Three JR trains take passengers around a region while they sleep on board: JR East’s TRAIN SUITE Shiki-shima, JR West’s TWILIGHT EXPRESS Mizukaze and JR Kyushu’s Seven Stars in Kyushu. Tokyu’s THE ROYAL EXPRESS, which leaves from Yokohama Station, is sold the same way. None of them is a train you buy a ticket for at the station. Each is a tour package with accommodation and meals included, and when applications exceed places, there is a lottery.
As of 9 October 2026, all four were taking applications: Mizukaze until 30 October, Seven Stars until 31 October, THE ROYAL EXPRESS (January 2027 Izu trips) until 15 November, and Shiki-shima until 14 December. The Mizukaze and Seven Stars deadlines have now passed.
The four side by side
Prices are the per-person tour price, tax included, for two people sharing a room, as given in each operator’s announcement. Each range runs from the cheapest room to the most expensive.
| Shiki-shima | Mizukaze | Seven Stars | THE ROYAL EXPRESS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sold by | JR East group | JR West and major travel agencies | JR Kyushu and major travel agencies | Tokyu |
| Departs from | Ueno | Kyoto, Shimonoseki | Hakata | Yokohama (Hokkaido and other trips start locally) |
| First ran | 1 May 2017 | 17 June 2017 | October 2013 | 21 July 2017 |
| Train and capacity | 10 cars, 34 passengers | 10 cars, up to 34 passengers | 7 cars, 20 passengers (10 rooms) | 8 cars, about 50 passengers |
| One night | ¥470,000–670,000 (winter), ¥500,000–750,000 (April to September 2027) | ¥385,000–1,005,000 | ¥700,000–950,000 | Izu (January 2027) ¥240,000–270,000; Tokaido and Fuji ¥390,000–480,000 |
| Two or three nights | Two nights ¥750,000–1,050,000 (winter); three nights ¥1,100,000–1,500,000 | Two nights ¥660,000–1,490,000 | Three nights ¥1,350,000–1,850,000 | Izu (January 2027) two nights ¥470,000–530,000; Ise-Shima three nights ¥990,000–1,150,000; Hokkaido three nights from ¥960,000 |
| Departures covered | Winter: December 2026 to March 2027. Spring and summer: April to September 2027 | March to June 2027 (32nd term) | September 2026 to February 2027 (29th term) and March to August 2027 (30th term, same prices) | Izu: January 2027. Tokaido: November to December 2026. Hokkaido: August to September |
| Applications | Lottery. July to September departures open until 14 December | Lottery. Closed 30 October | Lottery. 30th term closed 31 October | Lottery. January 2027 Izu open until 15 November (others closed) |
| Next round | Not announced | Not announced | Not announced | Sales open about three to five months before the trip |
Mizukaze’s range is wide because it includes The Suite, a whole car for one room (¥925,000–1,005,000 for one night). Its Royal Twin rooms alone run ¥385,000–465,000. Single occupancy has its own prices; on Shiki-shima, three nights for one person in a room cost ¥1,980,000 to ¥2,770,000.
Application windows for each train
Mizukaze took applications for departures from 8 March to 26 June 2027 from 1 September until 17:30 on 30 October 2026. The westbound trip from Kyoto to Shimonoseki is one night, the eastbound trip from Shimonoseki back to Kyoto is also one night, and the round trip from Kyoto is two nights. Lottery results are due around early December. For dates and prices by room, see our Mizukaze guide (Japanese).
Shiki-shima is taking applications for July to September 2027 departures from 10:00 on 9 October to 18:00 on 14 December 2026 (JR East announcement of 7 October). There are two courses, three nights and one night, at the same prices as April to June departures. The JR East group sells 8 of the 18 departure dates; the rest are due to be sold by other travel agencies. Dates and price tables are in our Shiki-shima guide (Japanese).
Seven Stars took applications for its 30th term (March to August 2027 departures) from 10:00 on 1 October until 23:59 on 31 October 2026. The courses are the three-night Takachiho and Unzen courses and the one-night Kuju course, at the same prices as the 29th term: from ¥1,350,000 and from ¥700,000. Results are due from late November. Courses and rooms are broken down in our Seven Stars guide (Japanese).
THE ROYAL EXPRESS is taking applications for its January 2027 Izu trips from 12:00 on 8 October to 23:59 on 15 November 2026 (cruise plans with accommodation only). Passengers meet at the train’s own lounge in Yokohama Station, THE ROYAL LOUNGE YOKOHAMA. The one-night Shimoda cruise plan (「彩り煌めく下田クルーズプラン」) costs ¥240,000–270,000 and departs on 8, 12, 15, 18, 22, 25 and 29 January. The two-night winter Fuji plan (「冬麗白富士クルーズプラン」) costs ¥470,000–530,000 and departs on 15 and 29 January. If applications exceed places there is a lottery, and results arrive by post from 24 November. The official site says sales usually open about three to five months before the trip; the November to December 2026 Tokaido cruise train took applications from 4 June to 1 August. Prices for each trip are in our ROYAL EXPRESS guide (Japanese).
Starting from Yokohama
Only THE ROYAL EXPRESS leaves from Yokohama Station. You check in at THE ROYAL LOUNGE YOKOHAMA in the station, and the January 2027 Izu cruise plan now open starts at ¥240,000 for one night, the lowest one-night price of the four.
Shiki-shima starts and ends at Ueno Station, which you can reach from Yokohama on the Tokaido Line (Ueno-Tokyo Line) without changing. Mizukaze starts in Kyoto and Seven Stars in Hakata, so from Shin-Yokohama you take the shinkansen. Mizukaze’s eastbound course starts at Shimonoseki Station, so you need to get to Shimonoseki before departure. For choosing a shinkansen from Shin-Yokohama, see our Shin-Yokohama shinkansen guide (Japanese).
For Kyoto and Hakata, arriving the night before leaves you free of the meeting time, rather than travelling from Shin-Yokohama on the morning of departure. You can wait to book a hotel until you know you have won a place (around early December for Mizukaze, from late November for Seven Stars).
Overnight trains you can ride on an ordinary ticket
If you are travelling alone, or want a cheaper night on a train, two overnight trains are sold as tickets rather than tours. The Sunrise Seto and Sunrise Izumo (Japanese) is a daily sleeper express that stops at Yokohama at 21:52, with private berths from ¥6,600 in sleeper charges. The WEST EXPRESS Ginga (Japanese) runs overnight between Kyoto and Shimonoseki; an example fare and charge for October to December is ¥12,950, and tickets go on sale at 10:00 one month before the travel date.
Our take
On the three JR trains, the cheapest room works out at ¥330,000 to ¥700,000 per person per night. The gap between rooms on the same train is bigger than the gap between trains: on Mizukaze, the Royal Twin and The Suite differ by ¥540,000 for one night.
The other thing the comparison shows is how short and early the application windows are. Seven Stars takes applications for one month, THE ROYAL EXPRESS for just over a month for its January 2027 Izu trips, and Shiki-shima and Mizukaze for about two. On the three JR trains, applications open five to nine months before departure and close more than three months before it. Once you know which season you want to ride, watch the official news pages from at least six months ahead.
THE ROYAL EXPRESS, which has been running in Hokkaido, will switch from summer 2027 to JR Hokkaido’s new sightseeing train, Akai Hoshi (“Red Star”). On the announced schedules, September 2026 is the last time the blue Izukyu train runs in Hokkaido.
Correction (11 November 2026): In “Our take”, we wrote that the cheapest room on the three JR trains works out at ¥350,000 to ¥700,000 per person per night. Mizukaze’s two-night ¥660,000 comes to ¥330,000 a night, so the range is ¥330,000 to ¥700,000.