On July 8, JR Central (Central Japan Railway Company) unveiled to the press its new private-seat offering, the “Supreme Class,” for the Tokaido–Sanyo Shinkansen. This is a seat class positioned above the existing Green Car (first-class car), and it will begin operation on some Nozomi, Hikari, and Kodama services from October 1.
Supreme Class consists of fully private “Cabin” rooms and semi-private “Seat” sections. There will be one Cabin in Car 7 and one in Car 10, and six Seats in Car 10. At the start of service on October 1, only the Cabins will be in operation; the Seats are scheduled to begin operation sometime in 2027.
The Cabin in Car 7 is for two passengers, while the Cabin in Car 10 is for a single passenger. Each private room is equipped with a door that can be locked and unlocked using an IC card or QR code. Inside, there is a reclining seat with leg rest, a dedicated tablet that allows individual control of recline, lighting, air conditioning, and onboard announcements, dedicated Wi-Fi, and seat speakers. The two-passenger Cabin also has a sofa facing the reclining seat. Seat orientation is fixed: in the two-passenger Cabin, the main seat faces toward Hakata and the sofa faces toward Tokyo, while the single-passenger Cabin faces toward Tokyo.
As onboard services, passengers will receive a welcome drink and snack, and can also use a paid mobile ordering service where a train attendant delivers drinks and light meals ordered via the tablet.
The first scheduled service with Supreme Class is planned to be Nozomi No. 1 departing Tokyo at 6:00 a.m. on October 1. At the start of operation, around 12 round-trip services per day are expected to offer the new class.
Tickets will go on sale from 5:30 a.m. on September 15 and will be available exclusively through Express Reservation and Smart EX. The Smart EX price per room for the two-passenger Cabin is 47,060 yen between Tokyo and Nagoya, 60,790 yen between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka, and 90,670 yen between Tokyo and Hakata. For the single-passenger Cabin, the price per room is 32,660 yen between Tokyo and Nagoya, 42,390 yen between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka, and 64,070 yen between Tokyo and Hakata.
Companions using the two-passenger Cabin may share the room as long as they hold a valid ticket for the same train, plus any of the following: an unreserved ordinary-car limited express ticket, a reserved ordinary-car limited express ticket, or a Green Car limited express ticket.
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