usually enough. The rest of this page is the detail that decides where you sit.
The stroller
- Baggage whose three dimensions add up to 160 cm or less goes at your feet, in the overhead rack, or in the baggage storage area on the deck. No reservation is required.
- Baggage between 161 cm and 250 cm is oversized and belongs in an oversized-baggage space. If you board with oversized baggage and have not reserved one, you pay a baggage fee of ¥1,000 including tax.
- A stroller is treated as a bulky item you may bring without a reservation — the same page says the oversized-baggage seats “can also be used by customers who need extra luggage space for items such as strollers.”
- The deck baggage corner takes items up to 80 × 60 × 50 cm on the upper shelf and 80 × 60 × 40 cm on the lower shelf without a reservation.
The car to choose
- The multi-purpose room is in car 11. It is reserved first for passengers with disabilities, but when it is free you can ask the crew to let you use it — for feeding, or when a child is unwell.
- Sitting in car 11 or car 12 puts you next to it.
- Inside car 11 there is a QR code on the multi-purpose room door: scanning it with your own phone calls the crew, so you do not have to walk the train looking for someone.
The car for families with children
JR Central runs a “car for families with children” on some Nozomi services during holiday peaks.
- 2026 dates: Obon, 7–16 August; Silver Week, 19–23 September.
- Seats go on sale at 10:00, one month before the day you travel. This is worth writing down: the EX services normally let you book up to a year ahead, but the family car is one month only.
- You can buy it through the EX services (Express Reservation, Smart EX, EX via LINE), at station and travel-agency counters, and at reserved-seat ticket machines.
Feeding rooms inside the ticket gates
Some Tokaido Shinkansen stations have mamaro, a fully enclosed baby-care booth, inside the shinkansen gates — so you do not have to leave and re-enter.
- Shin-Yokohama — inside the shinkansen gates, mid-second-floor, beside the up-platform lift
- Toyohashi — inside the shinkansen gates, beside the shop
- Nagoya — inside the shinkansen gates, north exit
- Kyoto — inside the shinkansen gates, beside the toilets
- Shin-Osaka — inside the shinkansen gates, beside the toilets on the car-16 side of platform 27
Tips
- If you are travelling in Obon or Silver Week and you want the family car, set an alarm for 10:00 one month before your date — that is the moment it goes on sale.
- The multi-purpose room is not bookable. Ask the crew once you are on board.
