Richseen Private Journeys · Japan

Tohoku: A Journey of Design and Seasonality

Design Rail — Tokyo · Tohoku · Hakone
6 Days · 5 Nights
From USD 22,000+ per person
"Train Suite Shiki-shima — Japan's most design-considered train, through the north that the south has not yet reached."
The Journey

Design and
Seasonality

Tohoku — the six prefectures that occupy the northern half of Honshu — is the Japan that the international itinerary has consistently overlooked in favour of the Kyoto-Tokyo corridor. This is a characteristically Japanese situation: the most interesting things are precisely where the crowds are not. Tohoku's landscape is shaped by the seasons in the most literal sense — the same rice fields that appear as flat green geometry in June become gold in October and are covered in deep snow from December through March. The crafts of the region — Nanbu ironware, Aizu lacquerware, Sendai Tansu furniture — are the crafts of a region that has had four hundred years to perfect them in relative isolation.

The Train Suite Shiki-shima — operated by JR East — is the most design-considered train currently operating in Japan, which means it is the most design-considered train in the world. Designed by Ken Okuyama, whose previous clients include Ferrari, Pininfarina, and the Shinkansen, the Shiki-shima carries a maximum of thirty-four guests in seventeen suites across ten carriages. Every suite is different; every material is Japanese; every detail has been considered with the seriousness that Japanese design brings to objects that it considers worth making well.

The Shiki-shima's name means "four seasons" — and its four seasonal itineraries are constructed around what Tohoku offers in each: cherry blossoms along the Kitakami River in spring; the deep green of the mountains and the firefly season in summer; the extraordinary foliage of Towada-Hachimantai National Park in autumn; the snow country of the Uonuma region in winter. This itinerary is structured around the spring departure — the most sought-after and the most Japanese of the four — with a concluding night at Gora Kadan in Hakone, the ryokan that represents Japanese hospitality at its most architecturally considered.

Signature Moments

Six Encounters
with the North

The Shiki-shima moves at the pace Tohoku deserves — slowly, with full attention, through the Japan that the Shinkansen bypasses.

01
Thirty-Four Guests — Ken Okuyama's Moving Hotel
Designed by the man behind the Ferrari Enzo and the Shinkansen — the Shiki-shima carries thirty-four guests across seventeen individually designed suites, every material Japanese, every detail considered with the seriousness the train demands.
02
The Cherry Blossom Front Moving North Through Tohoku
The spring departure follows the sakura front as it moves north over six weeks — the most sought-after of the Shiki-shima's four seasonal itineraries, timed so the train's route and the blossom's progress coincide.
03
10,000 Cherry Trees Along the Kitakami River
Two kilometres of Tenshochi boulevard in Iwate Prefecture, both banks lined with trees in full bloom — the most concentrated cherry blossom site in Tohoku, experienced at peak moment by the onboard team's timing.
04
Morioka Ironware — Technique Unchanged Since the 17th Century
The Nanbu tetsubin workshop during the Shiki-shima's Morioka stop — cast iron teapots made by craftspeople whose waiting lists extend years, whose method has not changed in four hundred years of practice.
05
Tazawa-ko — Japan's Deepest Lake in the Akita Mountains
The blue crater lake that the surrounding mountains reflect without distortion — Japan's deepest lake, in the clarity of the Akita spring morning before the tourist programme for the day has begun.
06
Gora Kadan — Morning Onsen with Mount Fuji
The former imperial villa above the Hakone caldera — on clear mornings, Mount Fuji appears above the ridge from the outdoor onsen in the particular light that no photograph has adequately reproduced.
Curated Highlights

What Defines This Journey

01🚂
Train Suite Shiki-shima — Japan's Design Masterpiece
34 guests maximum. 17 individually designed suites. Designed by Ken Okuyama — Ferrari, Pininfarina, the Shinkansen. Every material aboard is Japanese; every detail considered with the seriousness that distinguishes design from decoration. The most architecturally significant train currently in operation anywhere in the world.
02🌸
Seasonal Itineraries — Four Faces of Tohoku
Four distinct itineraries — spring cherry blossoms, summer fireflies, autumn foliage, winter snow country — each constructed around what Tohoku offers in that specific season. The Shiki-shima does not attempt to be the same journey year-round; it changes its programme as the landscape changes its character.
03🏺
Tohoku Craft Traditions — Four Centuries of Refinement
Nanbu ironware from Morioka — the tetsubin cast iron teapots that have been made in the same way since the seventeenth century. Aizu lacquerware from Fukushima. Sendai Tansu furniture. Kokeshi dolls from the Naruko hot spring district. Tohoku's crafts are the crafts of a region that has had four hundred years of relative isolation in which to perfect them.
04🍱
Seasonal Kaiseki — Tohoku Ingredients
The dining car serves kaiseki structured entirely around the season and the specific landscapes the train is passing through: Iwate Prefecture wagyu, Miyagi Prefecture seafood, Akita Prefecture sake, Yamagata Prefecture cherries and pears. The kitchen changes its menu as the route changes its landscape — a direct connection between what is outside the window and what is on the plate.
05⛰️
Gora Kadan — Hakone's Most Considered Ryokan
A former imperial villa in the Hakone mountains — converted into a ryokan of extraordinary architectural refinement by the Hoshi family, who have been operating it since 1952. Open-air onsen with views of the Hakone caldera; kaiseki prepared from the morning's ingredients; the particular silence of a mountain landscape that has been designated a national park for good reason.
06🌿
Quiet Scenic Routes — The North Without Crowds
The Shiki-shima moves through landscapes that the Shinkansen bypasses — the coastal rice fields of Akita, the mountain passes of Iwate, the river valleys of Yamagata. Tohoku at the pace and on the terms that the region deserves: slowly, with full attention, in a vehicle designed to make looking out of the window the primary activity.
Sample Itinerary

Key Moments & Movements

The Shiki-shima operates on four seasonal itineraries, each lasting four days and three nights aboard. The spring departure — late March through early May — is the most sought-after, when the cherry blossom front moves north through Tohoku over six weeks and the train's route follows it. Autumn foliage in October and November is the second most compelling season; winter offers the snow country experience with which the region is synonymous.

Every Richseen journey is individually crafted. Your private consultant will tailor each day to your preferences, pace, and passions.

Day 1
Tokyo Arrival — Aman Tokyo
Private transfer from Narita or Haneda Airport to Aman Tokyo — positioned in the Otemachi district above the Imperial Palace East Gardens, with views across the garden toward the palace moat and the city beyond. Thirty-three floors above the city; the silence is absolute. Evening: the Otemachi neighbourhood for the kaiseki restaurants that operate within walking distance of the hotel, or the Marunouchi district for the contemporary dining that has made Tokyo the city with the most Michelin stars in the world.
Aman Tokyo
Day 2
Embark Shiki-shima — Ueno Station
Morning in Tokyo — the Nezu Museum in Minami-Aoyama for the garden and the collection of Japanese and Asian art in a building by Kengo Kuma; or the Yanaka district for the most intact pre-war neighbourhood in the city, where the temple cemeteries and the small shops have remained unchanged for seventy years. Afternoon: private transfer to Ueno Station and embarkation aboard the Train Suite Shiki-shima. Departure ceremony at Platform 13 — the Shiki-shima departs with the deliberateness of something worth watching. The train moves north as Tokyo gives way to the Kanto Plain and the mountains of Tohoku begin to appear on the northern horizon.
Train Suite Shiki-shima
Days 3–4
Tohoku Exploration — Blossom, Craft, and Mountain
Two days of shore excursions as the Shiki-shima moves through the northern landscape. In spring: the cherry blossom sites of Tohoku — the Kitakami Tenshochi boulevard in Iwate Prefecture, where 10,000 cherry trees line both banks of the Kitakami River for two kilometres; the Kakunodate samurai district in Akita, where weeping cherry trees overhang the preserved samurai residences in a combination that requires no explanation. The Morioka ironware workshops — where the Nanbu tetsubin are made by craftspeople whose technique has not changed since the seventeenth century, and whose waiting lists extend several years. The Tazawako crater lake in Akita — Japan's deepest lake, blue with a depth and clarity that the surrounding mountains reflect without distortion. The Shiki-shima provides overnight accommodation; excursions are arranged by the onboard team and conducted by specialist local guides whose expertise is specific to the landscape the train is currently passing through.
Train Suite Shiki-shima
Day 5
Hakone — Gora Kadan
Disembarkation at Ueno Station and private transfer south toward Hakone — the volcanic caldera southwest of Tokyo, where the Hakone mountains rise above the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and the outdoor onsen overlook a landscape of extraordinary clarity on days when Mount Fuji is visible to the west. Check-in at Gora Kadan — the former imperial villa converted into a ryokan by the Hoshi family, with individual stone-floored rooms, an open-air onsen above the caldera, and kaiseki prepared from ingredients gathered that morning from the mountain surroundings. An afternoon of complete stillness after four days of movement.
Gora Kadan, Hakone
Day 6
Departure — Japan Recedes
Morning onsen with Mount Fuji visible — on clear days, from the outdoor pools of Gora Kadan, the volcano appears above the caldera ridge in the particular light of the Japanese morning that no photographer has ever adequately reproduced. Private transfer to Narita or Haneda Airport for international departure. The Hakone mountains are visible from the Tomei Expressway until the road descends to the Kanto Plain and the city absorbs the landscape.
Luxury Stays

Where You Rest Matters

Otemachi, Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo — 1 Night
Aman Tokyo
Otemachi, Tokyo, Japan
Thirty-three floors above the Imperial Palace East Gardens — the most spatially considered hotel in Tokyo, designed by Kerry Hill Architects with the proportions and material palette of a contemporary Japanese shrine. The largest hotel rooms in the city; views across the palace moat; the silence that thirty-three floors of distance from the street provides.
Tohoku Region, Northern Japan
In Transit — 3 Nights
Train Suite Shiki-shima
Ueno Station to Tohoku Circuit — JR East
34 guests in 17 individually designed suites — each a different expression of Japanese material culture, designed by Ken Okuyama with the precision he brings to every object he considers worth making. The dining car serves seasonal kaiseki from Tohoku ingredients; the observation car at the front of the train provides the landscape continuously. The most design-significant train in the world.
Gora, Hakone, Kanagawa
Hakone — 1 Night
Gora Kadan
Gora, Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture
A former imperial villa in the Hakone mountains — converted into a ryokan of extraordinary architectural restraint by the Hoshi family. Open-air onsen above the caldera; kaiseki from the mountain surroundings; the particular silence of a landscape designated as national park for seventy years. On clear mornings, Mount Fuji is visible from the outdoor pools.
Exclusive Experiences

Moments Designed for You

🌸
Seasonal
Kitakami Tenshochi — Cherry Blossoms
10,000 cherry trees lining both banks of the Kitakami River for two kilometres — the most concentrated cherry blossom site in Tohoku, visited by the Japanese in numbers that justify the journey north. Experienced from the Shiki-shima's shore excursion programme, at the moment the trees are at peak blossom, as determined by the naturalist team aboard.
🏺
Craft
Nanbu Ironware — Morioka Workshop Visit
The Nanbu tetsubin — cast iron teapots made in Morioka since the seventeenth century by craftspeople whose technique has not changed in four hundred years — are among the most considered objects in Japanese material culture. A workshop visit during the Shiki-shima's Morioka stop: the casting process, the finishing, and the particular sound a tetsubin makes when it is correctly filled with water.
♨️
Onsen
Gora Kadan — Open-Air Onsen Above the Caldera
The open-air onsen at Gora Kadan overlooks the Hakone caldera with Mount Fuji visible on clear days to the west — the most considered outdoor bathing experience in the Hakone region, in water heated by the same volcanic system that produced the landscape surrounding the pool. Morning bathing, in the particular light of the Japanese mountain dawn.
🎋
Cultural
Kakunodate — The Samurai District
The samurai district of Kakunodate in Akita Prefecture — where the preserved residences of the samurai class are lined by weeping cherry trees of extraordinary age, and the Inner Town's earthen walls and traditional architecture have remained substantially unchanged since the Edo period. One of the most complete surviving samurai districts in Japan, and among the least visited by international travellers.
Visual Journey

Through the Lens

Begin Your Story

Craft Your
Private Journey

Every detail — from your first evening above the Imperial Palace to your final morning above the Hakone caldera — is composed entirely around you. Speak with your dedicated Richseen journey consultant today.

From USD 22,000+ per person

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