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New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel style

Casey Baseel Jun 13, 2026
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Luna Azul can take you from Tokyo to Akita or Aomori while you snooze.

The Shinkansen is usually the fastest way to get from Point A to Point B when traveling within Japan. Since the stations tend to be centrally located and there aren’t any time-consuming security checks to go through, the Shinkansen can get you to many destinations even more quickly than flying.

That doesn’t mean, though, that the Shinkansen is always the most time-efficient way to get around Japan, since as fast as the bullet train may be, the ride is still going to take up part of your day. On the other hand, a new train from JR East/East Japan Railway Company will take you between Tokyo and Japan’s northeastern Tohoku region while using up hardly any of your day, because you’ll be making most of the trip while you sleep.

JR East’s newly announced Luna Azul overnight sleeper train will connect Tokyo’s Shinagawa Station with Aomori Station in Aomori Prefecture, all the way at the northern end of Japan’s main island of Hokkaido. The 10-car train will pull out of Shinagawa at 9 p.m. and have you in Aomori at 9 a.m., with brief stops at Tokyo, Ueno, Omiya, and Takasaki Stations along the way at night and then at Akita, Hirosaki, and Shin Aomori Stations in the morning. The trip in the opposite direction will leave Aomori at 4 in the afternoon and get to Shinagawa at 7 a.m. the following day.

The train looks to strike a balance between comfort and utility, with differently designed private compartments to suit the needs of solo travelers, pairs, and families. The preview image below shows, clockwise from the top left, the Luna Comfort Grande, Luna Premium Wide, Luna Comfort Wide, and Luna Comfort configurations.

Guestrooms are found in nine of the cars, and the tenth is a lounge with wide windows and, presumably, drinks and snacks available for purchase.

The Luna Azul will make two round trips a week between Shinagawa and Aomori, traveling along the Joetsu and Uetsu Main Lines. Because Tohoku is especially cold and snowy in winter, though, travel demand for the region dips significantly during that part of the year, Shinagawa-Aomori will be the Luna Azul’s route between spring and autumn. In winter, it’ll instead switch to a seven-car express train that still goes out of Shinagawa in Tokyo, but runs to Naganoharakusatsuguchi Station in Gunma Prefecture, a non-overnight journey. Gunma isn’t exactly balmy in the winter either, but Naganoharakusatsuguchi Station works as an entry point to Gunma’s Kusatsu Onsen hot spring resort area, a popular place for travelers in the mood for a cozy warming soak.

▼ The Luna Azul’s spring-to-autumn route (red line) and winter route (pink line). The winter route also includes a stop in Shibukawa, another popular hot spring area that also boasts skiing options.

The Luna Azul is scheduled to go into service in the spring of 2027.

Source: JR East, PR Times
Images: PR Times
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