Night Trains Getting Back on Track: Japanese Rail Companies Boosting Overnight Services

Once the Shinkansen high-speed rail network was established in Japan, sleeper trains had once played a significant role in long-distance domestic transportation. The first limited express sleeper "Blue Train" made its debut in 1958, becoming popular due to its convenience, comfort, and fully air-conditioned coaches. At its peak in 1975, nearly 40 round-trip Blue Train services operated across Japan daily.

However, as Shinkansen high-speed service connected Hakata in Kyūshū to Honshū in the 1970s, people turned to alternative means of travel as JNR, the operator of Blue Trains at the time, increased fares repeatedly. Following the breakup of JNR and formation of the Japan Railways Group in 1987, upscale sleeper trains like Hokutosei, Twilight Express, and Cassiopeia hit the rails and gained considerable popularity.

Despite competition from long-distance overnight buses and operational complexities of running trains across multiple JR companies, the last Blue Train was retired in 2015, leaving only two regularly scheduled limited express sleeper services today: Sunrise Seto and Sunrise Izumo. Both services operate one round trip per day, departing Tokyo and separating at Okayama, with half of the coaches continuing to Shikoku and the other to the San’in region.

Other overnight trains operate irregularly, including the West Express Ginga, Seven Stars (Nanatsuboshi) in Kyūshū, Train Suite Shiki-Shima, and Twilight Express Mizukaze, all costing passengers between ¥300,000 and ¥1,000,000 per night. Overnight rail in Japan has largely become synonymous with luxury cruise trains, with new services like Luna Azul and Tokaidō Lumière Express offering more affordable options.