"Joyful" Trains
Joyful trains Shu-Kura, Naoetsu (JLM)
Special and wonderful trains for a one-of-a-kind Japan Rail experience
Use your JR Pass to discover some of Japan's unique trains, just a few of many! Get your Japan Rail Pass today - available in 7, 14, and 21-day passes.
Special trains where only the pleasure of travel counts
Joyful Trains were created to make your journey across Tohoku more beautiful, more fun, and richer in experiences on trains with specific themes and decorations.
Joyful trains are more than just a means of transport, as JR has announced on its dedicated website. The key word is “pleasure”, the pleasure of boarding a train unlike any other. The pleasure of a journey that has no other purpose, whatever the destination, as long as the pleasure is there. Some Joyful trains have been set up on small country lines to revitalize a region and bring in tourists, or on very beautiful lines to enjoy the beautiful landscapes, seashores or mountains.
On a 'Joyful' Train, the best designs are put to work to create special interiors, with original layouts, very comfortable double or quadruple seats, soft sofas, benches facing the landscape, private compartments, tatami floors, children's play areas, a library, a panoramic lounge behind the driver's cab, and so many special features that surprise and amaze every time.
Above all, more and more Joyful Trains are veritable restaurants on wheels, offering gourmet meals prepared by top chefs.
Joyful trains Yû (JLM)
The Tatami Train: the first “Joyful” Train
The first “Joyful” Train began in the early 1960s, when a vintage turn-of-the-century train was fitted with tatami floors for a Japanese zashiki feel. You can still find such interiors in some trains today too! Sit on cushions around a table with a few friends, or on legless zaisu chairs along a long traditional table.
Joyful Steam Trains
Japanese people love, know and are proud of their railway history, and the steam trains of yesteryear are a symbol of this, which is why many have been preserved and still run frequently. The steam locomotives are original, but the passenger carriages are sometimes more recent, with numerous services to enhance the pleasure of an exceptional journey. From Kyûshû to Hokkaidô via the Kanto region, you can try out some of them, such as the SL Retro Minakami, SL Paleo Express or SL Banestu Monogatari.
Joyful SL Minakami (JLM)
Resort Yû
Here's a Joyful train I got to try out a few years ago, the “Resort Yû”. I'm telling you about it just to describe what an incredible experience it was, as it no longer exists today. The front cars feature a panoramic lounge area, then tatami mats on the floor, long tables in the center of the car, and half-seated cushioned seating, designed for groups who often book this type of train for a special trip. Other cars have standard but very comfortable seats. The most astonishing feature is the raised central car, with a few seats overlooking a sort of zenithal window with a discotheque underneath! The music is cranked up, the lights are colored and you can dance the night away. Retractable seats are arranged lengthways, and the bar car is accessible from the side.
Joyful Train Resort Yû (JLM)
“Omocha Densha” the toy train!
Although the train itself isn't a toy, almost everything inside is! The "Toy Train", or Omocha Densha, features large display cases featuring traditional Japanese toys from all eras, vending machines for small surprise toys and an interior so colorful and playful that children go crazy for it, and there's even a cradle for infants in the middle of the train for everyone to enjoy in their own way.
The Omocha Densha runs on the Wakayama Railway's small private line.
And there are so many other nuggets to discover to make your journeys unforgettable experiences, many articles on these special trains are available on our site.
