Tickets can only be booked once you get to Japan and exchange your voucher for your Japan Rail Pass. You can then reserve seats at the ticket office at the station, up to one month in advance if you wish. However, unless you will be travelling during Golden Week (April 29 to May 8 or so) it may not be necessary to reserve seats for all of your journeys.
In fact, because reserving all of your seats for your entire trip ties you down to a very strict schedule, it can be better not to reserve all of your seats to allow for a bit of flexibility.
Japanese trains are very reliable and come very frequently. It's usually very easy to travel on them without making prior reservations, unless you are travelling during peak commuting times or on national holidays.
But if you'd like to make reservations, it is possible to do so it the way I mentioned above.
Comments
Tickets can only be booked once you get to Japan and exchange your voucher for your Japan Rail Pass. You can then reserve seats at the ticket office at the station, up to one month in advance if you wish. However, unless you will be travelling during Golden Week (April 29 to May 8 or so) it may not be necessary to reserve seats for all of your journeys.
In fact, because reserving all of your seats for your entire trip ties you down to a very strict schedule, it can be better not to reserve all of your seats to allow for a bit of flexibility.
Japanese trains are very reliable and come very frequently. It's usually very easy to travel on them without making prior reservations, unless you are travelling during peak commuting times or on national holidays.
But if you'd like to make reservations, it is possible to do so it the way I mentioned above.
Kind Regards,
Japan Experience