The seven-car Sunrise Izumo began service on July 10, 1998.

It is the only sleeper train in Japan that runs regularly every day between Tokyo Station in Tokyo and Izumo City Station in Shimane Prefecture (via Tokaido Main Line, Sanyo Main Line, Hakubi Line, and Sanin Main Line).

First-time passengers on the Sunrise Izumo train may wonder, “I don’t know how to make reservations,” “How much does it cost?” I am sure there are many things you are wondering about, such as “I want to know where to board the train and when it departs,” and “I am curious about what it is like on board the train.

This time, I actually rode the Sunrise Izumo from Tokyo Station to Izumo City, so I will introduce the inside of the train and my impressions of the actual ride!( ´ ▽ ` )

Sunrise Izumo Train Introduction

1. Name : West Japan Railway Series 285
2. Start of operation : July 10, 1998
3. Overall length : approx. 21.67 meters (1 car)
4. Gross Tonnage : approx. 43.57 tons (1 car)
5. Speed: 130 km/h
6. Passenger Capacity : 158 passengers

Reservation Method

After making an online or over the counter reservation, you will need to issue a boarding ticket in advance at the final Midori-no-Madoguchi counter.

If a reservation is made at the Midori-no-Madoguchi counter, it is recommended that a boarding ticket be issued on the spot!

Midori-no-Madoguchi ticket vending machine

Reservations can also be made at JR Midori-no-Madoguchi ticket vending machines, although only boarding tickets are available.

The cheapest seats on the Sunrise train, “Nobi-Nobi Seats,” can be reserved as they do not require a sleeper fare, but those using a private room will need to pay a separate sleeper fare.

Reservations at the counter

Tickets can be reserved at the “Midori-no-Madoguchi” at JR line stations.

If there is a Midori-no-Madoguchi near your residence, you can make a reservation smoothly by telling them that you want to make a reservation for the Sunrise Izumo!

JR West	https://www.jr-odekake.net/eki/receive
JR East	https://www.jreast.co.jp/estation/midori/
JR Shikoku	https://www.jr-shikoku.co.jp/tel5489/uketori.htm
JR Kyushu	https://train.yoyaku.jrkyushu.co.jp/jr/pc/consumer/SearchStationInitAction.do

Please refer to JR East for ticketing in Tokyo and JR West for ticketing in Osaka.

Online Reservations

You can make reservations in advance using your smartphone or computer on the official website called JR Ookashi-net.

▼Sunrise Izumo Reservation Page(Langage : jp)

https://www.jr-odekake.net/goyoyaku/campaign/sunriseseto_izumo/form.html

Tickets reserved online can be picked up at “Midori-no-Madoguchi” or “Midorino Ticket Vending Machine”.

I had already made a reservation with a credit card, but had not yet received the ticket, so I went to the Midori-no-Madoguchi ticket vending machine to issue the ticket.

If you made a reservation with a credit card, you will need the credit card with which you made the payment when you pick up your ticket.

If you made a reservation online, you can check the status of payment and receipt of your reserved ticket on e5489, JR’s official reservation website.

Reservation Tips

When can reservations be made?

Reservations can be made from 10:00 a.m. one month prior to the boarding date. However, if the same date is not available in the previous month, such as March, reservations can be made from the beginning of the month (1st of the month).

Some seats are hard to reserve.

The Sunrise Izumo is the only sleeper train in Japan and is very popular.

However, single deluxe A sleeper, single twin B sleeper, single twin, single, and solo seats are very popular and cannot be reserved until one month in advance.

The shared no-booking seats are relatively easy to reserve.

How to win a reservation

This is a method of reservation that is available both online and at the Midori-no-madoguchi (ticket counter), and is known as “10:00 a.m. strike” in the street.

Tickets for the Sunrise Izumo train go on sale nationwide at 10:00 a.m. one month in advance.

At 10:00 a.m., press the reservation button to complete your reservation.

For those who make reservations online, enter information such as the station and train you will board and disembark in advance, and press the search button to make a reservation the moment 10:00 a.m. arrives.

Room Type & Sleeping Car Rates

Room Name	Room Type	Berth charge
A dormitory room (Capacity of 1)	Single Deluxe	13,980 yen
B dormitory room (Capacity of 1)	Single Twin	9,600 yen
B dormitory room (Capacity of 1)	Single	7,700 yen
B dormitory room (Capacity of 1)	Solo	6,600 yen
B dormitory room (Capacity of 2)	Sunrise Twin	15,400 yen (two persons’ portion)
B dormitory room (Capacity of 2)	Single Twin	15,100 yen (two persons’ portion)
Reserved seat in a standard car (shared room)	Nobinobi Seat	530 yen (Regular fee)

Sleeping charges for Nobi-Nobi seats are -200 yen from the regular fare during off-peak periods and +200 yen from the regular fare during peak periods.

Those who reserve a twin room must pay the fare for two adults, but not for those who sleep together with an elementary school student or younger.

Boarding Fare

Sleeping charges for Novi-Novi seats are -200 yen from the regular fare during off-peak periods and +200 yen from the regular fare during peak periods.

Those who reserve a twin room must pay the fare for two adults, but it is not charged if you sleep with an elementary school student or younger.

On the Sunrise Izumo, you will pay the combined fare of “fare, express fare, and sleeper fare.

Each of these charges varies depending on the station you board and the room type.

Example : Tokyo – Izumo (solo private room) *Lowest private room on the Sunrise train

Fare : 12,210 yen + Express fare : 3,300 yen + Sleeper fare : 6,600 yen = 22,110 yen

Example : Tokyo – Izumo (Novi-Novi seat) *Lowest shared room on Sunrise train

Fare : 12,210 yen + Express fare : 3,300 yen + Sleeper fare : 530 yen = 16,040 yen

The difference between the private room fare and the shared room fare was 6,070 yen.

Please note that the ticket is valid for up to 5 days from the scheduled boarding date, but the limited express ticket is valid only on the day of boarding.

For those who want to ride at a low price, we recommend the Novi-Novi seat! \(^o^)/

Boarding place & Time Table

Time required

Tokyo 21:50→Izumo 9:58 – 12hr 48min

Tokyo 21:50 → Takamatsu – 7:27 10 hours 17 min.

Timetable after the timetable revision on March 18, 2023 (Tokyo → Izumo City, Takamatsu)

Prefectures	Route	Station	Sunrise Seto	Sunrise Izumo	Sunrise Izumo No.91
Tokyo	Tokaido Main Line	Tokyo	21:50	21:50	22:21
Kanagawa	Tokaido Main Line	Yokohama	22:15	22:15	22:44
Shizuoka	Tokaido Main Line	Atami	23:23	23:23	↓
Shizuoka	Tokaido Main Line	Numazu	23:39	23:39	↓
Shizuoka	Tokaido Main Line	fuji	23:53	23:53	↓
Shizuoka	Tokaido Main Line	Shizuoka	0:20	0:20	↓
Shizuoka	Tokaido Main Line	Hamamatsu	1:12	1:12	↓
Osaka	Tokaido Main Line	Osaka	↓	↓	6:04
Hyogo	Sanyo Main Line	San-nomiya	↓	↓	6:27
Hyogo	Sanyo Main Line	Himeji	5:25	5:25	7:19
Okayama	Sanyo Main Line	Okayama	6:27	6:27	8:48
Okayama	Sanyo Main Line	Kurashiki	||	6:46	9:06
Okayama	Hakubi Line	Bitchu-Takahashi	||	7:14	9:48
Okayama	Hakubi Line	Niimi	||	7:43	10:25
Tottori	Sanin Main Line	Yonago	||	9:03	12:05
Tottori	Sanin Main Line	Yasugi	||	9:13	12:15
Shimane	Sanin Main Line	Matsue	||	9:29	12:37
Shimane	Sanin Main Line	Shinji	||	9:45	12:54
Shimane	Sanin Main Line	Izumo city	||	9:58	13:07
Okayama	Honshi-Bisan Line	Kojima	6:52	–	–
Kagawa	Yosan Line	Sakaide	7:09	–	–
Kagawa	Yosan Line	Takamatsu	7:27	–	–
Kagawa	Dosan Line	Tadotsu	(8:25)	–	–
Kagawa	Dosan Line	Zentsuji	(8:32)	–	–
Kagawa	Dosan Line	Kotohira	(8:39)	–	–

After arriving at Takamatsu Station, the Sunrise Seto sometimes runs an extended service to Kotohira Station.

Timetable after the timetable revision on March 18, 2023 (Izumo City, Takamatsu → Tokyo)

Route	Station	Sunrise Seto	Sunrise Izumo	Sunrise Izumo No.91
Yosan Line	Takamatsu	21:26	–	–
Yosan Line	Sakaide	21:44	–	–
Honshi-Bisan Line	Kojima	22:01	–	–
Sanin Main Line	Izumo City	||	18:55	14:43
Sanin Main Line	Shinji	||	19:10	15:00
Sanin Main Line	Matsue	||	19:28	15:21
Sanin Main Line	Yasugi	||	19:48	15:44
Sanin Main Line	Yonago	||	20:01	15:55
Hakubi Line	Niimi	||	21:20	18:18
Hakubi Line	Bitchu-Takahashi	||	21:48	18:50
Sanyo Main Line	Kurashiki	||	22:14	19:18
Sanyo Main Line	Okayama	22:34	22:34	19:39
Sanyo Main Line	Himeji	23:33	23:33	21:04
Sanyo Main Line	San-nomiya	0:11	0:11	21:52
Tokaido Main Line	Osaka	0:33	0:33	22:29
Tokaido Main Line	Hama-matsu	↓	↓	↓
Tokaido Main Line	Shizuoka	4:38	4:38	↓
Tokaido Main Line	fuji	5:09	5:09	↓
Tokaido Main Line	Numazu	5:26	5:26	↓
Tokaido Main Line	Atami	5:43	5:43	↓
Tokaido Main Line	Yokohama	6:44	6:44	5:56
Tokaido Main Line	Tokyo	7:08	7:08	6:23

Difference between Sunrise Seto and Izumo

Cars No. 1 through No. 7 of the Sunrise train will be Seto-go trains, and Cars No. 8 through No. 14 will be Izumo-go trains.

During the train’s journey, the Seto train bound for Takamatsu Station departs first, and the Izumo train bound for Izumo City Station departs later.

The train detachment operation at Okayama Station is a famous event of the Sunrise train.

Even though it is early in the morning, many people come to see the train being separated from the rest of the trains.

If you want to see the Sunrise train detachment, please pay attention to the following points!

Unfortunately, passengers on the Sunrise Seto will not be able to see the train being detached from the train.

The Seto will depart at the same time the train is detached.

Please note that only the Izumo will be able to see the detachment operation.

Cheapest Shared Room and Cheapest Private Room

Novi-Novi Seat (Most cheapest shared room)

Cars No. 5 and No. 12 of the Sunrise train have “Nobi-Nobi” seats.

They have a long aisle, 28 seats in total up and down in one car, and are the cheapest seats on the Sunrise train.

The Novinobi Seats are very wallet-friendly since there is no sleeper fare.

They are recommended for those traveling alone, such as from Osaka to Tokyo for work!

Seat width is 2m8cm long and 85cm wide.

The Novi-Novi seats do not have walls up to the feet, but there are enough walls to hide the upper half of the body, so there is no need to worry about people seeing your sleeping face.

There is a curtain on the aisle side, but it stops halfway.

Since you can’t see much from the aisle side, it was designed to provide a comfortable degree of privacy (laugh).

The floor was covered with carpet.

It was a cheap type of floor mat often seen at home centers.

I found out after boarding that the Novi-Novi seats are equipped with floor heating, so my back was very warm as I boarded during the cold winter season.

Main facilities of the Novi-Novi seating

The main equipment in the Novinovi seating area included a main light and a reading light that could be adjusted for direction.

The air conditioning in the ceiling provided cool air.

Since it was a window seat, it also had height-adjustable blinds.

I was surprised that for the cheapest seat, it was so well equipped.

Novice seating fixtures

The noobie seat has a small disposable cup, one quilt and one thin cloth, and no pillow.

I didn’t end up using the cup until the end of the flight (lol).

The quilt is thin, and the white cloth is probably intended for those who don’t want to sleep with their head on the carpet.

I knew before boarding the Novinobi seat that there were no pillows, so I brought an inflatable neck pillow.

I placed a folded towel on top of the inflated neck pillow and used the white cloth provided in the Novinobi seat as a sheet.

This was again a great success!

You can use a backpack or other item as an improvised pillow, but depending on how much luggage you have, it may be high enough to hurt your neck.

The self-made pillow made by Neck Pillow can be adjusted in height depending on the amount of air you put in, and it was easy to put away smoothly after use.

For those who use the Nobi-Nobi-Seat, we strongly recommend bringing a neck pillow that can be inflated with air, which is sold at Japan 100 yen uniform stores!

B sleeper solo (Most cheapest private room)

The room I reserved this time is a B sleeper solo seat.

This is the cheapest private room on the Sunrise train.

The length of the bed is 1m96cm and the width is 75cm.

There are 20 solo seats on Cars 3 and 10.

Even numbers are in the upper bunk and odd numbers in the lower bunk.

Solo private seats are available in upper and lower bays, but inconveniently, seat selection cannot be made at the time of reservation, so it is up to luck.

For credit cards, a cancellation fee of 560 yen is charged.

If payment is not confirmed, such as payment at a convenience store, there is no cancellation fee, so if you are particular about your seat, try adjusting the seat you want to take by payment at a convenience store.

For solo seating, the difference between the upper and lower tiers is the shape of the window and the size of the room.

The lower tier seats have a slightly curved window, while the upper tier seats have a curved window that makes it easier to look at the sky while sleeping.

The width of the room is not so different, but there is a difference in height.

The bed was provided with a mattress, a quilt, a pillow, and a nightgown.

The quilt was fireproof and 110cm x 190cm.

The pillow was a pipe pillow stuffed with finely cut straw.

A robe labeled J-LINEN was also provided, but I didn’t use it because I can’t sleep without my own nightgown ( ´ ▽ ` ; )

By the way, J-LINEN is the name of J R West Japan Linen, a company that provides cleaning services for trains and hotels in the western Japan area.

Solo private rooms are equipped with dial key

All private rooms are equipped with a dial key.

You can decide your own favorite number.

Furnishings of Solo Private Room

• Disposable cups
• Hangers
• Slippers
• Plastic bag

My foot size is about 28cm, so they felt a little small, but not so small that I couldn’t wear them, just a little bit of heel sticking out.

The hangers had a non-slip surface.

The plastic bags on the stairs were mainly used for trash.

Facilities of Solo Room

The solo private room had four electrical outlets, a wardrobe mirror, air conditioning, a heater, a light control button, and a clock with an alarm.

The clock with alarm was accurate with little difference from my wristwatch.

The air conditioning breeze was surprisingly strong, about the medium breeze of a fan if I had to use an analogy.

The lighting, not only above the bed but also the light at the bottom of the stairs, could be turned on and off at the touch of a button on the wall.

It is nice to be able to brighten only the foot of the bed because it is too bright to light up the entire room while sleeping.

There is a heater in front of the staircase light, so it slowly gets warmer.

Advantages and disadvantages of upper and lower bunks

It depends on the room type, but most seats are in similar circumstances, so maybe it applies to you.

Upper Bunk

• Advantages: Better view, less noise than below
• Disadvantages: smaller rooms than below, more swaying than below, only stairs to stand on.

Lower Bunk

• Merit・・Wider space than the upper level, smoother entry and exit, less shaking than the upper level.
• Disadvantages: No better view than the upper level, eyes on the platform when the train stops at each station (curtains are available), noisy train motors.

Car Interior

Deck (car entrance/exit)

Entrances and exits attached to each car.

The door to the reserved seat is opened by a sensor.

You hold your hand over the door and go to the desired location.

Mini Lounge

The Sunrise train does not have a dining car.

So if you want to eat, you can purchase food before boarding and eat in the mini-lounge.

There are four seats on each side, so they fill up quickly when you first get on the train.

There were a few people enjoying themselves with drinks.

There was a sticker on the wall side asking people to refrain from sleeping time.

Come in the morning and enjoy your meal while enjoying the changing scenery !(*´ω｀*)

Shower room

Shower rooms are located in Cars 3 and 10.

The space to take off shoes is small and the shower room is of the private room type.

There were long mirrors on both sides of the shower room.

There were also several handles installed.

The train often shakes while running, so you need to keep your balance while taking a shower.

By the way, you have to pay for the shower room.

Shower card

Each shower card costs 330 yen.

Each card is valid only once and can be used for 6 minutes.

The card has an illustration of the Sunrise train.

Location of Shower Card Vending Machines

One shower card vending machine is located next to the lounge on cars 3 and 10.

The location of the shower card vending machines is closer to those entering through the doors of Cars 1 and 11 due to the structure of the cars.

If you want to win the battle for the shower card, try boarding from Car 4 and 11.

Shower cards will sell out quickly if you do not purchase them immediately after boarding the train.

As mentioned earlier, one shower card is located next to the lounge on cars 3 and 10, but due to the capacity of the water tank, the number of cards sold per unit is limited to 20.

The total number of cards for the entire train is 40.

I actually went to the platform one hour before the Sunrise train was scheduled to depart because I really wanted to purchase a shower card, but there were already people lined up in front of car 11. (Terrible).

Vending machine

The vending machines were located next to the lounges of Cars 3 and 10.

There were five kinds sold: Ayataka, Irohasu, Emerald Mountain, Coca-Cola, and Real Gold.

Only the Irohasu sample was distorted, perhaps due to the train’s impact on it (laugh).

Wash stand

The washbasins on the Sunrise train are located in 10 cars: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, and 14.

The washbasins were equipped with hooks, electrical outlets, and hand soap.

Curtains are also attached, so please close the curtains when you use them so you can use them without worrying about your surroundings!

The water in the bathroom could be switched between hot and cold water at the touch of a button.

Toilet

Restrooms are located in all cars of the Sunrise train.

The toilets were equipped with child seats.

Only the washrooms and toilets in cars 2 and 9 were large enough to accommodate wheelchairs.

It may not look much different from a regular toilet, but it was actually about two times larger and had a few more handrails installed.

Because it was a large restroom, it had a diaper changing station, which was not available in the regular type of restrooms.

There is also a special trash can under the diaper table to dispose of the baby’s diapers.

Sticker on the door

Sunrise Izumo received the Brunel Encouragement Award (Shoureishou) of the Brunel Prize, the only international design competition related to railroads, in 1998, after being recognized by the Good Design Show and foreign critics in 1998.

You can find the sticker on the door of the car deck of Sunrise Izumo and Seto!

To close

In this article, I would like to introduce how I rode the Sunrise Izumo train from Tokyo to Izumo City Station, the last stop on the line.

It was the cheapest and smallest private room on the Sunrise train, but I had no problem at all and was comfortable enough to lie down and sleep in a fully private room, and the view was varied and my first time in a private sleeping room was very luxurious.

I bumped my shoulder against the wall a few times when walking down the aisle due to the train’s characteristic turbulence, but I was able to eat in the mini-lounge normally, so the turbulence was not that much of an obstacle.

I hope this will be helpful for those who are going to Izumo City or Takamatsu on the Sunrise Izumo/Seto.

For those who are going to ride and head there from now on, please be careful! \(^o^) /