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“52 seats of happiness” – Seibu Railway’s gourmet train
Seibu Line Ikebukuro/Shinjuku – Seibu Chichibu;
Seibu Sinjuku and Honkawagoe
Starting from 17 April 2016What’s more exhilarating than a trip by … gourmet train? From spring 2016, Seibu Railway transforms a tourist train into a travelling restaurant, featuring Chichibu City located in Saitama Prefecture and bordering Tokyo. By combining the pleasure of railway trip and that of gastronomy, the company wishes to provide a unique travel experience.
A total of 52 seats, all in diners, will allow you to savour exquisite dishes supervised by renowned chefs of Japanese, Western and Chines cuisines (*), while enjoying pretty sceneries.
The design of the train was supervised by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. The exterior is painted with dynamic motifs of four seasons in Chichibu with the Arakawa River running through the Musashino Plain. The interior of the car is designed in the theme of nature, decorated with wood and local traditional crafts.
The gourmet train “52 seats of happiness” will be run as a special train for about 100 days a year, mainly on Saturdays and holidays.
※ Culinary supervision
General supervision: Takashi Tamura, President, Tsukiji Tamura (Tokyo)
Japanese cuisine: Shin Okamoto, Managing Chef, La BOMBANCE (Tokyo)
Western cuisine: Keizo Sugimoto, Managing Chef, La FinS (Tokyo)
Chinese cuisine: Hiroyuki Shinohara, Master Chef, Chines Restaurant Shangu (Tokyo)
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Place name Ikebukuro Station – Seibu Chichibu Station
Seibu Shinjuku Station – Seibu Chichibu Station
Seibu Shinjuku Station – Honkawagoe Station(in Japanese) 池袋駅～西武秩父駅、
西武新宿駅～西武秩父駅、
西武新宿駅～本川越駅Dates Check the officiel website above
*operating dates from April to June 2016:Ikebukuro ⇔ Seibu Chichibu
17・29・30 April; 1・15・28・29 May; 4・5・18・19 JuneSeibu Shinjuku ⇔ Seibu Chichibu
23・24 April; 3・4・5・7・8・21・22 May; 11・12・25・26 JuneOpening hours <Branch Course>
Ikebukuro dept. 10:50 am → Seibu Chichibu arr. 2 pm
Seibu Shinjuku dept. 10:45 am → Seibu Chichibu 2 pm
Seibu Shinjuku dept 10:45 am → Honkawagoe 1:15 pm(*)<Dinner Course>
Seibu Chichibu dept. 5:40 pm → Ikebukuro arr. 8 pm
Seibu Chichibu dept. 5:40 pm → Seibu Shinjuku arr. 8 pm
Honkawagoe dept. 5:15 pm → Seibu Shinjuku arr. 8 pm(*)*No train operation between Seibu Shinjuku and Honkawagoe from April to June 2016 Price Branch Course: ￥10000 (incl. tax);
Dinner Course ￥15000 (incl. tax)
*Price includes train fares, dinner course fees, etc.
*Uniform price (no reduced price for children)
*Bringing food and drink inside the train is not allowed
*Dinner Course includes a souvenirReservation Online booking is required (via the website of “52 Seats of Bliss”)
*Reservation starts from 1 February 2016
*Reservation of Branch Course on 17 April 2016 (with a launching ceremony) is by drawing of lot (between 1 February and 14 February 2016)
* The above is the information known at the time of publication and subject to change without prior notice.
