"Sweets Train"? Another Cool Train Ready to Run in Japan

Just think of it, folks, a train rolling along scenic points in Kyushu loaded with a galaxy of sweets, nothing but sweets for you to pick and enjoy. This is what JR Kyushu has just launched, and here's an episode just to have you get acquainted with one big fun you can look for when you visit Kyushu.

The two-coach train is named "ARU RESSHA (Amazon Royal Universal Train)" designed by the reputed industrial designer Eiji Mitsuoka who designed that formidable Super Sleeping Coach "Seven Stars (Nanatsuboshi)". Two US made coaches, purchased by the former Kyushu Railways 100 years ago in Meiji Era but never used, have been remodeled into one fantastic two-coach leisure train.

Coach 1 is modern in taste, youngish in general appearance; Coach 2 brownish and conventional in the atmosphere. Nearly 600 million yen was the budget for remodeling.

As you board, a welcome drink await you; then locally harvested fruits of all kind are served - Hors d'oeuvre, soup, three different kinds of fruits, and one-bite size cake - in that order.

A light lunch follows soon enough. You bet you've never seen anything like it. First, you will be astounded by the lunch box itself. It looks like an ordinary box, but it's actually carved out of a single piece of wood. The box itself costs 20,000 yen - twenty thousand yen, folks, just for a box. It comes in two types: cherry and maple - for two coaches.

Chef Yoshihiro Narusawa of a renowned restaurant in Toyama, Tokyo supervises what to put in this box. "Please ask not our profits. We're doing this just to promote Kyushu", smiles Chef Narusawa.

The whole concept of "ARU RESSHA" flushed in the mind of President Toshihiko Aoyagi of JR Kyushu when he visited the Train Model Museum in Yokohama three years ago, where he spotted a model train named "ARU RESSHA".

Kyushu now has two dream trains running. Take note, and when you come to visit Kyushu be sure to check: "Is ARU RESSHA still around?"