CNN
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On board Japan’s Tohoku Emotion train, most passengers care more about what’s on the menu than about the train’s destination.
First launched in October 2013, Tohoku Emotion is a traveling restaurant that runs along the Sanriku Coast in the northern Tohoku region of Japan.
It’s one of East Japan Railway Company’s (JR East) “Joyful Trains,” a series of themed cars aimed at travel promotion of the country’s less-visited prefectures.
Other Joyful Trains include SL Ginga, a space-themed steam train with its own planetarium, and POKEMON with YOU Train, a train filled with Pikachu motifs and figures.
East Japan Railway Company
Car 1 is home to seven private compartments for passengers in small groups.
Cruising between the towns of Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture and Kuji in Iwate Prefecture, Tohoku Emotion offers a seasonal menu designed by celebrity chefs of Japan. The Tohoku region’s produce is the real star, though – think sea urchin, beef, mountain grapes and shiitake mushrooms, to name a few.
A new chef takes over the train every six months and the menu is updated twice during his or her half-a-year tenure.
Shinsuke Ishii, chef-owner of Sincere in Tokyo and former chef of the popular no-reservations French restaurant Bacar, is in charge of the current menu, now on offer until March 2019.
Tables at Ishii’s Harajuku restaurant often fill up weeks in advance.
Passengers enjoy a four-course lunch while traveling from Hachinohe to Kuji, sightsee for about 1.5 hours in Kuji and then dive into a dessert buffet designed by Takashi Kumagai of Hotel Metropolitan Morioka on the ride back from Kuji to Hachinohe.
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At each of the scenic spots along the route, the train slows down, giving passengers a chance to enjoy the views and take photos while enjoying their meals.
In addition to being a tourist attraction for international travelers, the creator of the Tohoku Emotion tells CNN Travel he wants it to be an appealing getaway for locals.
“We wanted the locals to enjoy the taste that normally locals are not able to at a reasonable price and for them to come experience it more than once,” says Hikaru Patrick Okada, chief creative officer of the Transit General Office.
“The menu is mainly “Western innovative” – a modern type of cuisine that’s quite uncommon for Tohoku locals because their food culture centers around their regional local dishes. The idea of being able to enjoy such food while traveling creates great memories and fun.”
JNTO
Jodogahama Beach (Iwate prefecture): It's easy to see why this beach is named "Jodogahama," or Pure Land. In Rikuchu Kaigan National Park, it's one of Japan's nationally designated Places of Scenic Beauty. Click on for more photos of Japan's beautiful Tohoku region, which is made up of six prefectures: Aomori, Akita, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata.
Aaron Jarrad/Flickr RF/Getty Images
Okama Crater Lake (Yamagata and Miyagi prefectures): Three peaks of Tohoku's Zao mountain range surround this circular crater lake named after "kama," a traditional iron pot that shares its shape. It sits on the border between Yamagata and Miyagi prefectures.
Japan National Tourism Organization
Hakkoda Mountains (Aomori prefecture): This range of dormant volcanoes is known for its beauty throughout the seasons -- fall included. The area is filled with ponds, marshes, hiking trails and hot springs.
JNTO
Torigoe-no-taki Falls (Iwate prefecture): Making an entrance down a 100-foot drop, these falls, near the ski resort/hot spring town of Shizukuishi, come in with a mighty roar.
JNTO
Lake Inawashiro (Fukushima prefecture): Frozen scenes like this can be found during a winter visit to Fukushima's Lake Inawashiro. These "shibuki-gori" natural ice sculptures form when water is picked up by strong winds from the west.
Japan National Tourism Organization
Mt. Chokai (Akita and Yamagata prefectures): Trails on the photogenic volcano, located between Akita and Yamagata prefectures, take hikers through marshes, teeming wildflowers and alpine lakes.
UIG via Getty Images
Shiraishi River (Miyagi prefecture): Come cherry blossom season Tohoku doesn't disappoint. Miyagi's Shiraishi River hosts an annual Ogawara Sakura Festival -- said to be one of the country's top cherry blossom viewing experiences.
UIG via Getty Images
Abukuma-do (Fukushima prefecture): Abukuma-do is a 3,000-meter-long limestone cave network located outside the Fukushima city of Tamura. Only 600 meters of the caves are open to explore. It takes about 40 minutes to get through.
Sean Pavone/iStockphoto/Getty Images
Matsushima Bay (Miyagi): Some 260 islands of various sizes are scattered around Miyagi's Matsushima Bay, which has been named one of the three most scenic spots in Japan.
Yttrium Sua
Zao Onsen Ski Resort (Yamagata prefecture): Tourists come to Tohoku's largest ski resort not only for the popular winter sport but also to trek, visit hot springs and see the famous "snow monsters," the result of mist freezing on the trees.
UIG via Getty Images
Mt. Iwate (Iwate prefecture): Japan newbies could be forgiven for mistaking this Tohoku volcano for Mt. Fuji. Sitting northwest of Morioka, it's sometimes called Nambu Fuji -- or half-sided Fuji -- for its resemblance to the more famous peak.
Aomori Prefecture/JNTO
Cherry blossoms (Aomori prefecture): Sakura bloom outside Hirosaki Castle in Aomori prefecture. A prime place for viewing blossoms in spring, it's picturesque all year long.
Japan National Tourism Organization
Mototaki Waterfall (Akita prefecture): This pretty waterfall, fed by year-round snow on Mt. Chokai, remains chilly even during the warmer seasons.
Japan National Tourism Organization
Oe Wetlands (Fukushima prefecture): Wooden paths have been placed through the Oe Wetlands in Fukushima's Hinoemata village. The prefecture lures travelers to its many beautiful natural sites.
Aomori Prefecture/JNTO
Hakkoda Mountains (Aomori prefecture): Yamagata obviously doesn't have a monopoly on snow monsters. Sixteen mountains make up Aomori's Hakkoda range, of which Mount Odake is the main peak.
Courtesy Japan Nattional Tourism Organization
Towada-Hachimantai National Park (Aomori prefecture): The park is made up of two areas -- Hachimantai and Towada-Hakkoda, the latter of which includes Honshu's largest crater lake, Lake Towada, and most of the Oirase River valley that exits into the Pacific Ocean.
Japan National Tourism Organization
Yunohama Hot Springs (Yamagata prefecture): According to a popular myth, a fisherman discovered these seaside hot springs when he saw a turtle bathing in the warm waters centuries ago.
Japan National Tourism Organization
Yoneshiro River (Akita prefecture): This 136-kilometer-long river, which creates a natural border for Akita, Iwate and Aomori, leads into the Sea of Japan through Akita prefecture.
The Tohoku Emotion actually has design links to Japan’s uber-luxury sleeper train Shiki-shima (tickets range from $2,000 to $10,000),
Ken Okuyama Design, the former designer of the likes of Porsche, designed the Shiki-shima as well as the exterior of Tohoku Emotion.
Its façade resembles a restaurant with a white masonry wall and hanging porch lights by the doors.
Its interior highlights crafts of the region, including wall fabrics weaved using Fukushima’s old Sashiko-ori textile technique, Aomori’s Kogin embroidery, lights made of Iwate’s amber and utensils made of Miyagi’s Ogatsu inkstone.
01:00 - Source: CNN
60 seconds in Tohoku, Japan's sake capital
The three-car train, which has seven private compartments in car 1 and an open kitchen in car 2, can seat 48 diners.
Passengers can reserve their Tohoku Emotion tickets through a local tour agency or at JR ticket offices or JR travel service centers, called View Plaza. Online bookings are not available.
A return trip costs JPY11,900 or $106 per adult.
The train runs from Friday to Monday. Check out the full schedule here.