JR runs every Nozomi bullet train reserved-only during two peak stretches of January: the year-end and New Year rush through January 5, and the Coming of Age Day (成人の日) weekend, January 9–11.
Many high-demand tickets for January go on sale in November or December, and tickets for Ghibli Park, the Ghibli Museum and the Shirakawa-go light-up are never sold at the door.
This page lists what to book before a January 2027 trip, with dates checked against official sources as of November 5, 2026. All times are Japan time (JST).
If you're riding the Tokaido Shinkansen in January, you don't have to wait for the one-month mark. You can already book some seats on January Nozomi trains through smartEX.
On-sale dates for January 2027
Items already on sale come first, then the rest in order of on-sale date. Where an official site gives only a rule, the date shown is our calculation from that rule. A dash means the official site doesn't say.
What | When January tickets go on sale | Same-day tickets? |
|---|---|---|
Tokaido–Sanyo Shinkansen via smartEX/EX | Open now for some seats; the rest one month before | Yes, if seats remain (Nozomi is reserved-only Dec 25–Jan 5 and Jan 9–11) |
Shirakawa-go light-up, bus tours | Released Oct 13–Nov 2; check remaining seats with the bus companies | No |
Aurora drift-ice cruise (Abashiri) | Phone: open now; online: November (planned) | — |
Ginzan Onsen shuttle, 9 a. | On sale now (whole season) | Only if seats remain |
USJ New Year's Eve countdown | On sale since Nov 4 | — |
Tokyo Auto Salon | On sale now (e-tickets only) | — |
Ghibli Park (near Nagoya) | Nov 10, 2:00 p. | No (park admission) |
Nintendo Museum (Uji, Kyoto) | Lottery closed Oct 31; first-come date not posted | No (first-come sales end the day before) |
Wakakusa Yamayaki paid viewing (Nara) | Nov 20, 10:00 a. | ¥3,000 cash on the day at Nara Park Bus Terminal (West Building) and other sales points, only if advance tickets remain |
Ginzan Onsen shuttle, 2–6 p. | Dec 1, 12:00 a. | Only if seats remain |
Shirakawa-go light-up, parking | Dec 1, 1:00 p. | No |
Tokyo Disney Resort | Daily at 2:00 p. | — |
Shirakawa-go light-up, agency tours | Listed on the Tourist Association's site from Dec 2, 1:00 p. | No |
Shinkansen reserved seats (stations, other sites) | One month before, 10:00 a. | Yes, if seats remain |
January Grand Sumo Tournament | Dec 5 | Not if sold out (last year's rule) |
Ghibli Museum (Mitaka) | Dec 10, 10:00 a. | No |
Kabukiza New Year program | Dec 14, 10:00 a. | — |
Pokémon Cafe | January date not yet announced | — |
Shinkansen: two fully reserved Nozomi windows
On the Tokaido–Sanyo line, every Nozomi is reserved-only from December 25, 2026 to January 5, 2027, and again from January 9 to 11.
On those dates a non-reserved ticket won't get you a seat on a Nozomi. Hikari, Kodama, Mizuho, Sakura and Tsubame trains keep their non-reserved cars as usual.
JR's smartEX and EX services open bookings a year ahead at 5:30 a.m., so you can book some January Nozomi seats now. Only part of each train is offered that early; the rest, along with early-booking discounts and some seat types, opens one month before.
Book that early and you pick a train from a provisional timetable and pay on the spot. The train number, times and your seat are confirmed at 8:00 a.m. one month before the travel date.
At stations and on other booking sites, reserved seats go on sale one month before the travel date at 10:00 a.m. Seats for January 4 go on sale on December 4, and seats for January 9–11 go on sale on December 9–11.
JR East's Eki-net (えきねっと) takes advance requests a week before the sale date, but not for trips that use JR Central, JR Kyushu or JR Shikoku lines. That rules out the Tokaido Shinkansen.
Our year-end Shinkansen guide walks through each option.
Ghibli, Nintendo and Pokémon Cafe
Ghibli Park releases tickets two months out, on the 10th at 2:00 p.m., so January dates go on sale November 10. It closes on Tuesdays (the next weekday if Tuesday is a holiday) and over the New Year.
This winter's holiday closure hasn't been posted yet; last winter it was December 29 to January 3.
The Ghibli Museum (三鷹の森ジブリ美術館) in Mitaka releases tickets for the following month on the 10th at 10:00 a.m., so January tickets go on sale December 10. There's no ticket counter at the museum, and it closes on Tuesdays and some other set days.
Tickets are now sold online through Lawson Ticket (ローソンチケット) as QR codes, with a ¥110 system fee per ticket. Overseas visitors can also join a Sunrise Tours (JTB group) bus tour that includes the museum.
The Nintendo Museum (ニンテンドーミュージアム) in Uji sells tickets first by lottery, about three months out, so January's lottery ran October 1–31 and has closed. Tickets must be in the visitor's own name, and staff check ID at the entrance.
Based on the sample schedule on the museum's site, leftover slots go first-come, first-served from the middle of the month two months before your visit. For January that points to mid-November, but no date was posted as of November 5.
Pokémon Cafe in Tokyo and Osaka takes seat reservations online only. November and December bookings each opened on the 1st of the month before, at 6:00 p.m. January's date hadn't been announced as of November 5.
Sumo, kabuki and January events
The January Grand Sumo Tournament (Hatsu Basho, 初場所) runs January 10–24, 2027 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. General sales start December 5 on Ticket Oosumo (チケット大相撲), which has an English site.
Last year, Ticket Oosumo's Japanese site ran a pre-sale lottery from November 27 to 30. None had been announced for January 2027 as of November 5.
On the English site, payment is by credit card only, and you collect tickets at a 7-Eleven in Japan. Under last year's rules, no same-day tickets were sold for days that sold out in advance. See our sumo ticket guide for seat types.
The Kabukiza's New Year program, Kotobuki Hatsuharu Grand Kabuki (壽 初春大歌舞伎), runs January 2–26, with no shows on January 8 and 18.
Sales open December 14 at 10:00 a.m. online through Ticket Web Shochiku (チケットWeb松竹) and by phone. Our Kabukiza ticket guide covers single-act seats.
Tokyo Auto Salon takes place at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on January 15–17.
Tickets are electronic only, sold in advance by credit card: ¥3,000 for either weekend day (January 16 or 17), or ¥4,000 for the public hours (2:00–7:00 p.m.) on the January 15 business day.
In Nara, Wakakusa Yamayaki (若草山焼き) takes place on Saturday, January 23, with fireworks at 6:15 p.m. and the hillside burning from 6:30 p.m.
Paid viewing at the foot of the hill goes on sale November 20 at 10:00 a.m. on the official ticket site and at 7-Eleven stores.
Early-bird tickets are ¥2,000 through January 15, then ¥2,500 through January 22, plus booking fees. Any tickets left on the day cost ¥3,000 in cash at on-site counters such as the Nara Park Bus Terminal (West Building).
Every ticket holder, advance or same-day, must first swap the paper ticket for a wristband at the Nara Kasugano International Forum (Iraka, 甍) between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. on the day.
Going straight to the hillside gate won't get you in, and the walk up from Iraka takes about 30 minutes.
The event goes ahead in light rain or snow, with the decision posted online by 10:00 a.m. on the day and no postponement. There are no refunds once a single large firework goes up or the hill is lit.
Winter trips to book ahead
Shirakawa-go's light-up (白川郷ライトアップ) takes place on January 11, 17, 24 and 31, 2027, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Entry is by advance reservation only, and after 3:30 p.m. you can't enter the village without a ticket.
Rooms in the village were allocated by lottery, which has closed. Without a car, that leaves a tour or a taxi with a reserved parking slot.
Bus-company tours for all four dates went on sale between October 13 and November 2, and travel-agency tours will be listed from December 2 at 1:00 p.m.
The first round of parking reservations sold out. A second round, for drivers and taxi riders alike, opens on December 1 at 1:00 p.m., at ¥7,000 per car for up to five people.
You can change only the number of people; otherwise, parking bookings can't be changed or canceled. You get a refund only if the organizers call off the event over major travel disruption, such as heavy snow.
Start from the Shirakawa-go Tourist Association's light-up page. Our Shirakawa-go light-up guide explains all five ways to attend, including the taxi option.
From December 19 to March 7, day-trippers who drive to Ginzan Onsen (銀山温泉) must park at Taisho Roman-kan (大正ろまん館) and ride a shuttle bus in.
The official plan says local-bus riders without an advance entry booking will also get off at Taisho Roman-kan and transfer to the shuttle. How to make an entry booking hadn't been explained as of November 5.
Book on the Ginzan Onsen winter access page (in Japanese) by 5:00 p.m. the day before; it's credit card only, with a ¥165 fee per booking. Same-day seats are sold only if any remain, and cost ¥300 more.
Round-trip fares booked in advance are ¥1,000 for 9–11 a.m. departures, ¥700 for 11 a.m.–2 p.m., and ¥1,200 for 2–6 p.m.
Morning and midday shuttles for the whole season are already on sale. The 2–6 p.m. departures for January go on sale at 12:00 a.m. on December 1, the moment November 30 ends.
In Abashiri, the Aurora (おーろら) icebreaker cruise starts sailing on January 20, 2027. Phone reservations opened October 15, and online booking is planned for November. See our drift-ice cruise guide.
Tokyo Disney and USJ
Tokyo Disney Resort releases dated tickets every day at 2:00 p.m. for the same date two months ahead. January dates have been opening one day at a time since November 1, ending with January 31 on December 1.
At Universal Studios Japan, the New Year's Eve countdown runs from 7:00 p.m. on December 31 to 9:00 p.m. on January 1, and admission requires a Party Pass, from ¥16,900. General sales opened November 4.
Still to be announced
Details for two New Year events haven't been released yet. We'll update this page when they are.
- The Imperial Palace New Year Greeting (新年一般参賀): in 2026 it was held on January 2. Visitors lined up outside the palace's main gate, and the Imperial Household Agency's notice said nothing about applying in advance. See our New Year Greeting guide.
- Tokyo Tower's New Year's Day sunrise event: see our Tokyo Tower first sunrise guide for how last year's event worked.
For what's open over the holidays, see our guide to New Year opening hours in Japan. Traveling in December too? Our December booking guide covers that month.
This article was translated from the original Japanese with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team. The Japanese version is authoritative.
