Twilight Express Mizukaze: Kyoto · Kurashiki · Onomichi · Matsue · Tottori · Shimonoseki
Sixteen rooms, one of them a whole car
JR West · Sleeper
The Twilight Express Mizukaze is JR West's sleeper through western Japan: one-night courses between Kyoto and Shimonoseki, by the Sanin side or by Biwa-ko and the Setouchi side, and a two-night round tour from Kyoto that takes in both Setouchi and Sanin. It is a hybrid train of ten cars and 16 rooms, in an Art Deco-inspired style JR West calls 'nostalgic modern', and the designer Kazuya Ura supervised it.
THE SUITE is the whole of Car 7: about 35 m² for two to four guests, with its own entrance, a private balcony, a living and dining room, a bedroom and a bathroom with a tub. The other rooms are 13 ROYAL TWIN of about 10 m², one of them a universal room of about 12 m² in Car 4, and two ROYAL SINGLE of about 7 m², also in Car 4. Car 6 is the diner, PLEIADES, with an open kitchen; Car 5 is the lounge, SALON DE L'OUEST, with a bar, a tea table and a boutique; and Cars 1 and 10 are observation cars, with an open-air deck.
The train's own history page goes back to the former Twilight Express, which ran from 1989 to 2015 and carried about 1,160,000 passengers. The 2027 menus draw on Kikunoi (Yoshihiro Murata) and Hajime (Hajime Yoneda), with a lunch in Shimonoseki by Mitsuki. Places are allocated by lottery in an application window each term, by web or post; that route is in Japanese, and e-mail applications and e-mail enquiries are not accepted. On some dates JR West sells through contracted overseas agencies, for the round tour only and only in THE SUITE or a ROYAL TWIN.
Places on the Twilight Express Mizukaze are allocated by lottery in one application window per term, not first come; outside Japan, JR West sells some dates through its contracted agencies, and that sale covers only the two-night round tour, in THE SUITE or a ROYAL TWIN. We track the application windows, prepare the application with you, and plan the rest of Japan around the dates you are offered.
- The application window tracked for you, term by term
- Hotels joined either side of the journey, as one trip
The route
Drawn to show the order of the stations, not the exact track.
The journeys
Sanin course
1 night
Between Kyoto and Shimonoseki by the Sanin side, starting from either end: Saturdays from Kyoto and Mondays from Shimonoseki, March to June 2027.
Biwa-ko Loop / Setouchi course
1 night
Also between Kyoto and Shimonoseki from either end, by Biwa-ko and the Setouchi side: Saturdays from Kyoto and Mondays from Shimonoseki, March to June 2027.
Setouchi / Sanin round tour
2 nights
Kyoto to Kyoto, taking in Kurashiki and the Yurinso villa, the Onomichi channel, Tatara ironmaking and tea at Meimei-an around Unnan and Matsue, the Tottori sand dunes and jibiki-ami net fishing, and the Amarube Viaduct. Wednesday departures in March, April and June 2027, and the only course JR West's overseas agencies sell.
On board: the cabins
ROYAL SINGLE
about 7 m²
Two only, in Car 4. JR West's overseas agencies do not sell this category.
ROYAL TWIN
about 10 m²
Twelve across Cars 2, 3, 8 and 9, and a universal room of about 12 m² in Car 4: thirteen in all.
THE SUITE
about 35 m²
One only: the whole of Car 7, for two to four guests, with its own entrance, a private balcony, a living and dining room, a bedroom and a bathroom with a tub.
The carriages
Diner PLEIADES
Car 6, with an open kitchen.
Lounge SALON DE L'OUEST
Car 5: a bar, a tea table and a boutique.
Observation cars
Cars 1 and 10, at either end of the train, with an open-air deck.
Booking this train
The one-night courses run between Kyoto and Shimonoseki from either end, Saturdays from Kyoto and Mondays from Shimonoseki, and the two-night round tour leaves Kyoto on a Wednesday and comes back there, which makes it the easiest course to fit around a stay in the city. It is also the course JR West's contracted overseas agencies sell, on some dates and only in THE SUITE or a ROYAL TWIN. JR West's own application route is in Japanese, by web or post, with places allocated by lottery in one window per term and no e-mail applications or enquiries accepted, so we track the windows, prepare the application with you, and build Kyoto and the rest of Japan around the date you are offered. THE SUITE takes two to four guests, so two couples can share the whole of Car 7.
Questions, answered
Can I book the Twilight Express Mizukaze from outside Japan?
On some dates, through JR West's contracted overseas agencies, and only for the two-night Setouchi / Sanin round tour in THE SUITE or a ROYAL TWIN; ROYAL SINGLE is not sold that way. JR West's own route is a lottery each term, by web or post and in Japanese, and it accepts neither e-mail applications nor e-mail enquiries. We track the windows, prepare the application with you, and plan the rest of Japan around the date you are offered.
Which course should I take?
The two-night Setouchi / Sanin round tour for the fullest version, and the one sold abroad: Kyoto to Kyoto with Kurashiki and the Yurinso villa, the Onomichi channel, Tatara ironmaking and tea at Meimei-an around Unnan and Matsue, the Tottori sand dunes and the Amarube Viaduct. The one-night Sanin and Biwa-ko Loop / Setouchi courses run between Kyoto and Shimonoseki from either end, and suit a trip that is moving between the two cities.
Which room should I book?
THE SUITE is the whole of Car 7, about 35 m² for two to four guests, with its own entrance, a private balcony, a living and dining room, a bedroom and a bathroom with a tub; there is one. Thirteen of the 16 rooms are ROYAL TWIN, about 10 m², one of them a universal room of about 12 m². The two ROYAL SINGLE rooms, about 7 m², are not sold through the overseas agencies.
Is this the original Twilight Express?
No. The train's own history page covers the former Twilight Express, which ran from 1989 to 2015 and carried about 1,160,000 passengers. Today's Mizukaze is a hybrid train of ten cars, supervised by the designer Kazuya Ura.
Enquire
Hold a cabin on the Twilight Express Mizukaze
Tell us your dates and we will confirm live availability, hold the strongest cabin category, and plan the hotels at either end around the journey.
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