World’s most luxurious train boasts five-star suites and a Michelin-starred restaurant… but a ticket will set you back £2,240
Trips on Japan's new, champagne-gold coloured Shiki-shima train have already sold out until March 2018
WITH a long weekend on the horizon, many of us will be girding our loins to join the thousands of other Brits escaping the rat race by train this evening.
But imagine a journey where not only do you get a seat, you also get your own cabin complete with uniformed butlers and Michelin-starred chefs serving up five-star cuisine?
Ok, so we’re not talking about your average journey from London to Manchester here.
You’d need to travel to Japan and take a trip on the new Train Suite Shiki-shima to experience this level of luxury.
The champagne-gold coloured, 10-car sleeper train sets off on its first trip on Monday.
With its stunning suites, elegant décor and futuristic observatory cars to take in the passing scenery, it’s like a five star hotel on rails.
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The Shiki-shima train – which means “Island of Four Seasons” – is operated by JR East and can carry 34 passengers at a time, travelling from Tokyo across the northern region of Tohoku and the northernmost island of Hokkaido on trips lasting from one to three nights.
Luxury is very much the name of the game, as the Shiki-shima won’t win any prizes for speed.
It can travel up to 110 kph - almost three times slower than the nation’s fastest train which boasts a top speed of 320 kph.
It doesn’t come cheap either – one ticket will set you back a minimum of £2,240 (Y320,500 per person).
Though the hefty price tag clearly hasn’t proved too off-putting – it’s already sold out up to March next year.
You can kick off your trip by relaxing for a few hours in the Prologue Shiki-shima lounge.
Away from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo’s Ueno station, guests sip on green tea and traditional Japanese sweet treats.
Passengers are then guided to Platform 13.5 to board the train via a red carpet, where they are greeted with a bow by smartly-dressed staff.
Inside, the carriages have been decked out by designer Ken Kiyoyuki Okuyama, who is famed for his work with the likes of Porsche and Ferrari.
There’s a forest-themed lounge, complete with gold metal branches along the walls, a black piano, a modern glass fireplace and Herringbone parquet wood flooring.
The corridors are an homage to Japanese heritage, with lacquerware latticework shaped like traditional flowers.
Suites are clad in elegant wood panelling and geometric wall art, with the two plushest cabins featuring fancy bathrooms containing cypress wood baths and kimono-style robes.
There’s even a restaurant car, complete with custom-designed cutlery and a French-inspired menu courtesy of Katsuhiro Nakamura, the first Japanese chef to receive a Michelin star.
Tasuku Hiramatsu, a deputy manager at JR East, told : “The designer wanted to create something totally new for trains that does not exist anywhere else in the world.
“That was the basis for this concept. The exterior is futuristic, the interior is Japan."
Last year we reported on the most luxurious yachts in the world, boasting helipads, floating beach clubs and even an on-board cinema.
Earlier this month we took a look inside the UK’s most luxurious student apartment, which comes with a hefty £67,000 a year price tag.