JR Company O-bon Reservations: Relative to Peers, JR East‘s Reservation Trend Looks Strong

Research evidence excerpt

JR Company O-bon Reservations: Relative to Peers, JR East‘s Reservation Trend Looks Strong

Update

July 26, 2026 08:09 PM GMT

Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co., Ltd.+MRailways | Japan Takuya Osaka

Equity Analyst

JR Company O-bon Takuya.Osaka@morganstanleymufg.comShan Jiang +81 3 6836-5438

Research Associate

Shan.Jiang@morganstanleymufg.com +81 3 6836-5430

Reservations: Relative to Peers,

JR East's Reservation Trend

Looks Strong Railways

Japan

Industry View In-Line

Key Takeaways

JR firms published an update on the seat reservation situation for the O-bon

Related Reports:

holiday period (Aug 7-16) on July 24.

Central Japan Railway: Jul 2026 (Interim)

This reflects only the situation with reservations, and we will need to wait to Tokaido Shinkansen Passenger Volume: Demand

assess actual transportation volume, but note our first impressions below. Brisk in 1st Half of Jul, but No Particular

Compared with July 2026 monthly data (preliminary; JR East has yet to disclose Recovery as an Average with Jun (15 Jul 2026)

its data), reservation trends appear generally weaker on a YoY basis. Railways: F3/27 1Q Results Focus Points (7 Jul

2026)

Among individual companies, JR East's reservation trend appear relatively strong,

while JR Kyushu's appears relatively weak. Taking into account the fading boost

from the Osaka Expo, reservations at JR West and JR Central also appear

favorable.

Reservation trends for airport-access services are mixed: JR East's Narita Express

and related services are up 13% YoY, while JR West's services to Kansai Airport are

down 7% YoY.

Exhibit 1: O-bon week assigned seat reservation trends for JR companies (vs.

2025)

vs 2025 Shinkansen Conventional

Available Reserved Available Reserved

JR East 6% 6% 1% 6%

(JR East: Hokuriku) 5% 6%

JR West:Sanyo 1% 2% 0% 1%