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*Sunrise Seto*
	285 series EMU on a Sunrise Seto service, 2019
Overview
Service type	Limited express
Status	Operational
Locale	Japan
Predecessor	Seto
First service	10 July 1998
Current operator(s)	JR Central, JR West
Route
Termini	Tokyo; Takamatsu
Distance travelled	804.7 km (500.0 mi)
Average journey time	approx. 9 hours 30 minutes
Service frequency	1 return working daily
Train number(s)	Westbound: 5031M; Eastbound: 5032M
Line(s) used	JR East: JT Tōkaidō Main Line, Tōkaidō Freight Line ; JR Central: Tōkaidō Main Line; JR West: A Tōkaidō Main Line, A S San'yō Main Line, L Uno Line, M Honshi-Bisan Line; JR Shikoku: ■ Honshi-Bisan Line, ■ Yosan Line, ■ Dosan Line
On-board services
Seating arrangements	None
Sleeping arrangements	Private compartments/open-plan sleeping areas
Catering facilities	None
Technical
Rolling stock	285 series EMUs
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC
Operating speed	130 km/h (80 mph)

The Sunrise Seto (サンライズ瀬戸, Sanraizu Seto) is an overnight sleeping car train service in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), West Japan Railway Company (JR West), and Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) since July 1998.^[1]^[2]

Operations

The Sunrise Seto runs daily between Tokyo and Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, taking about 9 hours 30 minutes for the 804.7 km (500.0 mi) journey.^[2] The service operates in conjunction with the Sunrise Izumo service to Izumoshi between Tokyo and Okayama. The combined 14-car train departs from Tokyo, and stops at Yokohama, Atami, Numazu, Fuji, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu (final midnight stop), Himeji (first morning stop), and arrives at Okayama, where the train splits, with the Sunrise Izumo half of the train heading to Izumoshi.^[3] Between Okayama and Takamatsu, the 7-car Sunrise Seto train stops at Kojima and Sakaide, before arriving in Takamatsu. The return train departs from Takamatsu, and is coupled with the Sunrise Izumo from Izumoshi at Okayama Station, departing together from there, and arriving at Tokyo Station in the next morning.

There are seasonal extended services which Sunrise Seto trains from Tokyo run beyond Takamatsu, to Kotohira on the Dosan Line. These extended service trains run during particular seasons (Differs each year), and during the holidays.

Sunrise Izumo and Sunrise Seto pass through stations in Nagoya and Kyoto without stopping due to the fact that they arrive at these stations around midnight and are unable to play the announcements.

A Sunrise Seto & Sunrise Izumo combined formation on the Sanyo Main Line, May 2012
Sunrise Izumo and Sunrise Seto units being uncoupled at Okayama Station, March 2013
Destination indicator for a Tokyo-bound service

Station list


Line	Station		Distance (km)		Time^[4]^[5]		Location
Line	Name	Japanese	Between stations	From Tokyo	Westbound (-> Takamatsu)	Eastbound (-> Tokyo)	Ward / City	Prefecture / Metropolis
Tōkaidō Main Line	Tokyo	東京	-	0.0	21:50 Departure	07:08 Arrival	Chiyoda	Tokyo
	Yokohama	横浜	28.8	28.8	22:14 Arrival 22:15 Departure	06:44 Arrival 06:45 Departure	Yokohama	Kanagawa
	Atami	熱海	75.8	104.6	23:21 Arrival 23:23 Departure	05:43 Arrival 05:45 Departure	Atami	Shizuoka
	Numazu	沼津	21.6	126.2	23:38 Arrival 23:39 Departure	05:26 Arrival 05:27 Departure	Numazu
	Fuji	富士	20.0	146.2	23:52 Arrival 23:53 Departure	05:09 Arrival 05:10 Departure	Fuji
	Shizuoka	静岡	34.0	180.2	00:18 Arrival 00:20 Departure	04:38 Arrival 04:40 Departure	Shizuoka
	Hamamatsu	浜松	76.9	257.1	01:11 Arrival 01:12 Departure	↑ (Brief stop)	Hamamatsu
	Toyohashi	豊橋	36.5	293.6	(Brief stop)		Toyohashi	Aichi
	Nagoya	名古屋	72.4	366.0	↓	↑ (Brief stop)	Nagoya	Aichi
	Gifu	岐阜	30.3	396.3	↓ (Brief stop)	↑	Gifu	Gifu
	Maibara	米原	49.6	445.9	(Brief stop)		Maibara	Shiga
	Ōsaka	大阪	110.5	556.4	↓ (Brief stop)	00:31 Arrival 00:33 Departure	Osaka	Osaka
	Sannomiya	三ノ宮	30.6	587.0	↓	00:10 Arrival 00:11 Departure	Kobe	Hyogo
San'yō Main Line	Himeji	姫路	57.3	644.3	05:25 Arrival 05:26 Departure	23:32 Arrival 23:33 Departure	Himeji	Hyogo
San'yō Main Line	Okayama	岡山	88.6	732.9	06:27 Arrival (Decouple and separate from Sunrise Izumo) 06:31 Departure	22:23 Arrival (Couple with Sunrise Izumo) 22:34 Departure	Okayama	Okayama
Uno Line, Honshi-Bisan Line	Okayama	岡山	88.6	732.9		22:23 Arrival (Couple with Sunrise Izumo) 22:34 Departure	Okayama
Uno Line, Honshi-Bisan Line	Kojima	児島	27.8	760.7	06:52 Arrival 06:53 Departure	22:00 Arrival 22:01 Departure	Kurashiki
Yosan Line	Sakaide	坂出	22.7	783.4	07:09 Arrival 07:10 Departure	21:43 Arrival 21:44 Departure	Sakaide	Kagawa
Yosan Line	Takamatsu	高松	21.3	804.7	07:27 Arrival	21:26 Departure	Takamatsu	Kagawa
Seasonal extended services (from Tokyo) to Kotohira
Yosan Line	Takamatsu	高松	-	804.7	07:54 Departure	/	Takamatsu	Kagawa
Yosan Line	Tadotsu	多度津	32.7	837.4	08:33 Arrival 08:35 Departure		Tadotsu
Dosan Line	Tadotsu	多度津	32.7	837.4	08:33 Arrival 08:35 Departure		Tadotsu
	Zentsūji	善通寺	6.0	843.4	08:43 Arrival 08:45 Departure		Zentsuji
	Kotohira	琴平	5.3	848.7	08:52 Arrival		Kotohira

Trains make brief stops for several reasons, here being crew changes at JR region boundaries. Passengers cannot board or get off the train when it makes such stops.
Regularly, only eastbound services will operate between Atami and Yokohama via the Tōkaidō Freight Line, where trains enter the line at Odawara and exit at Chigasaki back to the Tōkaidō Main Line.

Formation

Trains are formed of dedicated 7-car 285 series Sunrise Express electric multiple units (EMUs) owned by both JR Central and JR West. They are formed as shown below, with cars numbered 8 to 14 in the down (westbound) direction, with car 14 at the Tokyo end, and 1 to 7 in the up (Tokyo-bound) direction, with car 7 at the Tokyo end.^[1]

Car No.	1/8	2/9	3/10	4/11	5/12	6/13	7/14
Numbering	KuHaNe 285	SaHaNe 285	MoHaNe 285	SaRoHaNe 285	MoHaNe 285	SaHaNe 285	KuHaNe 285
Accommodation	B single berths	B single berths	B solo berths	Single DX berths	B single berths Nobinobi floor space	B single berths	B single berths
Accommodation	B single/ single-twin berths	B single/ single-twin berths	B solo berths	Sunrise twin berths	B single berths Nobinobi floor space	B single/ single-twin berths	B single/ single-twin berths
Facilities			Mini lounge area, vending machine, shower		Vending machine

Car 2/9 has a wheelchair-accessible compartment
Each car has toilet facilities at one end.^[6]
Smoking is permitted in car 6/13, and some compartments in car 4/11.

Accommodation, Ticketing and Facilities

The Sunrise Express services consist of six types of accommodation. There are five types of berths: A Single Deluxe, B Sunrise Twin (2-person use), B Single Twin (1 or 2-person use), B Single and B Solo. There is also a carpeted sleeping space called the Nobinobi sleeping area.

To ride the train, several fares are required. All passengers require a basic fare ticket (乗車券, Jousha ken) and a limited express ticket (特急券, Tokkyu ken) based on the distance traveled. On top of these, those wishing to travel in a private room must also pay for a berth ticket (寝台券, Shindai ken), while those traveling in the Nobi-nobi sleeping area must pay a small seat reservation charge (座席指定料金, zaseki shitei ryoukin) in order to reserve an individual sleeping space.

The berth and seat reservation charges are fixed, regardless of where the journey starts and ends.

Accommodation Price Table^[7]^[8]
Person	Accommodation	Price
1-person use berth	A Single Deluxe	¥13,980
	B Single Twin	¥9,600
	B Single	¥7,700
	B Solo	¥6,600
2-people use berths	B Sunrise Twin	¥15,400 for two people
2-people use berths	B Single Twin	¥15,000 for two people
1-person use seating	Nobinobi sleeping area	¥530 seat reservation charge (+200 for peak seasons) (-200 for off-seasons)

Tickets can be purchased up to one month before departure at a JR Midori no Madoguchi ticket counter or ticket machine in Japan, or online through the JR West Seat Reservation website.

A shower is located in cars 3 and 10. Passengers using the A Single Deluxe compartments are provided with a free shower card to use the showers on the train, while other passengers have to pay ¥330 for a 6-minute shower card if they desire to use the showers. Shower cards are not allocated to specific time slots, however due to the limited number of these cards issued on each train passengers are advised to purchase one as early as possible.

Mini lounge areas are located in cars 3 and 10 which have a bench table with 4 seats on each side of the train. Small drink vending machines are available in cars 3, 5, 10 and 12 - these only vend a limited variety of drinks such as Coca Cola, Real Gold (energy drink), green tea (cold) and water. There is no food available for purchase onboard the train - passengers are required to purchase food before boarding the train.

Other than the mini lounge areas in cars 3 & 10 there are no seating areas anywhere on the train. (The "A Single Deluxe" compartment has a seat and desk).

"Single Deluxe" compartment
Car 4/11 corridor
Single berth
Single-twin berth
Nobinobi open-plan sleeping area (car 5/12, upper floor)
Nobinobi open-plan sleeping area (car 5/12, lower floor)
Shower cubicle (car 3/10)
Mini lounge area (car 3/10)

Japan Rail Pass

Holders of the Japan Rail Pass can reserve a Nobi-nobi space (open-plan carpeted sleeping area with a small blanket provided) for free. Use of any berth requires payment of the limited express and berth charges.

All travel on Sunrise Seto requires a seat reservation at a Midori no Madoguchi ticket counter or ticket machine. The "seat" number shown on your reserved seat ticket is the number of your berth or Nobi-nobi space. Demand is high for this train so a seat reservation should be made as soon as possible after picking up your Japan Rail Pass.

History

The Sunrise Seto services were introduced together with the Sunrise Izumo on 10 July 1998.^[9] Previously, the Seto operated as a separate "Blue train" service connecting Tokyo with Takamatsu.^[10] The Sunrise Izumo was intended to attract more passengers to train transportation by introducing newly designed trains and by reducing the journey time.

Ridership on overnight trains in Japan continues to decline, and from March 2009, the Sunrise Izumo and Sunrise Seto became the only overnight sleeping car trains to operate west of Tokyo via the Tokaido Line.^[11]

From the start of the revised timetable on 12 March 2021, the departure time of the Sunrise Izumo and Sunrise Seto from Tokyo was changed from 10:00 PM to 9:50 PM.^[12] It is the first time that the departure time was changed since the services' introduction in 1998. The change cleared the 10:00 PM departure slot for one of the new Shōnan limited express services to Odawara.

References

^ ^a ^b ＪＲ新幹線＆特急列車ファイル [JR Shinkansen & Limited Express Train File]. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. 2008. p. 124. ISBN 978-4-330-00608-6.
^ ^a ^b Haraguchi, Takayuki (2009). Encyclopedia of JR's Railway Cars: ＪＲ全車輌. Japan: Sekai Bunka. p. 34. ISBN 978-4-418-09905-4.
^ JR時刻表 [JR Timetable]. Japan: Kotsu Shimbunsha. March 2013. p. 144. EAN 4910053110334.
^ "時刻表停車駅一覧：JR東日本". jreast-timetable.jp (in Japanese). East Japan Railway Company. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
^ "時刻表停車駅一覧：JR東日本". jreast-timetable.jp (in Japanese). East Japan Railway Company. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
^ JR電車編成表 2013夏 [JR EMU Formations – Summer 2013]. Japan: JRR. May 2013. p. 122. ISBN 978-4-330-37313-3.
^ "寝台券" [Berth ticket]. jr-odekake.net (in Japanese). West Japan Railway Company. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
^ "指定席券" [Reserved Seat Ticket]. jr-odekake.net (in Japanese). West Japan Railway Company. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
^ こだわりの新幹線＆特急列車ガイド [In-depth Shinkansen & Limited Express Guide]. Japan: Ikaros Publishing. August 2000. pp. 194–195. ISBN 4-87149-284-2.
^ 最新特急大カタログ [Modern Limited Express Catalogue]. Japan: JTB. November 1992. p. 110.
^ Ogano, Minoru (March 2011). 新幹線・特急大図鑑2011 [Shinkansen & Limited Express Directory 2011]. Japan: JTB Publishing. p. 112. ISBN 978-4-533-08193-4.
^ "春の臨時列車運転のお知らせ" (PDF) (Press release) (in Japanese). 四国旅客鉄道. 22 January 2021. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.