New luxury trains in 2017 

 Good news after the shutdown of several night trains in Japan in recent years. Some people were indeed missing trains like the Twilight Express, the Cassiopeia. All that remained were the Sunrise Izumo and the luxury Seven Stars.

The year 2017 will be a very special year for luxury trains. Three new  trains should go into service this year. Indeed JR East, JR West and Tokyu will launch trains combining transportation, sometimes at night, and tourism.
twilight express MIZUKAZEThe Twilight Express Mizukaze is a new sleeper train which will be launched by West Japan Railway Company in spring 2017. It is a ten coach train with two special observation cars with balconies in the front and at the back.

Many routes are available along the Sanyo and Sanin Main Lines with many sightseeing places to discover : Okayama, Miyajima, Kurashiki, Tottori or Kinosaki Onsen. 

SHIKI SHIMA The new JR East luxury train will be able to accommodate up to 34 passengers with ten cars decorated in a champagne gold color. It will also include a restaurant dining car and the rear lounge car will be partially made of glass for spectacular views of the Japanese landscape.

There are different tours. For example starting from Ueno Station,the 4 days/3 nights trip will stop in Nikko, Hakodate, Aomori and includes a ride along the Gono Line.

Reservations are open since late 2016. . Have a look on the planned trips on JR East website.

the royal expressJapanese railway operator Tokyu will also launch a new tourist train in July. Starting  from Yokohama Station, the train will run southwest to Izu Peninsula, a vacation destination in Shizuoka Prefecture. The ride between Yokohama and Izukyu-Shimoda stations will take three hours.

The new train will be designed by Eiji Mitooka, who designed the Seven Stars luxury train for Kyushu Railway and  each car will have a different use and design.

Tickets for these incredible trains are very limited and is not covered by the Japan Rail Pass. Do not hesitate to contact us to have more information.