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Japanese Train Suite Shiki-Shima is So Luxe it Requires an Application to Ride

By Matt Payne Oct 24, 2017 4:01 PM

Recently, the East Japan Railway Co. introduced the Train Suite Shiki-Shima, a new 10-car train offering passengers an unrivaled, two to four-day cruise-like experience through Japan’s scenic eastern countryside. How luxurious is this 34-person train, you ask? Tickets, which require an application process, are only available via lottery and start at $3,000 dollars per person — and run as high as $10,000.

The train features 17 suites spread out across six cars, each with lofts and wooden baths. The lounge car is home to a lively piano bar, but perhaps the train’s greatest highlight (besides, of course, its own theme song by noted composer Naoki Sato), is the dining car and overall culinary experience. As the train moves across eastern Japan, the menu shifts to reflect the culinary traditions and ingredients of whatever region the train is passing through. This is accomplished by working closely with chefs along the route, serving passengers either on the train or at points of disembarkation.

At either end of the train are enclosed, glass observation cars boasting panoramic views of the gorgeous Japanese countryside. Most trips are timed to coincide with seasonal shifts and are often done in line with the area’s traditional festivals, ensuring not only a luxurious experience, but a culturally stimulating one as well. Even the train’s windows are designed to evoke the feeling of a “quiet forest.” Customers also have the option of meeting with the staff before the trip to customize the journey to their specific needs.

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The high-end experience is not limited to your time on the train. The journey, which begins from Platform 13 ½ (built specifically for the train) at the Ueno Station in Tokyo, gives waiting guests access to a private lounge. Passengers receive a limousine ride to and from the airport, as well as complimentary luggage service between their homes or hotels and their rooms on the train — and did I already mention that the train has panoramic glass observation cars and its own theme song?

Pretty awesome.

Editor’s Note: This article is part of The Manual’s larger Journey to Japan travel guide. Over the course of a month, our writers had the pleasure of experiencing Japan in its many forms, from high-rise bars in Tokyo to traditional tea-ceremonies in Kyoto. We hope this series of articles will not only inform, but inspire you to take your own trip to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Matt Payne is an Oklahoma-based travel photographer, writer, public speaker, and filmmaker. Matt has covered Rwanda, Alaska… Read Full Bio

5 Tips If You’re Traveling With Cigars: I Learned No. 2 the Hard Way

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Traveling with cigars can be challenging if you’re not prepared. The lack of preparation can lead to your favorite cigars getting smashed from inadequate storage, or they can peel because they weren’t kept at the proper temperature, among other issues. Sometimes you do all the right things, and still come away shaking your head.

I’ve been smoking cigars for two decades now, and it’s not beneath me to admit that I’ve made plenty of cigar travel mistakes in that span, and as recently as two weeks ago. You live, you learn, and hope you don’t waste a stogie on the next trip. My most recent cigar travel mistake is what inspired me to share these tips. Sure, there are plenty of articles out there offering similar advice. But this list comes from a cigar smoker and writer who has visited six countries and about a dozen states in the last year alone. And in that time, mistakes were made, and lessons were learned.

The art of adventure packing: packing light but effective

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If you are like me, you grew up with stories of adventure. Whether you were fans of fictional adventure like Indiana Jones and Alan Quartermain, or you loved the true-life accounts of Ernest Shackleton and David Livingstone, there is a deep pull to venture into the unknown. The desire to abandon the Mon-Fri 9-5 in search of something deeper. You could spend your time thinking about hopping a boat and sailing the seven seas like the pirates of old. You could look up at the elusive peak of a mountain and believe it begs to be summited. You could stare into the depths of a jungle and wonder what treasures it hides beneath its canopy. No matter what kind of adventurer you are, you need to be prepared for whatever the world throws at you. I have climbed Salkantay Peak and explored the jungles of Peru. I have scanned the plains of Africa in search of a giant cat (the prospect of which was much more comforting than the actual sighting and wondering if I was far enough away). And I have disappeared into the secluded areas of Svalbard. One thing that remained constant was the need for the right pack.

Here is what I learned when packing for my adventures.

Savannah Beyond the Postcard

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Savannah is one of those cities that seems almost too easy to like. The live oaks are dramatic. The Spanish moss does exactly what it is supposed to do. The brick sidewalks buckle in all the right places. The houses look like they were designed by people who understood proportion, shade, and the value of a proper front step. Even the light seems to arrive with better manners than it does in most places.

I have a built-in advantage when it comes to Savannah. We have family there, so we have been back several times, not just once for the checklist version of the city. I have also done a photography workshop there, which is a terrific way to learn any city. You get up early, stay out late, and pay attention to alleys, doorways, ironwork, reflections, and the way a city changes when the tourists are still asleep.