The Joyful Train "Aru Ressha"
Aru Ressha Joyful train (JR Kyushu)
The petite train with a taste for luxury
JR Kyushu wanted to revive a train concept in the image of the luxury night trains that have been touring Japan for some years: a gourmet restaurant in a sumptuous setting, just long enough to enjoy a meal while traveling in the north of the island.
An old school idea for a modern dream train
More than a century ago, the Kyushu Railway commissioned an American company to build a luxurious restaurant train, which was never used due to a change in the Japanese company's status.
The aim of the " Aru Ressha " concept was therefore to revive this aborted train, this great and beautiful idea, and here it is in the form of a two-car train, entirely transformed into a high-standard restaurant by the best in each field: cuisine, design, conception.
The great Japanese designer Eiji Mitooka, already at the helm of the luxury train " Seven Stars in Kyushu "The "Aru Ressha" is a smaller-scale imitation. No grand tour over several days, just a journey in a magnificent, luxurious atmosphere through the mountains of northern Kyushu, on the beautiful Kyudai rural line leading to the spa town of Yufuin.
Gold & Wood
The exterior livery of the Aru Ressha features gold, shine, gold and black to accentuate it, as well as the arabesque motifs around the train's perimeter.
As you step aboard the Aru Ressha, the stained-glass windows catch your eye with their traditional, luminous openwork carved wood shapes. It's truly magnificent; you immediately feel that nothing has been left to chance and that you're in an exceptional object, just as its creator, Nobutaro Hara, a model railroad enthusiast, wanted and created a museum; that's why model trains are displayed in showcases on board the Aru Ressha as a tribute to him.
JR Kyushu Joyful train Aru Ressha (Toretabi)
Inside, two cars dominated by wood and fabrics with warm floral motifs. Fabrics on armchairs, blinds and the floor in car 1. Wood on the ceiling in decoration, veneer, panels separating dining areas, carved openwork wood as in the "Seven Stars in Kyushu", where supreme luxury dominates. Glass partitions engraved with the train's name and logo are placed between the tables in Car 1.
Tables for two, three or four guests, in wood and metal, line both carriages, along with lamps reminiscent of bygone eras, very Art Deco.
Delicate palate
The exceptional will also be on your plates, with tableware made by Kyushu artisans especially for the Aru Ressha. At the helm is renowned chef Yoshihiro Narisawa, who runs a restaurant in Tokyo that has been ranked among the 50 best restaurants in the world and the best in Japan for several years. Haute gastronomy. His trick is to go to the producers to select the best produce, vegetables, meat, fish, herbs and fruit, and to use only what he finds in the region where he works.
Joyful train Aru ressha meal (JR Kyushu)
The dishes are therefore different between his Tokyo establishment and the Aru Ressha, where he had to rethink everything to prepare original dishes. We won't list every dish and its succulent ingredients, which change according to the season anyway, so you'll have to make your discoveries at the last minute. Let yourself be carried away by the high quality of Japanese cuisine, and you're sure not to be disappointed.
The bill, please!
The Aru Ressha train runs infrequently, sometimes two weekends a month in summer. In September (2024), not at all. And every weekend from October onwards. I'm not going to hide it, but it's very difficult to get a seat (minimum two reservations) as this train is booked up weeks in advance, but who's trying anything....
It costs 35,000 yen (€220) per person for the journey and meal. 30,000 yen for children aged 10 and over only.
The train departs from Hakata station in Fukuoka at 10:58 a.m., arriving in Yufuin at 2:08 p.m.
You can choose the return meal from Yufuin at 3:00 p.m., arriving in Hakata at 6:03 p.m.
