Japan's JR East to commerce new overnight service starting 2027

12 June 2025

Today, as I was reading the current news, I came across something that caught my eye. It turned out that JR East will be launching a new overnight train connecting Tokyo with northern Tohoku, adding a new method of travel between the region. 

Currently, the Shinkansen is the fastest option to get between Tokyo and various places in Tohoku. However, the Shinkansen may not be the best way to optimize sightseeing time. This is because it only runs during daytime, which meant that one have to a period of time sitting on a train. Upon reading the news via my news feed, I felt really happy as a train otaku because I can sleep after boarding the train in central Tokyo and wake up next morning in Northern Tohoku in time to start my sightseeing.

As for the rolling stock, the railway giant will modify one of its 10-car E657 series limited express trainsets, currently used for services such as the Hitachi Limited Express on the JR Joban Line between Tokyo and Sendai. Inside the train, all accommodations or seats will be private cabins, with configurations for solo travelers, or groups of two or four people. The reason why it is just called night train (夜行/やこう in Japanese) instead of sleeper train (寝台/しんだい in Japanese) is because it does not include sleeping accommodations like beds or bunks, but rather seats that can be reconfigured as beds for nighttime use.

The train’s exact route and timetable, as well as its official name and ticket prices, are yet to be announced, but JR East gives an example itinerary of leaving Tokyo at 9 p.m. and arriving at Aomori Station the next morning at 9 a.m., in time to grab/catch some scallops for breakfast.

Artist's impression of the E657 Series 10-car trainsets used for the sleeper services

Common-space longue area.

Private compartment for four passengers for Green Class.

Private compartment for two passengers for Green Class.

The Green Class solo-traveler private room for daytime configuration (top) and nighttime configuration (bottom) 

Private compartment for two passengers for Premium Green Class.

Configuration of the new sleeper train

References

Baseel, C. (2025, June 12). JR’s new overnight sleeper train will connect Tokyo and northern Japan, is private cabin-only. SoraNews24. https://soranews24.com/2025/06/12/jrs-new-overnight-sleeper-train-will-connect-tokyo-and-northern-japan-is-private-cabin-only/

Person. (2025, June 11). aratana yakō tokkyū ressha o 2027 nen haru ni dōnyū E kei 1 hensei o zenseki gurīnsha koshitsu taipu ni kaizō [New night express trains will be introduced in spring 2027 - One E657 series train will be converted into a private room type for all seats green cars]. JRE MALL Media. https://media.jreast.co.jp/articles/4458

Sugiyama, Yuhi. (2025a, June 10). JR higashinihon: JR higashi, shin yakō tokkyū 27 nen haru kara GO [JR East: JR East, new night express train comerence from spring 2017]. The Mainichi. https://mainichi.jp/articles/20250611/ddm/012/020/037000c

Sugiyama, Yuhi. (2025b, June 26). JR East’s new first-class sleeper train to link Tokyo and Tohoku in spring 2027. The Mainichi. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250626/p2a/00m/0bu/016000c

Sugiyama, Yuri. (2025, July 10). JR higashinippon ga yakō tokkyū o dōnyū  27 nen haru , shutoken kara tōhoku eria de unkō [JR East introduces night express trains; operation from the metropolitan area to the Tohoku area in the spring of 2027]. The Mainichi. https://mainichi.jp/articles/20250610/k00/00m/020/258000c