Cruise train
Twilight Express Mizukaze
TWILIGHT EXPRESS MIZUKAZE is JR West's ten-car sleeper cruise train, with 16 rooms and open observation decks at both ends, running one-night journeys between Kyoto and Shimonoseki along the Japan Sea or the Inland Sea, and a two-night round trip from Kyoto.
The interiors are art deco with crafts from the route, and each journey stops for temples, old merchant towns and gardens.
From
¥385,000 per person
Length
One to two nights
The train
16 rooms, 34 guests at most
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 (5)
1 night
San'in Course (Shimonoseki-bound)
Kyoto to Shimonoseki · Kinosaki Onsen (Onsen-ji temple, with a talk by the priest), the Amarube Viaduct, the Hagi Reverberatory Furnace, Hagi (Shoin Shrine and Shoka Sonjuku, World Heritage)
Saturday departures on 19 December 2026, 23 January, 20 and 27 February 2027 (applications closed); 13 March and 17 April 2027 (tour desk), 15 May and 12 June 2027 through travel agencies
1 night
San'in Course (Kyoto-bound)
Shimonoseki to Kyoto · the Orii coast, Oda (the old streets of Omori and the Kumagai House at the Iwami Ginzan silver mine), Tottori and Higashihama (the former Yoshida Clinic and Tottori Folk Crafts Museum from December to April; the Sand Museum and Tottori Sand Dunes from May), the Amarube Viaduct
Monday departures on 21 December 2026 and 25 January 2027 (applications closed); 8 and 15 March, 19 April, 17 May and 14 June 2027
1 night
Lake Biwa Loop / Setouchi Course (Shimonoseki-bound)
Kyoto to Shimonoseki · Nagahama (the Kannon of Dogan-ji, a National Treasure, and Shakugo-ji), the west shore of Lake Biwa, Iwakuni (Kintaikyo Bridge, Kikkawa Historical Museum), the Obatake Strait on the Seto Inland Sea
Saturday departures on 5 and 12 December 2026, 9, 16 and 30 January and 6 February 2027 (applications closed); 24 April, 22 May and 26 June 2027 (tour desk); 10 April, 29 May and 5 June 2027 through travel agencies
1 night
Lake Biwa Loop / Setouchi Course (Kyoto-bound)
Shimonoseki to Kyoto · Hofu (Mori Garden and the Mohri Museum), the Obatake Strait, Omi-Hachiman (Hyde Memorial Hall and Vories Memorial Hall), Lake Biwa
Monday departures on 29 March, 26 April, 31 May and 21 June 2027 (not run from December to February)
2 nights
Setouchi / San'in Course (round trip)
From Kyoto · Wake, Kurashiki (Bikan historical quarter), the Onomichi Channel, Unnan and Matsue (Sugaya Tatara, the only place where a tatara iron furnace building survives), Tottori and Higashihama, the Amarube Viaduct
Wednesday departures on 16 December 2026, 20 and 27 January, 3 and 24 February 2027 (applications closed); 10 and 24 March, 14 April, 16 and 23 June 2027 (tour desk); 26 May and 2 June 2027 through travel agencies
The suites
THE SUITE
about 35 sq m · 1 on board
The whole of car 7: an entrance, a private balcony, living and dining room, bedroom and a bathroom with a bathtub; two guests, up to four with extra beds.
Royal Twin
about 10 sq m · 12 on board
Laid out to see both sides of the train, with opening windows and doors made from timber of the five Chugoku prefectures.
Royal Twin (universal design)
about 12 sq m · 1 on board
Wheelchair-accessible, in car 4; the corridor-side view is narrower.
Royal Single
about 7 sq m · 2 on board
For one, or two with an extra bed, in car 4.
Before you go
Dining
Meals are cooked on board in the dining car DINER PLEIADES, with an open kitchen, to menus produced by the food writer Takeshi Kadokami and overseen by chefs including Yoshihiro Murata of Kikunoi and Hajime Yoneda of HAJIME, with a regional chef for each course (FÉE DES NEIGES and Mitsuki in Tottori, Hasunomi in Okayama, Anagomeshi Ueno in Miyajimaguchi, Biwa collage in Nagahama). On the San'in Course to Kyoto lunch is taken at the restaurant AL MARE at Higashihama.
How it is booked
Twilight Express Mizukaze 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
Semi-formal (suit and tie, dress or jacket) for dinner and pub time; smart casual (collared shirt, dress or jacket) in the departure lounge and the train's public spaces; casual for excursions.
Good to know
No smoking on board except in the smoking room in the lounge car. Departures are cancelled for snow, bad weather and other causes, as on 21, 26 and 28 January, 27 June and 11 July 2026.
Every fare
From ¥385,000 per person, two sharing a Royal Twin, for a 1-night Kyoto-bound course (December 2026 to February 2027 and June 2027, ¥415,000 from March to May 2027); the 2-night round trip is ¥660,000 to ¥710,000 per person in a Royal Twin and ¥1,440,000 to ¥1,490,000 per person in THE SUITE (December 2026 to June 2027).
About the train
Kazuya Ura (architect and interior designer, formerly of Nikken Sekkei) produced the interiors and Tetsuo Fukuda (A&F) the exterior, in a 'nostalgic modern' style with an art deco interior (2017); uniforms by Yoshie Inaba.
Run by JR West, since 2017.
Brunel Award (13th), commendation, 2025.
Stay before or after
Kinosaki Onsen, Toyooka
RyokanNishimuraya Honkan
西村屋本館
Nishimuraya Honkan is in Kinosaki Onsen, where the Shimonoseki-bound San'in Course stops from March to September.
Nagato Yumoto Onsen
RyokanBettei Otozure
別邸 音信
Bettei Otozure at Nagato Yumoto is near Hagi and on the way to Shimonoseki, where the San'in Course to Shimonoseki ends and the Kyoto-bound courses begin.
Miyahama Onsen, Hatsukaichi
RyokanSekitei
庭園の宿 石亭
Sekitei at Miyajimaguchi is on the Inland Sea line about half an hour from Iwakuni, where the Shimonoseki-bound Setouchi Course stops.
Q&A
Twilight Express Mizukaze 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 ¥385,000 per person, two sharing a Royal Twin, for a 1-night Kyoto-bound course (December 2026 to February 2027 and June 2027, ¥415,000 from March to May 2027); the 2-night round trip is ¥660,000 to ¥710,000 per person in a Royal Twin and ¥1,440,000 to ¥1,490,000 per person in THE SUITE (December 2026 to June 2027).
San'in Course (Shimonoseki-bound): Saturday departures on 19 December 2026, 23 January, 20 and 27 February 2027 (applications closed); 13 March and 17 April 2027 (tour desk), 15 May and 12 June 2027 through travel agencies. San'in Course (Kyoto-bound): Monday departures on 21 December 2026 and 25 January 2027 (applications closed); 8 and 15 March, 19 April, 17 May and 14 June 2027. Lake Biwa Loop / Setouchi Course (Shimonoseki-bound): Saturday departures on 5 and 12 December 2026, 9, 16 and 30 January and 6 February 2027 (applications closed); 24 April, 22 May and 26 June 2027 (tour desk); 10 April, 29 May and 5 June 2027 through travel agencies. Lake Biwa Loop / Setouchi Course (Kyoto-bound): Monday departures on 29 March, 26 April, 31 May and 21 June 2027 (not run from December to February). Setouchi / San'in Course (round trip): Wednesday departures on 16 December 2026, 20 and 27 January, 3 and 24 February 2027 (applications closed); 10 and 24 March, 14 April, 16 and 23 June 2027 (tour desk); 26 May and 2 June 2027 through travel agencies.