First, I apologize for a delay of replying to your message.
Maybe, is it taken at Kyoto Station?
These days, JR-East and JR-West are aggressive for closing Tickets Offices.
In addition to that activities, at stations where a Ticket Office is placed, they strive to guide passengers to ticket vending machines.
On the other hand, in area of JR-Central, fundamentally at stations where station staffs working have Ticket Offices.
Nowadays JR-Central close Ticket Offices sometimes but the pace of closing Ticket Offices is slower than JR-East and JR-West.
After closing other JR companies' Ticket Offices, when passengers who want to use Ticket Offices purchase train tickets at JR-Central's Ticket Offices, JR-Central can get sales commissions.
So, for JR-Central, passengers who use Ticket Offices are maybe thankful extensives.
Long time no see, how are you?
Series 283, called "Ocean Allow", was debut in 1996, but it's sharp and stylish even now.
I have been on Ocean Allow two times.
At both of them I used Green Car reservation seats but I had no chance of getting a ticket of 1-A / 1-B / 1-C observation seats.
When you use Green Car of Ocean Allow, only 1-A / 1-B / 1-C observation seats (on trains going to Shirahama and Shingu) give us the most pleasant time.
Therefore I'm jealous that you exprienced a great time with 1-A which the most valuable seat of Ocean Allow.
