By AYATERU HOSOZAWA/ Staff Writer
August 22, 2025 at 17:22 JST
Train Suite Shiki-shima (Provided by East Japan Railway Co.)
East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) has canceled a scheduled tour of its luxury overnight Train Suite Shiki-shima, after crew members were found drinking alcohol while at work on the train, the company announced on Aug. 21.
JR East explained that it was unable to secure enough replacement crew members to continue some operations after the misconduct was brought to light.
JR East View Tourism and Sales Co., a subsidiary of JR East responsible for customer services on Shiki-shima, reported that over several years six of its crew members repeatedly drank wine and champagne, which was intended for customers, in lounges and other areas on the trains during their breaks.
Except for sample tasting for quality control, staff are prohibited from drinking on trains.
As a result, the six crew members were disciplined and removed from customer service duties.
Train Suite Shiki-shima offers seasonal tours through eastern Japan and Hokkaido, with itineraries ranging from one to three nights. About 10 crew members are on board each train.
As a result of the misconduct, the train was short of one-quarter of its necessary crew members.
Since training new crew members for the services takes more than six months, the company was forced to cancel a scheduled tour that was already nearly fully booked.
The canceled tour was the one-night trip departing from Ueno Station on Aug. 30 and traveling through Niigata and Nagano prefectures. It had a capacity of 34 passengers.
JR East said that the canceled participants will receive refunds and will be given priority for future tour bookings.
The company apologized, saying, “We deeply regret the inconvenience and concern that was caused.”
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