Kyushu’s Hisatsu Orange Restaurant is a specialty dining train on the Orange Railway which travels alongside the beautiful coastlines of the Yatsushiro Sea. Our group of 4 took the train as a sightseeing alternative to the Shinkansen, traveling enroute from Kumamoto to Kagoshima.
Plan: Sunset Meal
Paid: ¥18,000/pp (US$120, €110)
Route: Shin-Yatsushiro (16:19) – Izumi (18:50)
[Accessibility: 4/10]
From an accessibility standpoint this leg of the journey was a bit difficult to plan. Reserving a seat was fairly easy but figuring out the logistics isn’t so much. In typical Japanese fashion the website is a bit dated, but it has an English version so it’s not terrible. Reservations open two months in advance and I’d recommend checking early as the train has only 2 cars with very limited seating (note: this train is not under the JR network).
Even though it may look like there are vacancies even just a few weeks out, those are mostly for non-sea facing seats. The site can also be tricky since it includes plans from other seasons and packages with train tickets, etc. In any case, read the details and know which transportation you need!
On the logistics front, I didn’t really like that this train starts in Shin-Yatsushiro and ends in Izumi, 2 cities that are not normally in people’s Kyushu itineraries. This meant that for us traveling from Kumamoto to Kagoshima, we had to add 2 more JR trips on both sides. I get that it’s unavoidable since it’s a regional sightseeing train, but our total ‘bum-in-seat’ that day ended up being close to 6 hours (not to mention the late arrival).
Lastly, because the train does travel quite a long distance, it’s not realistic that you would take another train back. This means that most likely you would be left with the decision to either mail your luggages to the hotel ahead, or travel with the luggages in tow. One option costs money and the other costs a headache. We chose the first option since after some email back-and-forth, I learned that there isn’t a lot of luggage space onboard. Good thing mailing luggages ahead is so easy (also a pro-tip for many other scenarios!).
[Service Offering: 7/10]
Ok – onto the funner parts, right? ..kind of. The main attraction of the train is the sunset view over the water. Unfortunately, it was cloudy when we went in mid Oct so there wasn’t much sunset to speak of. I did see some pictures/videos of when the sky is clear and that looked stunning. The train of course isn’t to be blamed for the weather, but the uncertainty of it does make the long journey a less attractive tradeoff when booking weeks ahead.
Fortunately, even without the view we had great, local food. The meal was delicious and nicely prepared. It didn’t blow my mind away, but definitely met the usual high standards of Japanese cuisine. One thing though that did take away from my dining experience was how shaky the train was. Maybe I’m too used to the Shinkansen, but these older tracks tend to jerk your body from one side of the chair to the other, which makes it pretty uncomfortable to eat.
My wife and I had just done the Wine Train of Napa Valley last year and we agreed that that was a much better pace for sightseeing. Admittedly these two trains aren’t comparable since the Napa Valley one doesn’t really need to ‘go’ anywhere (and therefore can move at a snail’s pace), but we nonetheless enjoyed the sightseeing aspect on that one more.
The orange express also takes a few stops along the way for you to pick up some souvenirs. It was nice but I was expecting a bit more from these stops. I thought they would have more historical significance or views of nature, but they were mostly small city stations that ended up just feeling like a brief reprise from the rocking train. Not to mention that after the first stop, it was basically pitch dark in all the stops thereafter.
Oh and before I wrap this up – the service onboard was phenomenal. No surprise here since this is Japan, but our server was attentive, professional and funny at times. I love how enthusiastically they wave at each passing train. It’s a Japanese thing.
[Overall: 5.5/10]
By the time we arrived in Izumi it was dark, and we rushed to catch the Shinkansen towards Kagoshima. By that point we were exhausted and ready for bed.
Kyushu has plenty of special trains that take scenic routes, like the Yufuin no Mori or the Aso Boy. I would say that unless you’re an avid train traveler or have plans that already take you to a starting-point station, this is one that you could probably save some money and skip.
Either that or consider trying the lunch course, which runs from the opposite direction from Sendai (10:01) to Shin-Yatsushiro (14:07) at ¥25,000/pp. According to their website availability, lunch seems to be the more popular option, although I probably won’t get a chance to try it in the near future.