Photo/Illutration A concept drawing of the luxury Royal Express sightseeing train running on the Yosan Line along the Seto Inland Sea (Provided by Tokyu Corp.)

Applications for a luxury travel package on Tokyu Corp.’s deluxe Royal Express sightseeing train in the Shikoku and Setouchi regions early next year are being accepted until Sept. 28.

Winners will be decided by lottery.

The four-day, three-night tour will take passengers on a scenic journey to Kagawa, Ehime, Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures, allowing them to savor local foods of the Setouchi region.

The tours will run between January and March 2024.

The fee for two people using the same train compartment ranges from 960,000 yen ($6,600) to 1.04 million yen per person.

Based on past experience, Tokyu expects the tour package will attract older, wealthy customers.

Operated by Shikoku Railway Co. (JR Shikoku), train services will depart from Okayama to cross the Seto-Ohashi bridge, a series of double deck bridges spanning 13.1 kilometers that connect Okayama and Kagawa prefectures across a series of five small islands in the Seto Inland Sea. Passengers will be able to go sightseeing in Kotohira and stay overnight in Manno.

The next day, the train will leave Tadotsu for Matsuyama. It will involve an overnight stay at the Dogo Onsen hot spring resort.

On the third day, the train will head for Imabari, where passengers will take chartered buses to go sightseeing in the Shimanami area. They will stay overnight on Ikuchijima island in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture.

On the final fourth day, the train will head to Takamatsu where the passengers will board a chartered ferry at Takamatsu Port for a cruise through the Seto Inland Sea and arrive at Shin-Okayama Port in Okayama.

The Olympia Dream Seto passenger vessel was designed by industrial designer Eiji Mitooka, who was also responsible for the Royal Express.

A total of six trips are planned between Jan. 26 and March 1, starting each Friday. The sightseeing train will return to Okayama on Monday the following week.

Each tour will accommodate up to 30 people in 15 groups.

“I want to see sightseeing trains running freely on local lines across Japan so passengers can take advantage of railroad trips,” Mitooka said during a news conference held in Tokyo in late June.

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