On October 20th, JR Central introduced a new business-oriented seating option known as the “P Seat” on the Tokaido Shinkansen. These seats allow passengers to use 1.5 seats’ worth of space by installing a partition in the middle seat of the three-seat rows.
Specifically designed for the “S Work” business carriages, these new seats are found in car number 7. The middle seat (B Seat) in rows 6 to 10 has been eliminated and replaced with a partition, effectively enlarging the space for the window and aisle seats (A & C Seats), and also preventing other passengers from seeing your laptop screen.
According to a representative from JR Central, the ‘P’ in P Seat stands not only for “Partition” but also “Powered by” and “Proceed”, meaning these seats can be interpreted as well-equipped and conducive to work.
The base of the partition has a small storage space and a drink holder, making it convenient for placing items like smartphones, earphones, and batteries.
The table on the back of the seat in front features a mechanism that allows it to tilt when slid towards you. This was a significant improvement in usability, especially for the author who previously found the distance from the seat to the table too far. However, be cautious that the table will naturally tilt when slid, so it becomes unstable if you wish to eat a station lunch box.
Additionally, the reclining range in car 7 is about half of what is usually available. This ensures that you don’t feel cramped if the person in front reclines their seat. However, this also means that you can’t recline your own seat much either.
As mentioned earlier, in P Seats you can choose between a window (A Seat) and an aisle (C Seat). The author recommends the A Seat since it feels like a semi-private booth. Additionally, outlets are generally only available on the window side, so choosing the C Seat might leave you without power. However, if the person in the C Seat is continually working, access to the aisle in the A Seat can be restrictive, so it may not be the best choice for those who need frequent restroom breaks.
The cost is the regular reserved seat fee plus an additional 1,200 yen. Initially, reservations are only accepted via the online ‘EX Service’, but they plan to expand to station counters and ticket machines by spring 2024. According to JR Central, “this price is for the time being,” hinting that it might increase in the future.
In any case, with only 10 P Seats available per train, they’re likely to be in high demand. Make your reservations early!
▲P Seats have been operational on all trains since October 20th. According to the person in charge, a structure that can be easily remodeled overnight has been developed to enable swift roll-out across all train sets.
▲The pull-out table feature is convenient.
▲When pulled out, the table extends up to the edge of the seat.
▲This is how it looks with a laptop placed on the table.
Notice
This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
▲P Seats have been operational on all trains since October 20th. According to the person in charge, a structure that can be easily remodeled overnight has been developed to enable swift roll-out across all train sets.
▲The pull-out table feature is convenient.
▲When pulled out, the table extends up to the edge of the seat.
▲This is how it looks with a laptop placed on the table.
