Inside a $10K Luxury Train Ride Across Japan

If you’ve got a lot of time and don’t care much about comfort, you can get across Japan for less than $30 a day. But if that’s not quite your style, there is a far better—and far pricier—alternative. You could shell out $10,000 for a luxury sleeper train that will take you across the country in true comfort.

As Mashable reports, the East Japan Railway Company’s Train Suite Shiki-Shima began making voyages on May 1, and its passengers have been riding in high style ever since. The train offers 17 double-occupancy cabins, with a lounge car, a dining room, and two observatory cars.

The trip "offers you a prime view of Japan’s rich, beautiful natural scenery, the local industries of each region and the unique culture that permeates Japanese people’s daily lives," according to the railway’s website.

The seasonal trips are two, three, or four days long and cover 620 to 1120 miles in total, with all meals included, with daily sightseeing trips. The food aboard the train is coordinated with the destinations out the window, so you eat dishes prepared by local chefs featuring ingredients from the region.

The elite trips come at a cost: A three-day, two-night trip staying in the train’s fanciest cabin, the Shiki-Shima Suite, costs more than $9300 for a single passenger, and around $6200 per person for a couple. The same trip costs almost $4500 per person for the lowest-level double-occupancy cabin.

Tickets are already sold out until March 2018, but you can keep an eye out for openings on the East Japan Railway website. You'll have to submit an application for tickets, and if there is more interest than there are tickets, winners will be chosen by lottery.