Tokyo Station to Shin-Kobe Station

Hi there!

In terms of reserving seats, provided you don't travel during rush hours, then you should be fine to reserve your seats on arrival at the station (or even use non-reserved seating). If you want to be very sure however you can always reserve your seats in advance by visiting the ticket counter in a JR station. Seat reservations are free for Japan Rail Pass holders and we have a good post on how to reserve seats here.

In terms of frequency, there are 2 Hikari Shinkansen per hour that will get you to Shin-Kobe. One is direct and one requires a change at Shin-Osaka. You should aim to get the direct trains that leave at 3 minutes past the ever hour to avoid having to change. Here are some sample routes for you to base your trip on.

Hope this helps!

Very helpful...thanks!