【10:00 Booking】How I won the Sunrise Twin and Single Twin on my first 10:00 booking attempt

Hello.
Recently, when I went on a trip to Shikoku with three friends, I tried the "10:00 booking" method for the first time in my life. As a result, I unexpectedly succeeded in simultaneously securing the "Sunrise Twin" and "Single Twin" for the Sunrise Seto train, which are considered the most difficult to obtain.simultaneous acquisition of the Sunrise Twin and Single Twinso I would like to write about that experience here.

Overview of 10:00 booking

This might be sudden, but have you ever heard the term "10:00 booking"?
I imagine that unless you are a frequent train traveler or a railway enthusiast, you probably haven't.

Simply put, it refers to the act of purchasing a ticket exactly at the release time. JR train tickets arereleased at 10:00 AM, one month before the travel dateFor example, for a train running on May 1st, the ticket is released at 10:00 AM on April 1st. This is the reason it is called "10:00 booking."
You might think, "If you want to buy it exactly at the release time, can't you just wait before the release time and buy it online?"

It is certainly possible to purchase the same ticket online.
However, for popular trains, it is not rare for them to be sold out by the time you access the site.
This is because 10:00 booking is the act of "going to the station and asking the staff at the counter to purchase the ticket at exactly 10:00."
At station counters, they use a dedicated terminal for the seat reservation system called MARS to secure seats. Even when booking online, you are accessing the same system, but since you are communicating via the internet from all over the country, there is naturally lag due to concentrated access, so you simply cannot compete with the MARS terminal operations performed at station counters across the country at 10:00:00 AM.

In other words, if you really want to ride a popular train, 10:00 booking is an essential act.

Selecting a station

I also have some interest in railways and have known about the existence of 10:00 booking for a while.
My friends and I had talked about wanting to take the Sunrise train on a trip someday, and since it was spring break, I thought it was a perfect opportunity, so we decided to try 10:00 booking for the first time in our lives.

As preparation before doing the 10:00 booking, the first issue is "at which station to do the 10:00 booking."
What you should be careful about here is thatnot all JR stations support 10:00 bookingIf you go to the counter of a station that does not support 10:00 booking, you will just be turned away.
Furthermore, in recent years, JR East has been removing staffed ticket counters (Midori no Madoguchi) at various stations, so now the number of stations where you can do 10:00 booking is very limited.
Therefore, I needed to check which stations support 10:00 booking first.
That said, you can easily find out which stations support 10:00 booking through information online.

As of the time of writing this article, in Tokyo, you can confirm thatTokyo Station, Ueno Station, Shinjuku Station, and Shinagawa Stationsupport it. They are all large stations.
According to the information I checked before doing the 10:00 booking, stations like Nippori and Meguro also supported it, but there was information that it might have been discontinued a while ago.
It is easy to imagine that there are many rivals at large stations, so I was thinking, "I want to try 10:00 booking at as small a station as possible," but it seems quite difficult at stations in Tokyo now.
Even so, if it is a small station, the number of counters is naturally small, so it is a difficult trade-off.

In any case, those who are going to do 10:00 booking from now on should check the latest information possible regarding the stations that support it. Going to the site is probably the most reliable way.

In the end, after researching various things, I decided to try at Ueno Station. The main reason is that it is early in the morning, and it is the easiest for everyone, including my friends, to get to from home lol

The issue of what time to go

Now, once the station is decided, the next important thing is the issue of what time to line up.
This is just as important as selecting the station.
The 10:00 booking is, of course, at exactly 10:00 AM, but if you go to the station counter at 9:50 AM and ask them to "please do a 10:00 booking!", they won't do it for you.
At stations that support 10:00 booking, there is something called a "waiting line/dedicated lane for 10:00 booking." In the case of Ueno Station, a sign for the waiting line and partitions are placed in front of the automatic doors of the Midori no Madoguchi.
The sign says something like "Customers wishing to purchase tickets for one month later, please line up here." I think there is similar guidance at every station if they support 10:00 booking.

And I also researched quite a bit about what time I should line up in this waiting line.
Even if the Midori no Madoguchi is not yet open, you can line up in the waiting line from the moment the station opens (like 4:00 AM), so hardcore fans stay overnight or pull an all-nighter and line up at the Midori no Madoguchi at the same time the station shutters open. It is a scary world.

As a result of actually researching various things, I found out thatthere is no correct answer as to what time is best to goThis is because even at the same station,the number of counters opened for 10:00 booking varies depending on the dayI checked in advance and obtained information that at Ueno Station, usually 2 out of the 8 counters are opened for 10:00 booking. This was on a weekday, so there might be days like weekends and holidays when 3 or more counters are opened.

Also, this is about the dedicated 10:00 booking counters, and if there are no customers purchasing regular tickets before 10:00, there are cases where
they will perform the 10:00 booking at the regular counterso although it is completely a game of luck, I also want to keep in mind that there are cases where they will perform more 10:00 bookings than the number of counters mentioned above.By the way, for those who are trying to do a 10:00 booking at a particularly large station, if there are multiple Midori no Madoguchi, make sure to check which Midori no Madoguchi supports 10:00 booking. In the case of Ueno Station, it is only supported at the Midori no Madoguchi outside the central ticket gate.
The day I went to do the 10:00 booking was a holiday.

So, I predicted that at least 3 counters would be opened exclusively for 10:00 booking. (It might be better to estimate on the low side even on holidays, as it would be a disaster if I were wrong.)
In other words, if the result is as expected, theoretically, if you can get within the 3rd place when lining up for the Midori no Madoguchi, the 10:00 booking is guaranteed.
(This is also natural, but please note that even if the 10:00 booking is guaranteed and you actually do it, it does not mean that you will definitely get the ticket.)
In the end, calculating back from the time I could likely line up within the 3rd place at Ueno Station, we decided to meet at Ueno Station at 9:00 AM with my friends.

Like that, for those who don't want to wait for a long time but want to do a 10:00 booking conveniently,

I think it is best to check the number of counters at the station where you are actually going to do the 10:00 booking in advance, and decide what time to go by calculating back from how many groups you need to be withinHowever, of course, the earlier the better, so waiting at the station as soon as it opens is the most reliable way.

Flow of the day

8:30 AM Arrival

Well, we had set the meeting time with my friends at 9:00, but when I woke up in the morning, I made the judgment, "(Since the travel schedule is already decided for one month later) It's a one-time shot. To not have regrets, should I go 30 minutes early?" and I arrived at the Midori no Madoguchi a step ahead of everyone else around 8:30 AM lol

Here, what surprised me was that 3 groups were already lined up in front.
"It's over."
That's what I thought.

However, as mentioned in the previous section, there is still a chance that they will do the 10:00 booking at a regular counter, so I lined up 4th with the hope that maybe it would work out. Actually, if I had come at 9:00 as promised, it would have been hopeless, so I think it was a brilliant decision on my part.

After 9:00 AM Filling out the application form

And it became 9:00, the promised time, and one of my friends arrived. (There was someone who was awake at this time too)
I wanted to go to the restroom once, so I had that friend take over waiting in line, and I went to the restroom.
Also, at the same time, I hadn't written the application form yet, so I entered the Midori no Madoguchi once to write the application form, and filled it out at the writing desk. As I will mention later, the staff will bring the application form later, so there was no need to fill it out at this timing.
Also, when I checked inside the Midori no Madoguchi at this timing, the leftmost counter was open, and all others were closed.
After finishing writing the application form, I returned to the line again, and the friend who had been lining up in turns until then went to buy breakfast with the friends who arrived later lol

By the way, the contents I filled in the application form are as follows

The key is to write down at least up to your 3rd choice, and if you want a private room, to state that you have no preference between smoking and non-smoking if you aren't picky.
If you request non-smoking, for a Sunrise Twin, you are limited to 2 out of 4 rooms, which increases the competition.
This time, I prioritized getting a private room at all costs, so I used the technique of stating no preference for smoking or non-smoking.

9:30 AM: Distribution of application forms

A staff member came out from the Midori-no-Madoguchi (ticket office). By this time, I think there were 4 or 5 groups lined up behind me.
They confirmed, 'Are you all here to purchase tickets for one month from now?' and while announcing, 'Is there anyone who hasn't filled out an application form yet?', they handed out application forms clipped to clipboards to those who raised their hands.
Even if you haven't filled out the application form in advance, you can fill it out at this timing, so there is no need to worry. However, the people lined up in front of me had already brought filled-out application forms. If you are doing a 10:00 booking, you probably already have the train you want to ride decided.
And finally, the staff member also announced, 'We will guide you inside 10 minutes before.' Up to this point, time passed surprisingly quickly.

9:45 AM: Checking the application forms

Just around the time when the people who received the application forms earlier might have finished writing, a staff member came out from inside again.
They seem to be checking the contents of the application forms in order from the front of the waiting line.
Then it was my turn.
'Sunrise, right?' they checked with a practiced air, and finally confirmed, 'You can only get one private room per operation. If you want two rooms, it will be two operations, so there is a possibility that the car numbers will be different. Is that okay?' Naturally, I didn't care as long as I could get them, so I answered, 'That is fine.'

9:50 AM: Entering

The moment of destiny has finally arrived.
We are guided from the front of the waiting line into the Midori-no-Madoguchi.

When I checked the counters at this timing, in addition to the one general counter I checked earlier (the leftmost one, counter 1), counters 3, 4, and 5 were open, andit was confirmed that three 10:00 booking counters would be open on this day. (My prediction was correct.)
In other words, the 3 groups lined up in front of me were guaranteed to participate in the 10:00 booking. And the 3 groups in front of me were guided to the front of each counter.

I was the 4th group, so I waited at the front of the waiting line behind them.
I was already thinking that if the worst came to the worst and I could get 4 Solo rooms, that would be fine. I sent a LINE message to my friends watching from outside through the glass, saying, 'There were 3 counters. 10:00 sharp might be tough.'

9:55 AM: An unexpected event

While I was waiting at the front of the line thinking, 'Man, if I had been 30 minutes earlier, I might have been guided,' surprisingly, counter 2 was opened, and I was guided with a 'Please come here.' They probably opened it for 10:00 bookings because there were no regular customers, even though it was planned to be used as a general counter.
There were no customers at counter 1 either, but it was not opened, so I was effectively the last group guaranteed a 10:00 booking.
As a result,4 groups at Ueno Station on this daywould be able to perform a 10:00 booking at exactly 10:00.

Then, I handed the application form to the person at the counter.
I had written all my requests on the application form, so they only asked, 'Are you sure the Sunrise Twin and Single Twin are for 2 people?' and without any additional questions, they entered the information efficiently. So cool.

And I think it was around 9:57 AM.
They said, 'I have finished entering all the necessary information for up to your 4th choice, so please wait until 10:00.'
The preparations for the 10:00 booking were complete. All that was left was to wait.
A time signal was ringing throughout the Midori-no-Madoguchi, and it was wrapped in tension.

10:00 AM: 10:00 booking execution

And with the 10:00 time signal, the transmission button was pressed.
I thought they would be tapping the button with two fingers, but they pressed the button once and seemed to be touching the screen.
Just when I was thinking, 'I guess it was tough after all,' I heard from the next counter, 'I got a Sunrise Twin.'

I was pretty desperate at this point, but after a while, the person at the counter said one thing:

'I couldn't get two Sunrise Twin rooms, but I got one Sunrise Twin and one Single Twin, and I have also tentatively reserved 4 Solo rooms.'

I got goosebumps. The 10:00 booking is fearsome.
By the way, both were obtained as smoking rooms. This means if I had limited it to non-smoking, I wouldn't have gotten them.

Of course, I said, 'Please give me one Sunrise Twin and one Single Twin,' and had the 4 tentative Solo room reservations canceled. After that, the payment process went smoothly, and I successfully got the sleeper tickets and boarding tickets.

Supplement: Honestly, how are the smoking rooms?

I think there are people who might wonder that, so I will add a supplement.
In the train formation we rode, the Sunrise Twin had absolutely no smell.

However, the Single Twin smelled extremely like cigarettes.
If you are sensitive to cigarette odors, it might be quite tough.

I think it depends on the train formation and the usage status from the previous day, but since there are only 4 Sunrise Twin rooms per train (2 of which are non-smoking), I believe the smell isn't an issue because many non-smokers ride them as well. Just for your reference.

Summary

It's roughly like this.
To summarize this article,

• To ride a popular train, try a 10:00 AM booking one month in advance

• First, decide at which station you will make your 10:00 AM booking

• Decide what time to go, taking into account the day of the week and the number of ticket counters at that station

• There is time to fill out the application form while you are waiting in line on the day

• Even if it's not a dedicated 10:00 AM booking counter, you may be able to make a 10:00 AM booking depending on the conditions

Honestly, I think there is a lot of luck involved.
This time was also quite dependent on luck, but there are certainly techniques to increase the probability of getting your desired seat, not just relying on luck.
I would be very happy if this article serves as a reference for those who are about to try a 10:00 AM booking.

And, I hope you all try to challenge a 10:00 AM booking and ride the Sunrise, Japan's last remaining sleeper limited express train, which we never know when it might be discontinued!