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A Four-Day Luxury Rail Journey Through Shizuoka

This is a four-day luxury rail experience centered on The Royal Express and its Mount Fuji route through Shizuoka Prefecture. The journey is designed for a luxury traveler who values panoramic rail scenery, refined dini…

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Travel inspiration behind this plan

The Royal Express: Japan’s $10,000 Luxury Train | 3 Day Trip Watch on YouTube

Plan notes

Useful context before you go

This is a four-day luxury rail experience centered on The Royal Express and its Mount Fuji route through Shizuoka Prefecture. The journey is designed for a luxury traveler who values panoramic rail scenery, refined dining, historic stops, traditional crafts, and high-end hotels. The train journey costs over $10,000 according to the source. Expect multiple-course meals including French cuisine, sushi, eel, seafood, Wagyu beef, desserts, green tea, live violin and piano performances, spacious seating, and panoramic views from the front and rear cars. The source specifically highlights Shizuoka tea, Abegawa Mochi, sakura shrimp, Unagi-ju, Lake Hamanako, Arai Barrier, Nihondaira, Mount Fuji, Atami, and the coastal scenery around Numazu.

Itinerary highlights

What is in this plan

Day 1 — Yokohama Boarding, Mishima and Numazu

Begin at Yokohama Station with the hosted lounge experience, then settle into the train for the Mount Fuji circuit. The first Shizuoka overnight is at Numazu Club in Senbon Matsubara, with coastal scenery, a Mount Fuji view, tea service, and an elaborate dinner.

  1. The Royal LoungeThe Royal Lounge, Yokohama Station, Yokohama, Japan

    Start in the Royal Lounge before boarding. Tea and sweets, including strawberries, are served here as part of the departure experience.

  2. The Royal LoungeThe Royal Lounge, Yokohama Station, Yokohama, Japan

    Board The Royal Express and explore its wood-finished interior, decorative ceiling, dining car, and front viewing area. The journey circles Mount Fuji and the front view can reveal the mountain.

  3. The Royal LoungeThe Royal Lounge, Yokohama Station, Yokohama, Japan

    Use the long dining car for the first formal meal. The lunch includes eggplant salad, carrot fondant with red shrimp concassé, Mount Fuji Salmon Ponche, Amagi Pork with chocolate-fragrant red wine sauce, and a four-layer mandarin-orange pudding.

  4. Mishima StationMishima Station, Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan

    Mishima is the first named Shizuoka stop. Leave the station for the hotel transfer after watching the train arrive and receiving the station welcome.

  5. Numazu ClubNumazu Club, Senbon Matsubara, Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Stay at Numazu Club in Senbon Matsubara. The room has an open feel, a balcony, a small pond, and a view toward Mount Fuji; pesticide-free tea is served during the transfer.

  6. Senbon MatsubaraSenbon Matsubara, Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Walk out toward the coast near the hotel for a clear view of both the sea and Mount Fuji. The source notes strong wind and particularly attractive sunset lighting around the pine forest and hotel passages.

Day 2 — Numazu, Lake Hamanako and Arai Barrier

Spend the morning around Numazu before rejoining the train. Continue west through tea fields and Lake Hamanako, then visit the historic Arai Barrier before checking into the lakefront resort.

  1. Numazu PortNumazu Port, Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Begin with the quiet port and beach near the hotel. The early morning is presented as especially peaceful, with the ocean audible before the sun rises above the mountains.

  2. Numazu StationNumazu Station, Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Return to Numazu Station by bus and rejoin the blue-lit train. The station is the point where the journey leaves Numazu and continues toward the lake and western Shizuoka.

  3. Numazu StationNumazu Station, Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Use the train window for the changing landscape: elevated tracks, panoramic views, greener suburbs, visible tea fields, and the approach to Hamamatsu. The source also highlights a relaxed seat and the option to enjoy tea and sweets during the ride.

  4. Lake HamanakoLake Hamanako, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Lake Hamanako becomes the major landscape highlight of the afternoon. Watch the broad lake, fish-farming structures, residential edges, and the framed-painting effect from the elevated train.

  5. Arai BarrierArai Barrier, Kosai, Shizuoka, Japan

    Stop at Arai Barrier to see the remaining stone walls, the 200-year-old Edo-period building, government-official dolls, pine tree, and checkpoint entrance. It is the journey’s clearest historical visit.

  6. Resort&Spa HamanakoResort&Spa Hamanako, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Stay at Resort&Spa Hamanako for the lake view. The dinner setting has a high ceiling and large windows, followed by a multi-course menu featuring bluefin tuna, foie gras with daikon, sweet potato potage, vegetables, beef loin, and dessert.

Day 3 — Hamamatsu, Shizuoka and Nihondaira

Follow the lake road back toward Hamamatsu Station, then continue by rail to Shizuoka Station and upward by bus into Nihondaira. This day combines sushi and regional ingredients on the train with elevated views across the bay, city, Izu Peninsula, and Mount Fuji.

  1. Resort&Spa HamanakoResort&Spa Hamanako, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Enjoy the Japanese breakfast overlooking Lake Hamanako before leaving the resort. The breakfast centers on grilled fish and the lake-facing dining room.

  2. Hamamatsu StationHamamatsu Station, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Take the bus along Lake Hamanako back to Hamamatsu Station, then board The Royal Express again. The route includes a clear-weather view of a Shinkansen passing beside the train.

  3. Hamamatsu StationHamamatsu Station, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Make the train lunch a regional tasting experience: Spanish mackerel and alfonsino nigiri, red tuna, tuna nigiri, horse mackerel sushi, Tai nigiri, soup, baked fish pie, chocolate, and Japan’s first luxury beer.

  4. Shizuoka StationShizuoka Station, Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan

    Arrive at Shizuoka Station and transfer to the bus for the climb toward Nihondaira. The source describes the road as mountainous with many curves, ending at a hotel positioned for broad views.

  5. NihondairaNihondaira, Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan

    Use Nihondaira as the evening viewpoint base. From the elevated location, the source describes views of the bay, cityscape, Izu Peninsula mountains, a cargo ship, and Mount Fuji from the lobby area.

  6. NihondairaNihondaira, Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan

    Reserve the evening for sunset and the hotel’s live-music dinner. The menu includes sea urchin, red sea bream, lobster cream soup, steamed flounder and scallops, roasted beef sirloin, and milk gelato.

Day 4 — Shizuoka, Atami and Return to Yokohama

Finish the Shizuoka stay with a Japanese breakfast at Nihondaira, return to Shizuoka Station, and take the final rail segment east through tunnels, ocean views, and Atami. The journey concludes at Yokohama Station after a final lunch, tea, sweets, and Mount Fuji glimpses.

  1. NihondairaNihondaira, Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan

    Have the final Nihondaira breakfast near the window. The meal is Japanese in style and the setting is emphasized for its broad outlook.

  2. Shizuoka StationShizuoka Station, Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan

    Return to Shizuoka Station and board the blue-lit train for the final day. The front car and its sofa provide the clearest place to follow the changing scenery.

  3. Shizuoka StationShizuoka Station, Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan

    Use the front and rear cars for changing perspectives, including the sofa, nearly private seating, bridges, tunnels, roads, freight trains, and intermittent Mount Fuji views. Suruga-nuri geta are displayed in Car No. 3.

  4. Shizuoka StationShizuoka Station, Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan

    Make the final lunch another formal tasting: Yamatoimo Salmon Roll, lotus root and cod roe sashimi, Taguri Yuba Sashimi, Wagyu beef steak, chawanmushi, and porridge.

  5. Atami StationAtami Station, Atami, Shizuoka, Japan

    Atami is the final named Shizuoka stop. Watch for the ocean beside the tracks, the cityscape, tunnels, and the resort-city setting associated with hot springs before the train continues east.

  6. The Royal LoungeThe Royal Lounge, Yokohama Station, Yokohama, Japan

    End at Yokohama Station with tea and sweets during the final approach. The source describes a Japanese sweet bought as a souvenir, with Mount Fuji faintly visible before the train reaches the city.