Gran Class is the top class of travel on the Tohoku, Hokkaido, Hokuriku and Joetsu shinkansen. On trains with drinks and light meals, served by an attendant, the Gran Class charge from Tokyo is ¥13,600 to Shin-Aomori and ¥20,400 to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, on top of the basic fare and limited express charge. These charges apply to tickets sold from 1 April 2025, according to the announcement by JR Hokkaido, JR East and JR West. The car has 18 seats, and the main way to book is Eki-net, JR East’s online booking site. The Tokaido Shinkansen has no Gran Class.
On four shinkansen lines: Tohoku and Hokkaido, Hokuriku, Joetsu
According to JR East’s official site, Gran Class runs on the Tohoku and Hokkaido Shinkansen (E5 and H5 series), the Hokuriku Shinkansen (E7 and W7 series) and the Joetsu Shinkansen (E7 series). The trains the official fare table uses for its examples are the Hayabusa on the Tohoku and Hokkaido Shinkansen and the Kagayaki on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. The N700 series and N700S trains on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen have no Gran Class (see below).
Two charges: with or without drinks and light meals
Gran Class comes in two kinds. With drinks and light meals, a dedicated attendant serves food and drinks. Without them, no attendant is on board and there is no service. The charge for the version with service (the Gran Class (A) charge) was revised in an announcement by JR Hokkaido, JR East and JR West on 21 June 2024, and has been as follows for tickets sold from 1 April 2025. This distance table applies to journeys starting and ending within JR East, or within JR West; sections that cross from one company to the other are charged as a sum, as explained below.
| Distance (operating km) | Gran Class charge (with service) |
|---|---|
| Up to 100 km | ¥8,300 |
| Up to 200 km | ¥9,800 |
| Up to 400 km | ¥11,190 |
| Up to 600 km | ¥12,400 |
| Up to 700 km | ¥12,600 |
| 701 km and over | ¥13,600 |
On the main Hayabusa and Kagayaki sections, the charges are as follows (fare and express charge extra).
| From Tokyo to | Train | Gran Class charge (with service) |
|---|---|---|
| Sendai | Hayabusa | ¥11,190 |
| Morioka | Hayabusa | ¥12,400 |
| Shin-Aomori | Hayabusa | ¥13,600 |
| Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto | Hayabusa | ¥20,400 |
| Nagano | Kagayaki | ¥11,190 |
| Kanazawa | Kagayaki | ¥17,990 |
| Tsuruga | Kagayaki | ¥19,380 |
Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, Kanazawa and Tsuruga lie beyond a boundary between railway companies (Shin-Aomori for Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, Joetsumyoko for Kanazawa and Tsuruga), so their charge is the Gran Class charge for the section before the boundary plus the charge for the section after it. Eki-net’s table of Shinkansen eTicket prices (regular season) gives one-way totals including fare and express charge of ¥18,800 from Tokyo to Nagano and ¥30,220 from Tokyo to Toyama (prices for bookings made from 1 April 2025).
The charge for Gran Class without drinks and light meals was not part of the 2024 revision; JR East’s announcement says only that it is unchanged from the current charge. We could not find section-by-section prices for the without-service version in the lists on the official site. Each train is set as with or without service, and when you search for a train on Eki-net, the seat type shows which.
18 seats, with a partition between each pair
According to JR East’s official site, Gran Class has 18 seats. The seats are shaped on ergonomic principles; one switch on the control panel moves the backrest, seat, leg rest and foot rest together, reclining up to 45 degrees. A translucent partition stands between the two seats of each pair, so you are less aware of the person next to you. The headrest pillow slides up and down, and the official site describes it as a dedicated pillow “softer than in the Green Car.” There is a power outlet at the front of the armrest.
With service, an attendant brings seasonal refreshments
On trains with drinks and light meals, a Gran Class attendant hands out a welcome set of water, a snack and a hot towel when you board. After that, the attendant brings refreshments (a light meal) with a choice of Western or Japanese, and more than 10 kinds of drinks, including alcohol and soft drinks, to your seat. The menu changes with the seasons; as of 18 September 2026 the official site showed the October to November autumn menu (Western by DEAN & DELUCA, Japanese supervised by the Japanese chef Hiromitsu Nozaki). Trains without service have none of this, and some sections have no on-board sales either.
Booking: Eki-net first, with JRE POINT upgrades
The way JR East’s official site recommends is the Shinkansen eTicket on Eki-net. You touch a transport IC card or Mobile Suica on the ticket gate and board, with no paper ticket to collect. If you prefer a paper ticket, you can also book at a staffed JR ticket office (midori-no-madoguchi) in the station. As a discounted option, the Shinkansen eTicket (JRE POINT upgrade) lets you use JRE POINT, JR East’s loyalty points, to upgrade from an ordinary reserved seat to Gran Class. It is valid only within JR East, and trains, seats and sections are limited (you cannot upgrade to Gran Class from a Green Car reserved seat). Otona no Kyujitsu Club, a membership scheme for people aged 50 and over, also has member-only discounted products.
How it differs from the Green Car: the attendant and the food and drinks
The Green Car is the first-class car on JR trains. The main difference from Gran Class is whether an attendant serves light meals and drinks (on Gran Class trains with service). The seats differ too: Gran Class has a softer headrest pillow than the Green Car, reclines up to 45 degrees, and each pair is divided by a partition. JRE POINT upgrades work only from an ordinary reserved seat, not from a Green Car reserved seat (and only on trains, seats and sections within JR East).
No Gran Class on the Tokaido Shinkansen; Supreme Class started on 1 October 2026
JR Central’s official page for the N700S on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lists only two seat types, Green Car seats (480 mm wide) and ordinary seats (440 to 460 mm wide), with no Gran Class. On 1 October 2026, however, JR Central introduced Supreme Class, private seating above the Green Car, on some Nozomi trains. There are two types, in car 7 (for up to two people) and car 10 (for one). Booked through the Express Reservation service in the regular season, Tokyo to Shin-Osaka one way costs ¥60,500 per person for the Cabin in car 7 and ¥42,100 for the Cabin in car 10 (sale prices including the basic fare and express ticket; official information as of 1 October 2026). It is a separate product with a different name from Gran Class.
From Shin-Yokohama: take the Tokaido Shinkansen to Tokyo and change
To ride Gran Class from Shin-Yokohama, take the Tokaido Shinkansen to Tokyo Station and change to the Tohoku and Hokkaido, Hokuriku or Joetsu Shinkansen. The Gran Class fare table also lists Ueno and Omiya alongside Tokyo, so you can board at those two stations as well. The Tokaido Shinkansen itself has no Gran Class.