Japan is renowned for its excellent train service: the most efficient, the fastest, and the cleanest in the world. Now, in order to showcase the natural beauty and culture of its southern island of Kyushu in style, JR Kyushu has presented the travel enthusiast with Seven Stars In Kyushu. This glamorous sleeper train that runs through several of Kyushu’s prefectures to some of the more remote and beautiful locales. It’s more than a mere train trip; it’s an authentically Japanese cultural experience — and a five-star one at that. A trip on Seven Stars in Kyushu should be on the bucket list of anyone who enjoys Japanese art, culture and nature.
Unlike Japan’s shinkansen bullet trains, Seven Stars is a cruise train, leisurely meandering through Kyushu’s subtropical climes complete with the nostalgic gentle rocking and the clickety-clack of an old-fashioned train.
Named for the seven prefectures of Kyushu Island and the train’s seven coaches, Seven Stars in Kyushu is a modern version of the luxury scenic train experience. Fashioned by renowned industrial designer Eiji Mitooka, the interior is furnished in a classical style with Japanese finishings. Appreciation for the work of local experts and artisans is evident. Decorated by craftsmen from Fukuoka, the train is known for its fine kumiko design, a prized Japanese woodwork lattice technique which is handmade without nails and creates intricate geometries from slivers of Japanese wood.
Look Back in Elegance
The journey starts at Fukuoka’s Hakata Station in the elegant wood-panelled Seven Stars lounge, indulging in canapes and Kyushu-centric beverages with a live performance by a concert pianist before it’s time to alight the train. The classical style of the lounge and the old-fashioned tickets and luggage tags distributed to the passengers upon arrival give one the feeling of stepping back in time to the golden age of train travel, although with every comfort of the modern world.
Seven Stars comprises 10 suites that ensure an intimate experience, each one lavishly appointed in a style far too luxurious to be imagined on a train. The spacious cabins each have their own stylish, Japanese-inspired en suite bathrooms with wooden floors and an Arita-ware porcelain sink. Furnishings like the writing desk and armchairs by day cleverly convert into comfortable beds by night. Sliding doors with a heavy curtain ensure silence and privacy when it comes time to sleep in your comfortable, locally made woven-cotton pajamas.
Afternoons and evenings on board are never dull, with live….
By Terry Elward
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