Refund reservations

(Regardless of First boarding or Second boarding on the reservation screen, the first stretch that you board is referred to as the "outbound" and the stretch you board after that is known as the "return.")

Members are allowed to process their own refunds for reservations, provided the following conditions apply. Click here for an example of how to use the feature.

Refunds - Reception Times	24hours * Excluding during system maintenance.
Terms of Refund	Refunds are available up to the departure time of your reserved train, provided you have not picked up your ticket or gone through the ticket gate with QR-Ticket or an IC card. UP to 11:59 pm (JST) on the day of travel for non-reserved seats. Excluding during system maintenance.

• If you are transferring and using two trains or more, you can get a refund up to the departure time of the first train on which you have a reserved seat.
• The refund feature can be used for the collective round-trip, up to the departure time of the train reserved for the outbound stretch (If using non-reserved seats, up to 11:59 pm (JST) on the day of travel). *Excluding during system maintenance.

○ In the event that you have already picked up a ticket, please take the ticket and the credit card you used to make the purchase to a ticket booth at any JR Central, JR West or JR Kyushu main station by the boarding date to process your refund. (For reserved seats in Ordinary Cars/Green Cars (First Class Cars), the charge payable for the refund will differ depending on whether the refund is claimed before the outbound train departure time or after it.)

[smartEX Service (Round Trip Discount)]

○ Refund for the collective round-trip

Members can process a refund for the "collective round trip" provided that both stretches of the round trip are unused; the tickets have not yet been picked up; and it is prior to the train departure time.

(Per person - same charge for adults and children)

Ordinary Car - Reserved Seat Green Car (First Class Car)	640 Yen
Ordinary Car - Non-Reserved Seat	640 Yen

• You can get a refund for a non-reserved seat in an Ordinary Car up to 11:59 pm (JST) on the day of travel. *Excluding during system maintenance.
• The refund charge is the same regardless of whether the refund is claimed before or after tickets are picked up.

○One-way refund (return stretch only)

• Members can process a one-way refund for the return stretch if the outbound stretch has already been used, tickets have already been picked up, or the train departure time has since passed.
• A discount is applied to the price of this fare subject to it being used for the round-trip; consequently, we will charge a higher than normal charge (discounted return cancellation charge) for any refund for the return stretch claimed once the outbound stretch has been used, tickets have been picked up, or the train departure time has passed.
• Once tickets have been picked up, even if the outbound stretch has not been used any refunds for the return stretch will incur the "discounted return cancellation charge" as the outbound stretch will be regarded as used.

• Once tickets have been picked up, if neither the outbound stretch nor the return stretch has been used, then please claim a refund for both stretches together at a station ticket booth. Please be aware that if you claim refunds for the outbound and return stretches separately, one way at a time, then a "discounted return cancellation charge" will be applied to each stretch and it will be more expensive than the charge (of 640 yen) charged to refund a collective round trip.

(One-way trip per person)

Ordinary Car - Reserved Seat Green Car (First Class Car) *	"Discounted return cancellation charge" for each boarding section (The difference in one-way prices between "smartEX Service" and "smartEX Service (Round Trip Discount)" + 320 Yen)
Ordinary Car - Non-Reserved Seat

• Even in the event that you are late for boarding your reserved Shinkansen, you may board a Shinkansen on the same boarding section, using a non-reserved seat, provided you do so on the same boarding date.

• Customers cannot process a refund themselves after the train departure time (as indicated in the timetable). In this case, it is considered to be "a post-departure refund" and it will be automatically refunded on (or after) the day following the boarding date, less the charges listed below.
  • Even if you have not used the outbound reservation and have been automatically refunded, you can still use the reservation for the return stretch. Members themselves should process any refunds for return reservations before the time of departure of the return train. In this case a "discounted return cancellation charge" will be charged.
• There is no automatic refund procedure for tickets once they have been picked up. Please take the ticket and the credit card you used to make the purchase to a ticket booth at any JR Central, JR West or JR Kyushu main station by the day of travel to process your refund.

(Per person one-way)

Ordinary Car - Reserved Seat Green Car (First Class Car) *	"Specified amount" for each boarding section Refund charges for reservations made by March 31, 2023 Refund charges for reservations made by September 29, 2023
Ordinary Car - Non-Reserved Seat	"Discounted return cancellation charge" for each boarding section(The difference in one-way prices between "smartEX Service" and "smartEX Service (Round Trip Discount)" + 320 Yen.)

• Even in the event that you are late for boarding your reserved Shinkansen, you may board a Shinkansen on the same boarding section, using a non-reserved seat, provided you do so on the same boarding date.
• We will refund the "specified amount" as listed above for the one-way trip of each boarding section you use if the arrival of the train you board is delayed by two hours or more.
  • Click here for the refund amount if you are using a Green Car (First Class Car.)
    • Refund charges for reservations made by September 29, 2023
  • Click here for the refund amount if you are using a non-reserved seat in an Ordinary Car.

• Members can process refunds free of charge if travel is interrupted due to the risk of a typhoon approaching or making land- fall; significant train delays or suspension of services; or similar.
• Members will be informed of any refunds they can process free of charge through emergency notifications that will appear at the top of the screen, which will give details of the boarding sections affected and how the situation is being handled. If you are not using a reservation that includes the affected boarding sections, please use the membership feature to process a refund.
• For discounted round-trip fares, you can claim a refund with no charges payable by using a "collective round- trip refund" if both the outbound and return stretches are unused (i.e. before tickets have been picked up, or before going through a ticket gate with an IC card) , even if the reservation for the return stretch is for the next day or thereafter (with the membership feature, only refunds for the return stretch is possible only if you have used the outbound reservation or the boarding date has passed).
• Note that if you have already picked up the tickets, you should process your refund at a ticket booth at a JR Central, JR West or JR Kyushu station; this should be done within one year of the boarding date.

• The payment is settled in YEN and foreign transaction fee etc. accompanying this shall be governed by a contract between the Member and his or her credit card company.
  Note that each time a change is made we take a new payment for the post-change fare, and then refund the cost of the pre-change fare. Therefore foreign transaction fee prescribed by the credit card company may be charged each time when making a change.

Emergency notification