Do babies and children need to purchase a JR Pass?

Babies and children under the age of 6 are eligible to travel free of charge on all JR public transport.

However, please note that you will not be able to 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 children discounts, take a look at "Is there a children discount for the JR Pass?" question.