The Japanese Train That Gives You Space To Dream
Japan is a train enthusiast’s paradise. Not only do the trains run on time, they run all over the Japanese Archipelago, in great abundance and variety. The Shinkansen is a well-known symbol of Japanese technological prowess, but it is also possible to travel all over Japan at a more leisurely pace on luxury trains that rival the finest Europe has to offer. One example is the Hokutosei which, according to the train aficionado’s magazine, Koshitsu Ressha, is one of only three trains in the world with a private sleeping compartment boasting its own bathtub.
Named for the Big Dipper, the Hokutosei runs the 1215 km from Ueno Station in Tokyo to Sapporo Station in Hokkaido, and back again, daily. There is a special limited express called the Hokutosei Yumekukan (Hokutosei Space to Dream) which includes the spacious “Excellent Suite”, with en-suite bathtub. It takes up one third of a carriage and at \105,220 for two, is the most expensive private sleeping compartment on any train in Japan. The other two trains that boast en-suite baths are both found in South Africa. The Yumeikan’s facility rather pales in comparison with those of the South African trains, either of which could grace the bathroom of a luxury home. Koshitsu Ressha’s reviewer complains that the Japanese train has the kind of “unit bath” that can be found in most business hotels. He urges that next time, since this is supposed to be the most luxurious train in Japan, Japan Railway should most definitely put in a bath made of Japanese cypress.
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Hey Eric, what’s the point? Would passengers need running along the train to enjoy open space?
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Parkmount,
The point is that if you’re into trains, Japan is the place to be. The whole of Japan is slightly smaller than California
in area, but I would hazard a guess that it has more train lines that any other country in the world. I’m not sure that is actually a good thing, but it is what it is. By the way, the price of this particular train compartment is 105,220 yen. Sorry, in my post the yen mark somehow ended up as a slash.
The first time a long distance train ride has intrigued me.
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Well, this is a first. A bathtub on a train, I wonder how much it costs and how popular it is.
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Yumekukan was a good old dream of 1990s. It was made when Japan had the bubble economy, but was never used for regular service, as it was too expensive. Unfortunately (or not), the train retired from service on March 2008. We won’t have another bath-train until we have another bubble economy.
Hokutosei, BTW, is much cheaper and still on service.
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