The is an overnight
sleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car.
...
train service in Japan operated jointly by
Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and
West Japan Railway Company
, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...
(JR West) since July 1998.
Operations
The ''Sunrise Izumo'' runs daily between and in
Shimane Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km2. Shimane Prefecture borders Yamaguc ...
, taking approximately 12 hours for the journey.
The service operates in conjunction with the ''
Sunrise Seto
The is an overnight sleeping car train service in Japan operated jointly by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) since July 1998.
Operations
The ''Sunrise Seto'' runs daily between and in Kagawa ...
'' service to between Tokyo and . The combined 14-car train departs from Tokyo, and stops at , , , , , (final evening stop), (first morning stop), and arrives at , where the train splits. Between Okayama and Izumoshi, the 7-car ''Sunrise Izumo'' train stops at , , , , , , and , before arriving in Izumoshi. The return train departs from Izumoshi, and is coupled with the ''Sunrise Seto'' from Takamatsu at Okayama Station, departing together from there, and arriving at Tokyo Station in the next morning.
File:JRW series285 Sanyo.JPG, A ''Sunrise Seto'' & ''Sunrise Izumo'' combined formation on the Sanyo Main Line, May 2012
File:Jr 285 undocking Okayama 20130331.jpg, ''Sunrise Izumo'' and ''Sunrise Seto'' units being uncoupled at Okayama Station, March 2013
Station list
* ''Sunrise Izumo'' trains make brief stops for several reasons, such as crew changes at JR region boundaries and also train meetings, which are very prominent when on the
Hakubi Line
The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in the mountainous area of the Chūgoku region of Japan. It begins at the south end of Okayama Prefecture at Kurashiki Station in Kurashiki, passing through Niimi Station o ...
, as the majority of the line is only single track. Passengers cannot board or get off the train when it makes such stops at stations.
*Regularly, only eastbound services will operate between Atami and Yokohama via the
Tōkaidō Freight Line
The is a railway line that links Odawara Station in Kanagawa Prefecture and Hamamatsuchō Station in central Tōkyō, Japan.
Summary
The Tōkaidō Freight Line was first opened on 20 December 1914 between Shiodome Freight Terminal and Shinagaw ...
, where trains enter the line at
Odawara
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in the far western por ...
and exit at
Chigasaki
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 242,798 and a population density of 6800 people per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
The city is located on the eastern bank of the Sagami ...
back to the
Tōkaidō Main Line
The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...
.
Formation
Trains are formed of dedicated 7-car
285 series ''Sunrise Express''
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
s (EMUs) owned by both JR Central and JR West. They are formed as shown below, with cars numbered 8 to 14 in the down (westbound) direction, with car 14 at the Tokyo end, and 1 to 7 in the up (Tokyo-bound) direction, with car 7 at the Tokyo end.
* Car 2/9 has a wheelchair-accessible compartment
* Each car has toilet facilities at one end.
* Smoking is prohibited outside of smoking cabins.
Accommodation, Ticketing and Facilities
The ''Sunrise Express'' services consist of six types of accommodation. There are five types of berths: A Single Deluxe, B Sunrise Twin (2-person use), B Single Twin (1 or 2-person use), B Single and B Solo. There is also a carpeted sleeping space called the ''Nobinobi'' sleeping area.
To ride the train, several fares are required. All passengers require a and a based on the distance traveled. On top of these, those wishing to travel in a private room must also pay for a , while those traveling in the ''Nobinobi'' sleeping area must pay a small in order to reserve an individual sleeping space.
The berth and seat reservation charges are fixed, regardless of where the journey starts and ends.
Tickets are purchased up to one month before departure at a JR ''
Midori no Madoguchi
, which stands for ''Multi Access (originally Magnetic-electronic Automatic) seat Reservation System'', is a train ticket reservation system used by the railway companies of former Japanese National Railways, currently Japan Railways Group (JR Grou ...
'' in Japan, or online through the JR West Seat Reservation website. Holders of the
Japan Rail Pass can reserve a ''Nobinobi'' space at free, or reserve a berth by paying the limited express and berth charges.
A shower is located in cars 3 and 10. Passengers using the A Single Deluxe compartments are provided with a free shower card to use the showers on the train, while other passengers have to pay ¥330 for a shower card if they desire to use the showers. Lounges are also located in cars 3 and 10. Drink vending machines are available in cars 3, 5, 10 and 12.
File:Sunrise seto19.jpg, "Single Deluxe" compartment
File:Sunrise seto14.jpg, Car 4/11 corridor
File:Jr285 single.jpg, Single berth
File:JRW series285 Single Twin.JPG, Single-twin berth
File:JRW series285 'Nobinobi Seat' (Upper section).JPG, ''Nobinobi'' open-plan sleeping area (car 5/12, upper floor)
File:JRW series285 'Nobinobi Seat' (Lower berth).JPG, ''Nobinobi'' open-plan sleeping area (car 5/12, lower floor)
File:285系特急型電車 シャワー室.jpg, Shower cubicle (car 3/10)
File:JRW series285 Lounge.JPG, Mini lounge area (car 3/10)
History
![BLUE TRAIN IZUMO](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/BLUE_TRAIN_IZUMO.jpg)
The ''Sunrise Izumo'' services were introduced together with the ''Sunrise Seto'' on 10 July 1998.
Previously, the ''
Izumo Izumo (出雲) may refer to:
Locations
* Izumo Province, an old province of Japan
* Izumo, Shimane, a city located in Shimane Prefecture
** Izumo Airport
* Izumo-taisha, one of Japan's most ancient and important Shinto shrines
Ships
* ''Izumo ...
'' operated as a separate "
Blue train" service connecting Tokyo with the
Sanin region
The is an area in the southwest of Honshū, the main island of Japan. It consists of the northern part of the Chūgoku region, facing the Sea of Japan.
Etymology
The name San'in in the Japanese language is formed from two kanji characters. T ...
. However, these trains were becoming less popular as equipment became outdated, and air and bus services attracted more passengers. The ''Sunrise Izumo'' was intended to attract more passengers to train transportation by introducing newly designed trains and by reducing the journey time.
Following the introduction of the ''Sunrise Izumo'', the original ''Izumo'' locomotive-hauled "Blue train" service was reduced from two return workings daily to one return working, serving the
Sanin Main Line
The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...
between and
Tottori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture is the least populous prefecture of Japan at 570,569 (2016) and has a geographic area of . Tottori Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to the west, Hirosh ...
, most of which was not electrified and thus inaccessible by the electric ''Sunrise Express'' trains.
The ''Izumo'' was ultimately discontinued on 13 March 2006 due to continuing decline in ridership, leaving the ''Sunrise Izumo'' as the only overnight train service between the Sanin region and Tokyo.
Ridership on overnight trains in Japan continues to decline, and from March 2009, the ''Sunrise Izumo'' and ''Sunrise Seto'' became the only overnight sleeping car trains to operate west of Tokyo via the Tokaido Line.
From the start of the revised timetable on 12 March 2021, the departure time of the ''Sunrise Izumo'' and ''Sunrise Seto'' from Tokyo was changed from 10:00 PM to 9:50 PM.
It is the first time that the departure time was changed since the services' introduction in 1998. The change cleared the 10:00 PM departure slot for one of the new ''
Shōnan
is the name of a region along the coast of Sagami Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture, central Japan. Centered on Sagami River, about 60 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, the Shōnan region stretches from Ninomiya in the west to Fujisawa in the east, i ...
'' limited express services to
Odawara
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in the far western por ...
.
See also
*
Sunrise Seto
The is an overnight sleeping car train service in Japan operated jointly by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) since July 1998.
Operations
The ''Sunrise Seto'' runs daily between and in Kagawa ...
*
Izumo (train)
The was a limited express overnight sleeping car train service in Japan operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR) and later by West Japan Railway Company (JR West), which ran from to and in Shimane Prefecture until March 2006.
Rolling ...
, the
blue train predecessor to the ''Sunrise Izumo''
*
List of named passenger trains of Japan
References
External links
JR West ''Sunrise Izumo / Sunrise Seto''
{{JR West trains
West Japan Railway Company
Named passenger trains of Japan
Night trains of Japan
Railway services introduced in 1998