Welcome to our latest newsletter. We’ve had many new subscribers recently, and we’d like to thank you for your interest in TS Japan Rail. We hope we can help you with your first – or your next – visit to Japan. We don’t believe in bombarding you with emails, so we aim to send out only a few newsletters each year (no more than once a quarter), and we hope you find them interesting and useful.

We would also like to thank our clients. This year we’ve worked on some very interesting itineraries, both for individual travellers and for group tours.

We are already working on some exciting itineraries for 2026 and even 2027.

It’s encouraging to see more people getting off the classic “Golden Route” and its associated destinations. In fact, some of the feedback we’ve received is that Kyoto in particular – and other major tourist hot spots – were the least-liked places on their trip. TS Japan Rail can help you discover and experience many destinations that are off the usual inbound tourist trail.

A favourite destination among our clients has been Tohoku. It’s often said that you need a car to explore this region, but it can absolutely be done by train and bus. It does require some planning, of course, but you’ll see a very different side of Japan. And we’re here to help you do just that.

Stephen Turner

TS Japan Rail

Holiday Notice

TS Japan Rail will be working up to 31st December2025. We will then take a break for the Japan New Year Holiday from 1st to 4th January 2026, starting work again on the 5th January.

Not long after JR East retired the Cassiopeia luxury sleeper train, it announced that it will introduce a new sleeper train in 2027. 

The "new train" will be based on the E657 dual voltage Limited Express train used on the Joban Line(Hitachi & Tokiwa Limited Expresses), but will be completely redesigned both inside and outside.

Although details are still high level, it is planned that the train will between Kanto and Tohoku, probably as excursion / charter train (as did the Cassiopeia after it ceased operating the regular Ueno~Sapporo service).

This will be second "special" excursion train operating what are popular night time services, with JR West's West Express Ginga, which operates several seasonal night / day routes.

Riku West Line to reopen after an almost 3 year closure

The Riku West Line is due to reopen on the 16th January 2026.The line had been closed due to road tunnel construction.

This line runs between Amarume and Shinjo in Yamagata prefecture with some trains running from / to Sakate. For the most part it runs along the  Mogami River, one of Japan's major rivers and is very scenic.

Seibu to introduce a new Restaurant Train

Seibu Railway has announced that it will introduce a new restaurant train in March 2028. The train will be based on its “Laview” Limited Express train (001 series).

Although based on the Laview Limited express train both internal and external will be designed by renown architect and designer Kazuyo Sejima who received the Pritzker Prize in 2010.

The train will be 4 coaches in length and will include an onboard kitchen (car 3); Cars 1,2 & 4 will be for dining passengers including a private dining room seating 8 people.

The train will operate on Seibu’s 3 main lines, Ikebukuro Line, Shinjuku Line and Chichibu Line. Days of operation are expected to be Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

Currently Seibu operates the “52 Seats of Happiness” restaurant train between Ikebukuro / Shinjuku in Tokyo and Seibu Chichibu. This train is based on Seibu's 4000 series. At the moment there are no plans on whether this train will continue to operate after the new train is introduced.

JR East Fares to Increase on 14th March 2026

Earlier approved by the government (MLIT), JR East has announced details of the fare increases that will be effective 14th March 2026. The average fare increase is 7.1%, however in the central Tokyo area (in particular Yamanote Line, Chuo Line & Keihin Tohoku Line in the 23 wards area) will be higher (around 10%). Since 1987 fares in Central Tokyo have been discounted, but they will going forward be calculated same as rest of JR East area.

The lowest fare will rise from ¥150 to ¥160 (paper ticket) or ¥144 to ¥155 using IC card. (using IC cards the actual fare is pai rounded to ¥1; for paper tickets the fare is rounded up to the next ¥10, hence IC cards are cheaper to use)

There will also be a change to how fares for jorneys that cross JR company boundaries are calculated. The new Cumulative addition calculation method” (累計加算方式) means that fares will continue to be calculated on a km travelled basis using a "basic fare rate, but with fare rates for each JR company potentially differing, ticket prices will be adjusted by the amount and for the distance by the appropriate amount where that JR company'S fare rate is higher than the basic rate.

Sounds complicated, but still means that it is cheaper to buy through tickets than tickets for each sector. In fact you will still be able to save money by doing this.

So far there has not been any announcement on JR Rail Passes, JR East Regional Passes or other (non commuter) passes issued in the JR East area, but it is highly likely these will also go up in price.

JR East English Press Release 

Japan's Tourist Trains

In 2026 TSJR will be featuring some of Japan's tourist trains on its main website.

Japan has around 60 such trains, ranging from sightseeing trains, restaurant / cafe trains, themed trains and Steam hauled trains.

These are a great way to explore Japan and relatively unknown to inbound visitors!

Resources

2025 has not been a particularly good year for steam fans and others who wanted to see Japan's steam locomotives in action on some of the most scenic routes in Japan:

• Oigawa Railway had to suspend all "ordinary" steam locomotive runs during the summer after C10-8, its oldest locomotive developed mechanical problems and the company decided to carry out its major overhaul. Fortunately the locomotive was back in service from 21st November.
• SL Gunma Due to mechanical problems with D51-498 in July  and C61-20 undergoing major inspection / overhaul, steam services were suspend with trains being hauled by JR East's special GV-E197 trains. On September 4th D51-498 was under going a test run on the Joetsu Line when it derailed between between Gōkan and Kamimaki). The derailment is under investigation by the Japan transport Safety Board, but the cause is initially thought to be uneven load in the tender. The SL Gunma service will not run over the winter months although it is hoped that it may restart in February.

And some good news:

• JR East has announced that it has started a project to start a new SL service using C58-239, the  locomotive formerly used on the SL Ginga service which ended in June 2023. It is proposed that the new service will operate between Morioka and Ichinoseki on the Tohoku Main Line in Iwate Prefecture. JR East hopes to start the service from 2029.

As Japan's operational steam locomotives grow older, and breakdowns become common, it is good to hear that C58-239 may be bought back into service. In fact although the SL Ginga service ended in 2023, the locomotive has stayed listed at Morioka Depot.

Hiroden's (Hiroshima Electric Railway) new tram terminal at Hiroshima Station has opened.

It is located on the 2nd floor of the JR Station building, just a short distance from the JR ticket gates. (the completed station building has many restaurants and shops).

The new tram terminus will be much easier to use for visitors, but does not have quite the same feel of the old tram stop, which has now disappeared and become a car park.

We publish a monthly Japan Rail Enthusiast Magazine on our railfan site, with news that we think international rail fans will be interested in.

At the start of 2025 TSJR's Stephen Turner appeared in a couple of NHK World programs, both with a strong railway theme. You can still see these programs on the NHK World website (until May 2026):

NHK World Railway Journal - The Enduring Charm of Printed Timetables

NHK World Japanology Plus - Japanophile Stephen Turner

Railway Enthusiast organisations / Rail Travel specialists...

TS Japan Rail can help you plan interesting Japan Rail Tours, taking you off the beaten path, travelling on interesting lines, interesting trains and more...

We also work with a local travel agent which not only gives us access to their experts but means we can provide full packages.

Contact us for more information