Cruise train
Seven Stars in Kyushu
Seven Stars in Kyushu is JR Kyushu's sleeper cruise train, a seven-car train of ten suites that loops out of Hakata station on one- and three-night journeys around Kyushu.
Each journey stops for walks, shrines, kilns and craft workshops, and the three-night journeys spend their middle night at a ryokan.
From
¥700,000 per person
Length
One to four nights
The train
10 suites, 20 guests at most
Age
12 and over at departure
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 (6)
3 nights
Takachiho Journey
From Hakata · Yatsushiro (Yatsushiro ware kiln), the Hisatsu Orange Railway, Kagoshima-Chuo (night on the train), Kirishima-Jingu, Hyugashi, then by coach to Takachiho (Amano-Iwato Shrine; night at the ryokan Takachiho Shinsen), by coach to Aso, Tateno, Hakata, Mojiko and Kokura (night on the train), Usa (Usa Jingu), Oita, Yufuin
Tuesday departures on 2 March, 27 April, 25 May and 15 June 2027
3 nights
Unzen Journey
From Hakata · Chikugo-Yoshii (Kurume kasuri indigo workshop), Hita, Yufuin, Oita, Bungo-Taketa (night on the train), Aso (outer caldera rim), Kumamoto, ferry from Kumamoto port to Shimabara, Unzen Onsen (night at the ryokan Hanzuiryo), Isahaya, Hizen-Hama, Mojiko and Kokura (night on the train), Kitsuki (Futago-ji temple), Oita, Yufuin
Tuesday departures on 13 July and 17, 24 and 31 August 2027
1 night
Kuju Journey
From Hakata · Bungo-Mori (walk in the Tadewara wetland below the Kuju mountains), Yufuin, Oita (night on the train), Bungo-Taketa (Oka Castle ruins or making the local gotomiso miso), Aso, Kumamoto
Saturday departures on 3 and 17 April, 29 May, 12 June, 31 July and 21 August 2027
4 nights
Premium Kyushu Journey: Sasebo and Saikai
From Hakata · Sasebo (private catamaran cruise among the Kujukushima islands), Saikai (Oshima, the thatched house Hokyuan; two nights at the Olive Bay Hotel), a night at the Hotel Okura Fukuoka, then the Kuju Journey on the train
One departure, 17 March 2027
3 nights
Yufuin Journey
From Hakata · Arita (porcelain kilns), Shiota-tsu, a night at one of Yufuin's three inns (Kamenoi Bessou, Yufuin Tamanoyu or Sanso Murata), Oita, the Hyuga-nada coast, Miyama (breakfast at the Chin Jukan kiln)
November 2026 to February 2027 (applications closed)
Show the other 1 routes
1 night
Waita Journey
From Hakata · Bungo-Mori (by coach to the Waita onsen villages), Oita (night on the train), Bungo-Taketa (Oka Castle ruins), Aso
September 2026 to February 2027 (applications closed)
The suites
DX Suite A
about 21 sq m · 1 on board
At the very end of car 7, with a wall-to-wall end window; the view is lost on legs where the locomotive runs at that end.
DX Suite B
about 17 sq m · 1 on board
In car 7, quieter in colour and more private.
Suite
about 10 sq m · 8 on board
Up to three to a car in cars 3 to 6, each with shower and lavatory; room 301 is wheelchair-accessible, and room 403 can be made up with a double bed on request.
Before you go
Dining
Meals are served on board and included, with each menu cooked by a named Kyushu restaurant or chef, among them the Hakata sushi bar Yamanaka, Restaurant Aréna in Fukuoka and La Verveine in Yufuin, alongside breakfasts from the train's own head chef. Some meals are taken off the train, such as lunch from the organic restaurant olmo coppia at the restaurant Kasei by Aso station.
How it is booked
Seven Stars in Kyushu allocates its places by ballot and opens each season for applications on a set date months in advance. Tell us your dates and our team in Japan applies for you, for the route and suite you choose, passes on your preferences and requests, arranges anything special with the operator, and books the stays before and after.
Dress
Smart casual for the welcome at the Kinsei lounge at Hakata station; formal for dinner on board (dinner jacket or suit, dresses or dressy suits); no dress code otherwise.
Good to know
No smoking on board; no televisions; no baths, showers only. Payment on board by credit card only. The train has been suspended for weather and earthquake damage, most recently the 1 August 2026 departure after the 2026 Kumamoto earthquake.
Every fare
From ¥700,000 per person, two sharing a Suite, for the 1-night Kuju Journey (April to August 2027); the 3-night journeys run from ¥1,350,000 per person in a Suite to ¥1,850,000 in DX Suite A, and ¥2,960,000 for one guest alone in DX Suite A (March to August 2027); the 4-night Premium Kyushu Journey (17 March 2027) is ¥1,300,000 to ¥1,850,000 per person, two sharing.
About the train
Eiji Mitooka of Don Design Associates designed the train inside and out (2013) and its 2022 refit, which turned the dining car into the salon car Jupiter with a tea room, and two suites into a gallery shop and bar, taking the train from 14 suites to 10. Interior woodwork includes kumiko lattice by Kinoshita Mokugei of Okawa, with Kakiemon and Seiroku kiln porcelain.
Run by JR Kyushu, since 2013.
COOL JAPAN AWARD 2025 (inbound category); Hospitality Awards 2025, Best Concept on the Move.
Stay before or after
Kawakami, Yufuin
RyokanSanso Murata
山荘 無量塔
Sanso Murata in Yufuin is one of the three inns used for the ryokan night on the Yufuin Journey, and the Takachiho, Unzen and Kuju journeys also stop at Yufuin.
Yufuin Onsen
RyokanYufuin Tamanoyu
由布院 玉の湯
Yufuin Tamanoyu is one of the three inns used for the ryokan night on the Yufuin Journey.
Lake Kinrin, Yufuin
RyokanKamenoi Bessou
亀の井別荘
Kamenoi Bessou in Yufuin is one of the three inns used for the ryokan night on the Yufuin Journey.
Manganji, Kurokawa Onsen
RyokanTakefue
秘境 白川源泉 山荘 竹ふえ
Takefue, near Kurokawa Onsen, is about 10 km west of the Tadewara wetland below the Kuju mountains, visited on the Kuju Journey.
Q&A
Seven Stars in Kyushu allocates its places by ballot and opens each season for applications on a set date months in advance. Tell us your dates and our team in Japan applies for you, for the route and suite you choose, passes on your preferences and requests, arranges anything special with the operator, and books the stays before and after.
From ¥700,000 per person, two sharing a Suite, for the 1-night Kuju Journey (April to August 2027); the 3-night journeys run from ¥1,350,000 per person in a Suite to ¥1,850,000 in DX Suite A, and ¥2,960,000 for one guest alone in DX Suite A (March to August 2027); the 4-night Premium Kyushu Journey (17 March 2027) is ¥1,300,000 to ¥1,850,000 per person, two sharing.
Takachiho Journey: Tuesday departures on 2 March, 27 April, 25 May and 15 June 2027. Unzen Journey: Tuesday departures on 13 July and 17, 24 and 31 August 2027. Kuju Journey: Saturday departures on 3 and 17 April, 29 May, 12 June, 31 July and 21 August 2027. Premium Kyushu Journey: Sasebo and Saikai: One departure, 17 March 2027. Yufuin Journey: November 2026 to February 2027 (applications closed). Waita Journey: September 2026 to February 2027 (applications closed).
12 and over at departure; under-18s must travel with a parent or guardian.