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Ex-Ferrari-Designer's Japanese Luxury Train Launches
It's so popular that the odds of getting a ticket to ride it are 76 to 1
By Rain Noe - May 09, 2017
Three years ago we reported that Ken Okuyama, designer of the Enzo Ferrari, was working on a luxury train for the Japanese market. Now it's become a reality, and we were surprised to see that the real deal actually looks a lot like the renderings.
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Enter a caption (optional)It seems the name is the biggest thing that's changed; what was once referred to as the Cruise Train is now called the Train Suite Shiki-shima, and it took its maiden voyage last week.
Enter a caption (optional)Maintained by the East Japan Railway Company, the ten-car train features a lounge car, a dining car, observation cars front and rear, and six sleeping cars. The sleepers consists of both regular suites and three split-level "maisonettes." Total passenger capacity is just 34 people.
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Enter a caption (optional)Two-, three- and four-day trip lengths are offered, at prices ranging from USD $2,860 to roughly $10,000. But that's if you can even get a ticket in the first place; an application is required, and even if yours is accepted, you're then entered into a lottery where your chances of getting a slot are 1 in 76. The train has proven so popular that it's sold out through March of 2018.
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Enter a caption (optional)This unnarrated footage from the pre-journey press event gives you a good sense of what the interiors feel like to be inside of:
Rain Noe
Rain Noe is a writer and industrial designer based in New York City.
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