Unveiled earlier this week, the “Tohoku Emotion” is a train unlike anything ever seen before in Japan.
Combining “food, art and scenery”, on board this train the journey itself takes the main role and passengers are able to cruise through Northeastern Japan’s beautiful countryside while sampling food freshly prepared before their very eyes.
The special Japan Rail train is due to make its debut at the end of autumn, and will make trips up and down Northeast Japan approximately 150 days a year, with weekends, public holidays and of course Japan’s “golden week” holiday period in May being its main periods of operation.
Billed as a “travelling restaurant”, the train is able to seat 48 diners at any one time. As well as featuring a “live kitchen” car, passengers can watch the world go by from either the open dining car’s windows or a carriage made up entirely of private box compartments where you can snuggle up with a loved one or try to keep your children under control.
The central kitchen and restaurant will be constructed using both methods and materials from the northeastern Tohoku region of Japan. The food served on board will also be sourced from local areas and based on traditional recipes, albeit with a bit of additional flair and style.
While all we have to go on for the moment are the above concept images, we’re sure that the train will be a big hit with rail fans and foodies alike, bringing a little much-needed tourism back to the earthquake and tsunami-hit areas of Japan while reminding us all that it’s not always necessary to actually go anywhere to take a journey.
Source: ねとらぼ
Images via Response