Can you see Japan by luxury train?
By Aspen Travel Advisors · Last verified · Counts drawn live from the Virtuoso-sourced atlas
Yes, but mostly by Shinkansen. The main legs run in Green Car, Japan's first class, or in Gran Class on the northern and Hokuriku lines, which is comfortable rather than lavish. The true luxury trains, Seven Stars in Kyushu, Train Suite Shiki-shima and Twilight Express Mizukaze, are short sleeper cruises sold by lottery, so treat a berth as a bonus, not the plan.
Planning this trip? An Aspen advisor will shape it around your dates and price it with Virtuoso VIP benefits included.
You'll hear back within 24 hours.Japan is the easiest country in the world to cross by train and one of the hardest in which to book a luxury train. The everyday answer is the Shinkansen. Green Car, the first-class carriage on almost every bullet train, gives you wider seats, more legroom and a quieter carriage, and it is enough for Tokyo to Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and on to Kyushu. Gran Class, a small premium carriage above Green, exists only on the lines running north and northwest from Tokyo: the Tohoku and Hokkaido Shinkansen towards Aomori and Hakodate, the Joetsu Shinkansen to Niigata, and the Hokuriku Shinkansen towards Kanazawa and Tsuruga. If your route is the classic Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka line, Gran Class is simply not available, and Green Car is the top of the market.
The cruise trains are a different thing entirely. Seven Stars in Kyushu, Shiki-shima and Twilight Express Mizukaze are run by JR Kyushu, JR East and JR West as short all-inclusive journeys of a few days, with suites, dining cars and excursions off the train. They carry very few guests, applications open in windows months ahead, and when demand exceeds space, which is normal, places are drawn by lottery. Nobody can promise you one. The sensible Japan rail trip is built on Shinkansen legs with good hotels and ryokan at each stop, with a cruise train or a day excursion train added if the draw goes your way. Our atlas holds 12 Japan itineraries and 47 Japanese hotels to build around.
The Shinkansen classes, compared
| Class | Layout | Where you find it | Worth it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary reserved | Mostly 3-2 on the Tokaido and Sanyo lines | Every Shinkansen | Short hops of an hour or so, or the Kyushu trains where reserved cars are already 2-2 |
| Green Car | 2-2, wider seats, more legroom | Almost every Shinkansen | Any leg over two hours, and always on the busy Tokyo to Osaka corridor |
| Gran Class | 2-1, a small carriage with the fewest seats on the train | Tohoku and Hokkaido, Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen; not Tokaido, Sanyo or Kyushu | Long northern runs such as Tokyo to Aomori or Hakodate, or Tokyo to Kanazawa, on trains with attendant service such as the Hayabusa and Kagayaki |
Seat layout is the clearest way to tell the classes apart. Gran Class is the only one with a single seat on one side of the aisle, and on some trains it comes with an attendant serving food and drink, while on others, including the Hakutaka, Asama, Toki and Tanigawa services, it is sold as seat-only. Check which service your train runs before paying for it, because without the attendant it is a better seat and little more.
The cruise trains, and the day trains that are easier to get
| Train | Run by | Where it goes | Booking reality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seven Stars in Kyushu | JR Kyushu | Loops around Kyushu, starting from Hakata | The oldest of the three and the most oversubscribed; lottery |
| Train Suite Shiki-shima | JR East | Eastern Japan and Hokkaido, from Ueno in Tokyo | Lottery, application windows months ahead |
| Twilight Express Mizukaze | JR West | Western Japan, the San'in and Sanyo coasts, from Osaka and Kyoto | Lottery, application windows months ahead |
All three cruise trains work the same way: a fixed route of a few days, meals and excursions included, application in a set window, and a lottery when they are oversubscribed. Much of the process is in Japanese, and overseas access, where it exists, comes through a small number of authorized agents. Apply for one if it fits your dates, but never build a trip around the outcome.
If the lottery goes against you, several day trains give much of the pleasure with ordinary booking. They are worth an afternoon in the itinerary on their own merits.
- Aru Ressha, JR Kyushu's dining train between Hakata and Yufuin, which serves a course lunch on board. It was designed by Eiji Mitooka, who also designed Seven Stars.
- Yufuin no Mori, a JR Kyushu sightseeing train from Hakata to the onsen town of Yufuin.
- Shimakaze, Kintetsu's premium limited express from Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya to Ise-Shima, with a café car and private compartments.
How operators build a Japan rail itinerary
Good Japan operators, Inside Travel among them with 15 itineraries in our atlas, treat the train as the easy part and spend their effort on everything around it. This is one of the few rail trips where an advisor changes the outcome: not by finding a better seat, but by knowing which station exit the guide should meet you at and which ryokan sends a car.
- Green Car reservations on every long leg, booked as soon as seats open, with Gran Class only where the route and the service justify it.
- Luggage forwarded hotel to hotel by courier, so you board with a day bag. Large suitcases on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen need a reserved seat with an oversized baggage area, which forwarding avoids.
- A private guide meeting you on the platform in each city, often travelling with you on the first leg.
- Cars and drivers for the places rail does not reach well, such as rural Kyushu, the Kiso Valley or the Noto Peninsula.
- A ryokan night or two between city hotels, timed so the arrival train lands before dinner, which ryokan serve at a set hour.
- A cruise train or day train slotted in only once a place is confirmed, with a fallback plan already priced.
Japanese hotels to build a rail trip around
Every property in Japan in the hotel atlas, those with the most benefits on file first. Most sit within a short drive of a Shinkansen station. Each links to its own page, where the benefits currently on file are listed in full.
| Property | Where | Rooms | Benefits listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel New Otani Tokyo EXECUTIVE HOUSE ZEN | Tokyo, Japan | 84 | 10 |
| Shangri-La Tokyo | Tokyo, Japan | 200 | 10 |
| The Okura Tokyo | Tokyo, Japan | 508 | 9 |
| BELLUSTAR TOKYO | Shinjuku City, Japan | 97 | 9 |
| Palace Hotel Tokyo | Tokyo, Japan | 284 | 7 |
| ROKU KYOTO, LXR Hotels & Resorts | Kyoto, Japan | 114 | 7 |
| Capella Kyoto | Kyoto, Japan | 89 | 6 |
| Fairmont Tokyo | Tokyo, Japan | 217 | 5 |
| Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto | Kyoto, Japan | 180 | 5 |
| Halekulani Okinawa | Okinawa, Japan | 360 | 5 |
| Six Senses Kyoto | Kyoto, Japan | 81 | 5 |
| The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo | Tokyo, Japan | 245 | 5 |
| W Osaka | Osaka, Japan | 337 | 5 |
| Patina Osaka | Osaka, Japan | 221 | 5 |
| The Hotel Seiryu Kyoto Kiyomizu | Kyoto, Japan | 48 | 5 |
Showing 15 of 47 matching properties in the atlas.
Frequently asked
Is the Japan Rail Pass worth it in Green Car?
Less often than it used to be. The pass rose sharply in price in 2023, and for a classic Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima trip, point-to-point Green Car tickets frequently come out close or cheaper. The pass also needs a paid supplement for the fastest Nozomi and Mizuho trains. Price the specific route both ways before buying; the pass still wins on long, dense itineraries that cover the north as well.
Can an advisor guarantee a place on Seven Stars or Shiki-shima?
No. Places are allocated by lottery when oversubscribed, and nobody can buy their way past it. An advisor can make sure you apply in the right window through a channel that accepts overseas guests, and can build the rest of the trip so it works whether or not you win.
Is there an Orient Express-style train across Japan?
Not in the European sense. There is no long-distance luxury sleeper crossing the country; the three cruise trains each stay within their own railway's region on short routes. A comfortable cross-country trip in Japan is Shinkansen Green Car between good hotels, which is quicker and, honestly, very pleasant.