Day train
52 Seats of Happiness
Fifty Two Seats of Happiness is Seibu Railway's four-car restaurant train between central Tokyo (Ikebukuro or Seibu-Shinjuku) and Chichibu in the Saitama hills, serving brunch on the way out and dinner on the way back on about a hundred days a year.
A course to a guest chef's menu is served at tables in two dining cars designed by Kengo Kuma, beside an open kitchen car.
From
¥16,000 per person
Length
about 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours
Age
Children of any age may travel but pay the adult price
Japan
We apply for you
Tell us the journey and the season. Our team in Japan watches the ballots and application dates, applies with the route and suite you want, settles your requests with the operator, and arranges the nights before and after at places we know. At the operator’s own fare.
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Have it reviewed for USD 85The routes (2)
A day
Brunch course
Ikebukuro or Seibu-Shinjuku to Seibu-Chichibu · Ashigakubo (about 30 minutes' stop; guests may end the trip there)
On set days, mostly weekends and holidays, about 100 days a year; Ikebukuro 11:02 or Seibu-Shinjuku 10:40 to Seibu-Chichibu 13:57
A day
Dinner course
Seibu-Chichibu to Ikebukuro or Seibu-Shinjuku · no stops for guests
Same days; Seibu-Chichibu 16:00 to Ikebukuro 18:22, or 16:00 or 17:16 to Seibu-Shinjuku 18:34 or 19:34, varying with the season
The special cars
Open dining car 2 (summer)
Persimmon-tannin washi on the ceiling and Chichibu meisen silk in the partition to the vestibule; summer scenes outside.
Open dining car 4 (winter)
Ceiling of Nishikawa cedar from the Hanno area and Chichibu meisen silk in the partition to the vestibule; winter scenes outside.
Car 1 charter plan
Car 1 can be hired whole; booked separately, not on the train's booking site.
Before you go
Dining
Car 3 is an open kitchen, and a course to a guest chef's menu is served at the tables, changing each quarter; for October to December 2026, the tenth year, the 'Shifuku no Kyoen' course gathers dishes by four past chefs, Philippe Batton, Kentaro Chen of Akasaka Szechwan Hanten, Mamoru Ochiai of La Bettola da Ochiai and Kyoko Kagata of Bistro Aoi. Soft drinks, coffee and tea are included; Chichibu wines, sake and the train's own Ichiro's Malt bottlings are extra.
How it is booked
52 Seats of Happiness opens each season for applications on a set date months in advance and is sold only as a package with its meal. Tell us your dates and our team in Japan reserves the seats and any meal for you, passes on your preferences and requests, arranges anything special with the operator, and books the stays before and after.
Good to know
No changes to the menu for dislikes or allergies; no outside food or drink; no pets (assistance dogs excepted). Alcohol is settled by card or e-money after last orders. Brunch guests may end the trip at Ashigakubo, where the train stops for about 30 minutes.
Every fare
¥16,000 per person for the brunch course from Ikebukuro or Seibu-Shinjuku to Seibu-Chichibu, ¥19,000 for the dinner course back (2026, both ¥19,000 from October to December 2026), including the ride, a Seibu line one-day pass, the course meal, soft drinks and a gift; the same price for children; alcohol extra.
About the train
Kengo Kuma, exterior and interior, rebuilt from a four-car Seibu 4000-series train; the outside shows Chichibu's four seasons and the Arakawa river, the inside uses Chichibu meisen silk, persimmon-tannin washi and Nishikawa cedar; logo by Masayoshi Kodaira; first run 17 April 2016.
Run by Seibu Railway, since 2016.
Q&A
52 Seats of Happiness opens each season for applications on a set date months in advance and is sold only as a package with its meal. Tell us your dates and our team in Japan reserves the seats and any meal for you, passes on your preferences and requests, arranges anything special with the operator, and books the stays before and after.
¥16,000 per person for the brunch course from Ikebukuro or Seibu-Shinjuku to Seibu-Chichibu, ¥19,000 for the dinner course back (2026, both ¥19,000 from October to December 2026), including the ride, a Seibu line one-day pass, the course meal, soft drinks and a gift; the same price for children; alcohol extra.
Brunch course: On set days, mostly weekends and holidays, about 100 days a year; Ikebukuro 11:02 or Seibu-Shinjuku 10:40 to Seibu-Chichibu 13:57. Dinner course: Same days; Seibu-Chichibu 16:00 to Ikebukuro 18:22, or 16:00 or 17:16 to Seibu-Shinjuku 18:34 or 19:34, varying with the season.
Children of any age may travel but pay the adult price; there is no children's menu.