We have compiled all the necessary information on the differences between the Sunrise Izumo and Seto trains, how to make reservations, fares by room, notes on reservations, and how to get the best deals.
If you are considering making a reservation for the Sunrise Izumo/Seto, please take a look!
*We make every effort to update the latest information, but please double-check the timetable and boarding fees when you actually purchase your tickets!
Contents
- 1 What is Sunrise Izumo & Seto?
- 2 Difference between Sunrise Izumo and Seto
- 3 How to make reservations for Sunrise Izumo & Seto
- 4 Sunrise Izumo Timetable
- 5 Sunrise Izumo (down line)
- 6 Sunrise Izumo (up line)
- 7 Sunrise Seto Timetable
- 8 Room Types and Rates
- 9 Points to note when making reservations
- 10 Note the date of ticket purchase.
- 11 Refunds for purchased tickets
- 12 How to take the Sunrise Izumo/Seto at a discount
- 13 Find tickets on auction sites such as Yahoo!
- 14 Sign up for a tour
- 15 Summary of Sunrise Izumo & Seto Reservations
What is Sunrise Izumo & Seto?
The Sunrise Izumo and Seto are both sleeper trains operated with the Sunrise Express carriages.
It is the last sleeper express train in Japan that runs regularly every day. With its clean interior reputation, which has also won a Good Design Award, the train is so popular that there is a waiting list for its operation on holidays.
Difference between Sunrise Izumo and Seto
The difference between Sunrise Izumo and Seto lies in the destination.
Sunrise Izumo
7-car train that travels between Tokyo Station and Izumo Station in 11 hours and 58 minutes
Sunrise Seto
7-car train that travels between Tokyo Station and Takamatsu Station in 9 hours and 27 minutes
As shown in the illustration, the Sunrise Izumo and Seto trains depart from Tokyo Station with their cars connected to each other, and upon arrival at Okayama Station, the cars are detached and run toward their separate destinations.
Conversely, in the case of the up train, they depart from separate locations, meet at Okayama Station, and head for Tokyo Station.
How to make reservations for Sunrise Izumo & Seto
reference：wikipedia
Sunrise Izumo tickets cannot be reserved online. The general procedure is to go to the Midori-no-Madoguchi counter to purchase tickets. (Other ways to obtain tickets are described below.)
Tickets can be purchased at the Midori-no-Madoguchi counter from 10:00 a.m. one month prior to the boarding date. If you are planning a trip, it is best to secure tickets early.
Sunrise Izumo Timetable
At the beginning of this article, we introduced Sunrise Izumo as a train running between Tokyo and Izumo City, and Sunrise Seto as a train running between Tokyo and Takamatsu.
Both trains have a number of stations where passengers can board during the trip. Below is a list of the stations where passengers can board the train on the way up and down, and the times.
Sunrise Izumo (down line)
| Station | Tokyo | Yokohama | Atami | Numazu | Fuji | Shizuoka | Hamamatsu | Osaka | Sannomiya | Himeji | Okayama | Kurashiki | Bitchu Takahashi | Niimi | Yonago | Yasugi | Matsue | Shinji | Izumo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrive | – | 22:23 | 23:21 | 23:39 | 23:53 | 0:19 | 1:11 | – | – | 5:25 | 6:27 | 6:46 | 7:14 | 7:42 | 9:03 | 9:13 | 9:30 | 9:45 | 9:58 |
| Depart | 22:00 | 22:24 | 23:23 | 23:40 | 23:54 | 0:20 | 1:12 | – | – | 5:26 | 6:34 | 6:47 | 7:15 | 7:43 | 9:05 | 9:14 | 9:31 | 9:46 | – |
Sunrise Izumo (up line)
| Station | Izumo | Shinji | Matsue | Yasugi | Yonago | Niimi | Bitchu Takahashi | Kurashiki | Okayama | Himeji | Sannomiya | Osaka | Hamamatsu | Shizuoka | Fuji | Numazu | Atami | Yokohama | Tokyo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrive | – | 19:07 | 19:24 | 19:45 | 19:54 | 21:19 | 21:47 | 22:12 | 22:29 | 23:33 | 0:12 | 0:32 | – | 4:38 | 5:09 | 5:26 | 5:43 | 6:44 | 7:08 |
| Depart | 18:55 | 19:08 | 19:26 | 19:46 | 19:56 | 21:20 | 21:48 | 22:13 | 22:33 | 23:35 | 0:13 | 0:34 | – | 4:40 | 5:10 | 5:27 | 5:45 | 6:45 | – |
reference:サンライズ瀬戸・サンライズ出雲 時刻表
Sunrise Seto Timetable
Sunrise Seto （Down line）
| Station | Tokyo | Yokohama | Atami | Numazu | Fuji | Shizuoka | Hamamatsu | Osaka | Sannomiya | Himeji | Okayama | Kojima | Sakade | Takamatsu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrive | – | 22:23 | 23:21 | 23:39 | 23:53 | 0:19 | 1:11 | – | – | 5:25 | 6:27 | 6:52 | 7:08 | 7:27 |
| Depart | 22:00 | 22:24 | 23:23 | 23:40 | 23:54 | 0:20 | 1:12 | – | – | 5:26 | 6:31 | 6:53 | 7:09 | – |
Sunrise Seto （Up line）
| Station | Takamatsu | Sakade | Kojima | Okayama | Himeji | Sannomiya | Osaka | Hamamatsu | Shizuoka | Fuji | Numazu | Atami | Yokohama | Tokyo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrive | – | 21:44 | 22:00 | 22:22 | 23:33 | 0:12 | 0:32 | – | 4:38 | 5:09 | 5:26 | 5:43 | 6:44 | 7:08 |
| Depart | 21:26 | 21:45 | 22:01 | 22:33 | 23:35 | 0:13 | 0:34 | – | 4:40 | 5:10 | 5:27 | 5:45 | 6:45 | – |
reference:サンライズ瀬戸・サンライズ出雲 時刻表
Room Types and Rates
The fare for the Sunrise Izumo/Seto train can be calculated as the sum of three fares: fare, limited express fare, and sleeper berth fare.
Fares and express fares are uniform, but sleeper fares differ for each of the six rooms. In this issue, we have compiled the fares for the Tokyo – Izumo route.
【Fare for a ride between Tokyo and Izumo】
| A Sleeper Single Private Room Single Deluxe |
B Sleeper Private Room for 2 Sunrise Twin |
B Sleeper Single Private Room Single twin*. |
B Sleeper Single Private Room Single |
B Sleeper Single Private Room Solo |
Reserved seat Nobi Nobi Seat*. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Room Features | The only A-class rooms on the Sunrise Express Only 6 rooms each on Sunrise Seto and Izumo Spacious bed, separate desk and washbasin |
A large private room with two beds side by side. Room also equipped with a mini desk and washbasin Shower card included in the bunk rate |
A room with a flip-up bed that can be used by one or two people. The lower bed can be used as a simple sofa for two people facing each other. |
Standard type of private room for one person. About half of the organization consists of these private rooms. |
Private room for one person with a simple and minimalist configuration of space for sleeping | 14 rows of carpeted flat seats in a 2-tier configuration Mixed gender sleeping arrangements Blankets provided but no pillows |
| Fare | ¥11,990 | ¥11,990 | ¥11,990 | ¥11,990 | ¥11,990 | ¥11,990 |
| Express Charge | ¥3,240 | ¥3,240 | ¥3,240 | ¥3,240 | ¥3,240 | ¥3760* |
| sleeper charge | ¥13,730 | ¥15,120 | ¥9,430 | ¥7,560 | ¥6,480 | － |
| Total | ¥28,960 | ¥45,580 (2人)* | ¥24,660 | ¥22,790 | ¥21,710 | ¥15,750 |
reference:サンライズ出雲座席一覧|JRおでかけネット
1) For Sunrise Seto (between Tokyo and Takamatsu), the fare is 11,310 yen.
2) If you use an auxiliary bed for “Single Twin”, add 5,400 yen and the fare and express fare for one person.
3) The fare for “Sunrise Twin” is the total of fare + express fare for 2 persons and sleeper fare for 1 room.
4) The reserved-seat express fare is 3,760 yen in the regular season, 3,960 yen in the peak season, and 3,560 yen in the off-season.
Points to note when making reservations
Here are two things to keep in mind when purchasing tickets for Sunrise Izumo/Seto.
Note the date of ticket purchase.
For example, let’s say you purchase a ticket to arrive at Izumo Station on April 1.
If you board at Tokyo Station, there is no problem if you purchase a ticket for the 10:00 p.m. departure time on March 31.
However, if you are boarding at Shizuoka or Hamamatsu Station, you will need to purchase a ticket dated April 1, since the departure time of the train crosses the date.
The staff will probably confirm this with you when you purchase your ticket at the Midori-no-madoguchi (ticket window), but please be aware of this.
Refunds for purchased tickets
Once you have purchased a ticket, you may not be able to board the train because you have something to do.
Sunrise Izumo tickets can be refunded at the Midori-no madoguchi (ticket office) before the train departs. If you wish to request a refund, a fee will be charged as follows.
Note that if you purchased tickets and tickets with a credit card, the card used will be required for refunds.
- Up to 2 days before the departure date: 550 yen
The day before or on the day of departure: 30% of the total of the express fare and sleeping car fare
How to take the Sunrise Izumo/Seto at a discount
There are two other ways to make reservations for the Sunrise Izumo besides purchasing tickets at the Midori-no-Madoguchi.
If the conditions are met, you can take the Sunrise Izumo train at a lower price than usual, so we would like to introduce them to you.
Find tickets on auction sites such as Yahoo!
Sometimes tickets are sold through online auctions such as Yahoo!
If you are lucky, you may be able to find tickets for the date you want. If you want to get the best price, you may want to check out these auctions.
Check for Sunrise Izumo tickets on Yahoo! Auction
Sign up for a tour
Some travel agencies offer tours that include tickets for the Sunrise Izumo and Seto trains.
Below is a chart comparing a 3-day/2-night tour that includes a ride on Hankyu Express’ Sunrise Izumo between Tokyo and Izumo City by outbound: Sunrise Izumo (Nobi Nobi seat) / inbound: Airplane (JAL) with a tour that you arrange by yourself.
| How to arrange | Outward trip (Sunrise Izumo) |
Return trip (JAL) | Accommodation fee (for 1 day) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| For self-arrangement | ¥15,750 | ¥34,890 | ¥10,000 | ¥60,640 |
| For tours | ¥46,900 | ¥46,900 | ||
As an example, a tour will cost much less than individual transportation and lodging costs for a round-trip trip.
In addition, since there is no need to arrange tickets individually, tours are recommended for those who want to save time and money.
If the tour content is in line with your expectations, we encourage you to take a tour.
Click here for tours that include a ride on Hankyu Express’ Sunrise Izumo
Summary of Sunrise Izumo & Seto Reservations
We introduced how to make reservations for the Sunrise Izumo/Seto train, the timetable, the fare, precautions for reservations, and how to save money.
