Shinkansen smartEX App

Shinkansen smartEX App

Tokaido/Sanyo/KyushuShinkansen

576 ratings
366 reviews
#140 in free Travel
✈️ Travel
Free

Details

  • Released
  • Updated
  • December 21, 2018
  • September 21, 2026

Features

Shinkansen smartEX App screenshot #1 for iPhone
Shinkansen smartEX App screenshot #2 for iPhone
Shinkansen smartEX App screenshot #3 for iPhone
Shinkansen smartEX App screenshot #4 for iPhone
Shinkansen smartEX App screenshot #5 for iPhone
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About

Easily reserve Shinkansen seats, hotels, and activities. Enjoy discounts for early bookings and flexible changes. Access station and train service information, and use QR tickets or designated IC cards for seamless travel.

✓Reserve Shinkansen seats
✓Book hotels and activities
✓Early booking discounts
✓Free reservation changes
✓Select seats from map
✓QR-Ticket and IC card boarding
✓Fingerprint authentication login
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What's New in Shinkansen smartEX App

10.1.3

September 21, 2026

▼Ver. 10.1.3 - Performance improvements

Charts

Top Free

📈 140+4

Travel

This app rose +4 positions in Travel chart.

Last updated on October 11, 2026.

User reviews

Warning Card Verification Broken

It doesn’t work to validate Visa cards and booking is broken

Absolutely terrible

How can Japan’s biggest rail company produce such an appalling app? Terrible authentication process that feels like it’s from 20 years ago, and the app crashes on launch.

Horrible App

Absolutely useless app. The app or website is down for maintenance multiple times every day. You can’t reset your password because to do so you need to enter in data that it tells you is wrong. It won’t tell you what is wrong. It won’t let you correct what is wrong. It won’t let you in anyway access an account it says you already have or reset a password it says you already have. Absolutely useless.
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Listen to the reviews

Waste of an app. Logs you out after two minutes of inactivity. Also you’re not able to purchase any ticket if you have a credit card from the US. Same for the website. Good luck trying to save time and get a preferred seat with those restrictions.

Doesn’t accept Visa/Mastercard

Doesn’t accept Visa/Mastercard and now I have to pay 30% more to my hotel to book on my behalf and they can’t get me the early bird discount since they can’t buy online for me, they can only buy physical ticket. TERRIBLE APP FOR FOREIGNERS

Developer apps

FAQ

What can I do with the Shinkansen smartEX App?

The app allows you to easily reserve Shinkansen seats, book hotels and activities, and access information about services in stations and on trains. You can also take advantage of early booking discounts and make free changes to your reservations before boarding.

How do I pay for tickets and reservations?

Ticket purchases and reservations are charged to the credit card registered to your account. Membership registration, which requires personal information and a valid credit card, is necessary to use the app for booking.

Can I use this app with a Japan Rail Pass?

No, this app is not intended for making seat reservations with a Japan Rail Pass. It is designed for direct ticket purchases and reservations for the Tokaido, Sanyo, and Kyushu Shinkansen lines.

How do I board the train with the app?

You can board the train using a QR-Ticket displayed within the app, or by designating and registering an IC card for public transportation. This allows for ticketless travel with compatible IC cards.

Is the app available in languages other than English?

Currently, this service is only available in English. For more detailed information about the service, please refer to the official website.