Guide to taking Hokutosei Sleeper train

[flame_angel]

With the abolishment of Sleeper Train Akebono in this year's March, there are a lot of rumous around online expecting Hokutosei to be abolished by 2015 March, followed by Twilight Express and Cassiopeia in 2016 March.

Since I am going to take Hokutosei from Tokyo to Sapporo in May, I thought I would share some of my research here. Hopefully, this will be useful to anyone who is thinking of doing the same.



Hokutosei Main page
JR East official site
JR Hokkaido official site



Train timings

Prices
JR Pass usually covers the express fares but not for sleeper trains.

*1SGD=80yen
*Prices as of 2014 April


Room Types
Overview

Royal
- Most popular trains on the train
- 4 rooms available (usually sold out quickly), in Car 9 & 10; Card 10 is supposed to be a bit newer than Car 9
- Additional welcome drinks (a bottle of wine, small bottle of whiskey, water and green tea)
- Only room with power outlet

Twin Deluxe
- 8 rooms, in Car 8
- Bunk bed style in the room

Duet
- 2 beds next to each other, in Car 3 & 4
- Room in lower section are a bit more spacious and accessible if you have big lugguages, but upper section has a better view

Solo
- Single bed
- Rooms in Car 5, 6 and 9
- Lower section more accessible with big luggages, upper section has better view
- Car 9 belongs to JR Hokkaido, stairs to upper section outside the room so you can't stand up straight in upper rooms
- Car 6 is shared with the lobby and shower rooms so may be noisy

Basic berth type B
-Shared beds, 4 beds in one room compartment
-Rooms in Car 1, 2 and 11
-Smoking is prohibited in Cars 1 and 2
-Car 1 rooms can be locked, ideal choice if you are travelling in a group of 4. The rest has curtains.
-Might not have space for lugguages, advisable to leave them elsewhere

Others
Dining room Grand Chariot
-In Car 7

Dinner
・Reservations are necessary, you can make reservations (食事予約券) when you are purchasing tickets
・2 types available: French food for 7800yen, Japanese Kaiseki for 5500yen (Kind of expensive but reviews for food aren't too bad)
・You can recieve room service for the Frech food if you are in the Royal or Twin Deluxe room
・Timings
→Sapporo to Ueno: 18:00-19:20, 19:40-21:00
→Ueno to Sapporo: 19:45-21:05.

Bar time
・Starts after dinner ends at 21:30, no reservations required

Breakfast
・Starts at 06:30, no reservations required
・Japanese and western style, same price at 1600yen


Shower Room
-In car 6, reservations required
-Shower room ticket costs 320yen, can be bought at the dining car
-Highly recommended to buy the moment you get on the train
-Hot water only lasts for 6mins, but you can have the space for 30mins



Tickets Purchase
-Tickets go on sale 1 month earlier at 10am
-The only way to check availabilty after which is by logging into the Japanese JR Hokkaido member's site.

Cancellation fees
-2 days before departure date: 320yen
-Anytime after it before depature: 30% of sleeper bed fee
-Changing of room for the first time is free, 2nd time onwards counted as cancellation of tickets
-Therefore there are cases of people cancelling 2-3 days before departure, if you can't get the room you want, worth trying it a few days before departure at JR counters



How to purchase tickets overseas
1. Online
Site: https://www3.jrhokkaido.co.jp/rail/asp/RWY010.aspx

There is an English site but unfortunately, you can't buy tickets via the English site. Apply for an account via the Japanese site to purchase tickets, payable by credit card. (I have seen on some Taiwanese blogs and forums that their credit cards can go through, not sure about Singapore's.)

You can then redeem the tickets by showing your reservation details and credit card at JR Hokkaido offices. There is one in Tokyo located here.

The issue is, if you are using JR Pass, you have to pay the part of travel fare which should be covered by it. According to some accounts, you can go to the counter and request for a refund for that part of the fare, with an administrative fee of 210yen.


2. Via JR West Odekake
If you know how to speak Japanese, can try calling up JR West Odekake at +81-78-341-7903. Apparently, they take reservations for all JR trains.

The issue is you can collect tickets only at JR West Stations.


3. Ask a contact in Japan to buy
This is the method I took. Asked a friend in Japan to go down to any JR Midori no Madoguchi to help me buy the Sleeper Bed Fee (寝台料金) and Express Fee (急行料金).

I'm assuming that I can show my JR pass and pay for the extra fees for non-JR lines when the conductor comes around checking. (Will update again when I am back!)



Other tips
-If you want to save on food, bring along loads of drinks and bento
-Chances of the train being delayed are quite high, especially during winter months, make sure that your schedule cater for such delays
-Keep your valuables around you, especially if you are using shared compartments


Credits: http://jprail.com/trains/sort-by-type/overnight-trains/overnight-express-train-hokutosei.html (There are pictures of the rooms here!)

 

[kifo]

Thanks TS for doing excellent research!

 

[icatching]

Cool! I took the Express Hamanasu in 2012 Jan. I used JR pass and booked the ticket the moment I reached Tokyo. The staff was nice enough to give me the upper deck, meaning I had a little privacy of my own. Peak season is one thing, extra fee is another that deterred me from Hotokusei. Looking forward to hearing your adventure!

 

[flame_angel]

Back with a quick report regarding my ride on the Hokutosei train.

The train departed on time from Ueno at 7:03pm. There were a lot of people, around 20, taking pictures of the train when it arrived at the platform. Most passengers were old couples and solo men (mostly train otakus). I did see 1 or 2 single female travellers apart from me.

The train itself was old, but well-maintained and clean. The bedding remained fluffy thankfully. I would recommend putting on the bedsheet provided if you have sensitive skin. The scratchy surface caused a few bumps on my skin after a while. The length of the bed was fine. I am around 170cm tall.

I took the upper berth in carriage 2's shared compartments. Both the lower compartments were occupied by 2 other men who kept to their business. All in all, didn't feel any particular danger as a solo female traveller. (Just be mindful as always.)

I would recommend taking the upper compartment for more privacy and safety. You can drape the curtains across to cover yourself completely. Air ventilation vent is at the ceiling, you get the freshest air at the top bunk. The con is it's actually kind of hard and troublesome to climb up the ladder, but this contributes to the safety XD Another con is the lack of scenery, have to climb up and down many times to see what's outside.

The conductor came around soon after the train departed from Ueno. Showed him my Sleeper+Express train ticket and my JR pass. He said thanks and left, without collecting the extra 5000+yen required for usage of non-JR lines. I have read similar accounts online, but please prepare some money just in case.

The ride itself was quite rocky, perhaps due to the old train body. Went to bathe at 10pm, popped a motion sickness pill and slept all the way till 5am the next day. Sleep was very comfortable. Berth was very quiet, whole train well-ventilated.

The change of train locomotives at Hokodate Station is regarded as one of the highlights of Hokutosei. Contemplated between continuing sleeping or leaving the train to take pictures. Managed to pull myself out the bed and ran with other train otakus from one end of the train to another just to capture shots. You can watch a video here. An experience like no other.

Had breakfast at the dining car at around 8am. 1650yen for breakfast is quite steep, but the food and quantity was amazing. (There was an actual chef and kitchen on the train!) Tucked into freshly cooked salmon and miso soup as I gazed outside the window into the Sea of Japan. Service was impeccable. Kudos to them for serving drinks and food on the wobbly train.


If you have some time to spare, I highly highly recommend taking Hokutosei from Tokyo to Sapporo.


PS: It's official. Twilight Express, a sleeper train that runs from Osaka to Sapporo will end service in March 2015.

 

[samtcy]

Awww, luckily I had already taken the Twilight Express back in Feb 2012.
Since it was winter so there was about 2hrs delay.

I took Akebono last Nov, without knowing that it was about to be abolished.
No wonder there was a lot of photographers at Ueno station taking photos of the train when we alighted at Ueno.

 

[chaotah]

Plus one +1