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Stunning Sights, People, Trains on IRT Japan Rail Luxury Tour

By Eleanor Flagler Hardy

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Cruise Train Seven Stars in Kyushu, Japan Grand Rail Tour grand finale — ©Terunobu Utsunomiya

“I love Japan,” said Owen Hardy, founder of The Society of International Railway Travelers.

Why?

“Because of its natural beauty, friendly people, ancient culture and the way people treat each other.

“If you saw “Our Little Sister,” a quiet, beautiful movie, the sisters take a little one-car train to attend their father’s funeral–that train captures the spirit of why I love Japan.”

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JR Kyushu’s tiny Sweet Train. Almost as popular as the Seven Stars, the Sweet Train is a post-tour option—provided we can secure the space. JR Kyushu photo

We’ve been trying to capture that spirit for dozens of Japan-bound IRT guests since 2014, when we began offering the Cruise Train Seven Stars in Kyushu, one of our World’s Top 25 Trains®.

And our travelers told us they’ve loved it. But one element needed a “private tweak.”

The family for whom I planned a private journey were positively ecstatic. “One of the best trips we ever did!” they told me.

So this year, I decided to build a private program: our Japan Grand Rail Tour.

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Kirishima JNTO Photo

I began by snagging two cabins on the Seven Stars for this October, a significant coup considering space on this exclusive train is offered to the general public by lottery!

So this year, the 4-day, 3-night Seven Stars trip will be shared with fewer than 30 passengers on the train. It will be our Japan tour’s grand finale.

The rest of the tour will be totally private.

Our guests will enjoy the finest hotels and ryokans (hot springs inns). Our Virtuoso partner in Japan is one of Asia’s best.

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Kyoto bamboo forest JNTO photo

The transfers are via private limo (not van or bus). Guests will have their own dedicated, private guide throughout.

And private touring lets you do exactly what you want.

Examples:

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Kenrokuen Gardens, Kanazaw JNTO photo

Say you want to spend more time at one of Japan’s most exquisite gardens, Kenrokuen Gardens. No problem. You can do that.

Say you want to enjoy a full day of wandering Kanazawa. Its quaint streets and narrow alleyways are charming, and a place where many Westerners don’t go. Our tour will allow that.

Maybe you want to spend more time wandering the canals, stone bridges and winding streets of Kurashiki, one of Japan’s old merchant towns. The choice is yours.

When you’re at the world-class Ohara Museum of Art, also in Kurashiki, you can see it at your own pace — fast or slow. Or skip it altogether.

The point is, every bit of our program is attuned to you.

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JR Kyushu’s diminutive, delectable Sweet Train shows off Kyushu’s charms. — JR Kyushu photo

Whether you choose the 10-day or 14-day program, you’ll feel the difference a private tour makes.

And either way, you’ll finish off your tour with the Seven Stars—one of the world’s most exclusive trains.

(And by the way, if you want to add a post-tour Sweet Train extension that appears on page 39 of our tour book: no problem. Like the Seven Stars, it’s wildly popular.

But anything is possible when you travel privately. I’ll give it my best shot to get you aboard!)

• • •

Important Note: We have just two confirmed cabins — accommodations for a maximum of four guests — on offer for the Cruise Train Seven Stars in Kyushu. This is for our tour running Oct. 7-20 this year. If you are interested, call us immediately at (800) 478-4881 in the U.S. and Canada; (502) 897-1725, elsewhere. Or email us at tourdesk@irtsociety.com.