Is it enough to buy Shinkansen tickets at the day of departure or should I buy them several days in advance if I want to secure a seat? I'll be travelling between Osaka and Hiroshima during early April.

  • Remember there are non-reserved seats as well. – fkraiem Jan 3 '16 at 14:39

In April, the only period to watch out for would be Golden Week at the very end of the month (April 29-May 5), when transport gets packed. Early April will be fine though, and you'll have no problem reserving seats on the same day.

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  • What if the Sakura happens to bloom in early April, does it affect travel by Shinkansen? – user32382 Jan 4 '16 at 4:13
  • Not really. The cherry blossoms come to you, you don't need to travel to see them. There are a few famous spots that do get some cherry blossom tourism (Kyoto, Yoshino), but not enough to fill shinkansen, and neither Osaka nor Hiroshima is on the list. – lambshaanxy Jan 4 '16 at 4:54
  • The cherry blossom forecast currently estimates both Hiroshima and Osaka will bloom between April 3rd and 11th. – rom016 Feb 27 '16 at 17:41

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