Sunrise Izumo & Sunrise Seto

The Sunrise Izumo and the Sunrise Seto are two sleeper trains that leave Tokyo as one. Every night at 21:26, fourteen cars pull out of Tokyo Station and run west through the night; at Okayama, just after six the next morning, they part. Seven cars cross the Inland Sea to Takamatsu on the island of Shikoku, and seven turn north through the mountains to Izumoshi, on the Sea of Japan side of the country.

It is the only sleeper train in Japan that still runs a round trip every day. The locomotive-hauled blue trains that once left Tokyo every evening have gone, and the Sunrise is what is left: a train built in 1998 for the purpose, mostly private rooms on two decks, with a carpeted space for those who would rather sleep on the floor.

As Takamatsu's tourist office puts it, you can leave Tokyo after the last flight and arrive before the first. Westbound, the night covers the long run past Nagoya and Kyoto; the morning brings the Great Seto Bridge for one half of the train and the Takahashi River, Mount Daisen and Lake Shinji for the other.

The train leaves Tokyo at 21:26 and makes its last evening calls at Yokohama, Atami, Numazu, Fuji, Shizuoka and, just before one in the morning, Hamamatsu. Then it runs through the night, past Nagoya and Kyoto without stopping, and calls next at Himeji at 05:25.

The split at Okayama

At Okayama, at 06:27, the train divides. The Sunrise Seto leaves first, at 06:31, down the Seto-Ōhashi Line to Kojima, and at about seven crosses the Seto Inland Sea on the Great Seto Bridge, the railway on the lower deck and the expressway above. It calls at Sakaide and reaches Takamatsu at 07:27. On Fridays and days before holidays in many months it runs on to Kotohira, at 08:39.

The Sunrise Izumo follows at 06:34 to Kurashiki, where it turns north onto the Hakubi Line. The line climbs beside the Takahashi River, past Bitchū-Takahashi and Niimi, crosses the Chūgoku Mountains and comes down the Hino valley with Mount Daisen ahead. After Yonago it calls at Yasugi and Matsue, runs along the south shore of Lake Shinji, and ends at Izumoshi at 10:00.

Coming back

The two halves set off from opposite ends in the evening: the Izumo at 18:57 and the Seto at 21:26. They meet at Okayama, leave together at 22:34, call at Himeji, Sannomiya and Osaka after midnight, and reach Tokyo at 07:08, with Mount Fuji off to the inland side of the train around five.

The train

Each half is a seven-car 285 series electric train, built in 1998 and owned jointly by JR West and JR Central. Its livery is meant to evoke a new dawn, and most of its cars are double-deckers given over to private rooms: Solo, Single, Single Twin, Sunrise Twin and Single Deluxe. The Nobinobi is two decks of carpeted floor, with a place for each passenger. Cars 3 and 10 have a small lounge, a shower and a vending machine. There is no food on board, so bring dinner and breakfast with you.

The Sunrise runs every night of the year, one train in each direction, coupled between Tokyo and Okayama.

Westbound, from Tokyo

On the Izumo branch: Kurashiki 06:46, Bitchū-Takahashi 07:14, Niimi 07:44, Yonago 09:08, Matsue 09:34.

Eastbound, to Tokyo

On the Izumo branch: Matsue 19:27, Yonago 19:54, Niimi 21:19, Kurashiki 22:14.

Good to know:

• Kotohira. On Fridays and days before holidays in many months the Seto runs on from Takamatsu at 08:02 to Kotohira, arriving 08:39 and calling at Tadotsu and Zentsūji. In autumn 2026 that is 21 nights in October and November.
• No stops in the small hours. Westbound there is nothing between Hamamatsu (00:54) and Himeji (05:26); eastbound, nothing between Osaka (00:33) and Shizuoka (04:40).
• Changes. The departure from Tokyo moved from 21:50 to 21:26 on 14 March 2026; older guides still give the earlier time.

Times as of October 2026, from JR West's timetable. Check your date on JR West's Sunrise page (opens in a new tab) (in Japanese).

A ticket is built from parts: the fare, a limited express charge, and either a reserved place in the Nobinobi, which is covered by the express charge, or a berth charge for a private room, which comes with an express charge ¥530 lower. On JR West's planner for Tuesday 6 October 2026, a Nobinobi place from Tokyo came to ¥15,590 to Takamatsu and ¥16,150 to Izumoshi. Berth charges are the same for any distance: ¥6,600 for a Solo, ¥7,700 for a Single, ¥9,600 for a Single Twin and ¥13,980 for the Single Deluxe; the two-bed Sunrise Twin needs two people's charges even for one.

Tickets go on sale at 10:00 a month before the date, and the train is in high demand, so book early. JR West's English booking site sells the private rooms. Fares checked October 2026 on JR West's planner and JR Central's berth charges; Japanese yen, one adult.

The Japan Rail Pass covers the Nobinobi, not the rooms. The Nobinobi is sold as an ordinary reserved seat, and the pass covers ordinary cars on limited express trains, so a pass holder reserves a place at no extra cost. A private room is a sleeping car, and for that the pass requires both the berth charge and the limited express charge to be paid. A 7-day ordinary pass costs ¥50,000 bought online, or ¥53,000 through an agency abroad.

For this journey alone, a pass is not worth buying. A Nobinobi place from Tokyo to Takamatsu costs ¥15,590 without one. A pass pays when the Sunrise is one night in a longer trip that also uses the Shinkansen, and you are content to sleep on the Nobinobi's carpet.

Checked October 2026 against the Japan Rail Pass conditions of use (opens in a new tab) and prices (opens in a new tab).

The train arrives at breakfast time, with the whole day ahead. The places below follow the two halves of the train: Ritsurin and Kotohira on the Seto side in Shikoku, and Kurashiki, Takahashi, Matsue and Izumo along the Izumo's route north to the Sea of Japan.

The train is the night's accommodation, but a night either side makes the trip easier. In Tokyo, the Tokyo Station Hotel is part of the red-brick station itself. In Takamatsu, the JR Hotel Clement stands a minute from the station where the Seto arrives.

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