Do children and babies need a JR Pass?

Children under the age of 6 travel free of charge on all JR public transport.

However, you cannot make any seat reservations for your child if they don't have a valid train ticket (JR Pass).

If there are no available seats, children can be held by their parents in the unlikely event of full train cars. For more information on child discounts, take a look at "Is there a children discount for the JR Pass?".