We take a ride and take advantage of a deal that won’t last forever.

The Chuo Line is one of the Tokyo area’s most useful train lines, connecting downtown rail hubs like Shinjuku and Tokyo Stations with neighborhoods on the western outskirts such as Tachikawa, Hachioji, and Takao. As of this month, the Chuo Line is getting an extra splash of luxury with the introduction of Green Cars, operator Japan Railway Company’s term for first-class carriages, and even better, right now there’s no additional charge to use them!

The Green Cars make up the number 4 and 5 Cars on 12-car trains on the Chuo Rapid Line running between Tokyo Station to the east and as far west as Otsuki and Ome Stations to the west (10-car Chou Line Rapid trains have no Green Cars). The train that we sent our Japanese-language reporter Ahiruneko to check out the Green Car on, though, was starting at Takao Station, a little east of the decidedly more rural Otsuki, so that’s where his journey began.

It’s expected that the highest demand for Green Car seats is going to be on weekends and during commuting hours on weekdays, but Ahiruneko decided to ride at an off-peak time, picking a train scheduled to leave Takao at 10:47 on a weekday. Even still, when he got to the station there were already a few other people waiting at the spot on the platform marked for where the Green Car’s entrance would be once the train arrived.

Right on time, the train pulled up, bearing the orange stripe designating it as a Chuo Line Rapid train and the clover-like Green Car insignia on the high-class carriages.

The Chuo Line Green Cars have a double-decker design, with both a bottom and a top floor. Since you don’t get too many opportunities to walk up a staircase on a train, Ahiruneko opted to ascend the semi-spiral and take a seat on the second floor.

Instead of a regular Chuo Line carriages’ benches parallel to the windows and a wide central space to stand in with overhead hand straps, the Green Car resembles a Shinkansen carriage, with plush, forward-facing seats. Actually, you can have backwards-facing seats if you prefer, as there’s a lever under the seat (at the point circled in the photo below) that allows you to rotate a pair of seats to face the other way, if you’re riding with a group of friends and want to create a pseudo box seat for yourselves.

There’s also a luxurious amount of legroom (plus a literal red carpet)…

…fold-down trays with drink-holding divots…

…and, in the seat Ahiruneko sat in, windows with panoramic views and shade curtains in case the sunshine gets too bright.

The comfortable seats have a reclining function and power plugs built into the armrests, accommodating those who want to relax and those who need to get some work done alike.

Unfortunately, there was a hiccup with JR’s free onboard Wi-Fi on this day, so Ahiruneko was unable to check his work emails, despite having his laptop with him.

Oh well! He’d just have to enjoy the first-class ride without doing any work along the way.

▼ Poor Ahiruneko…

Since he had some extra free time on his hands, he decided to go take a peek at the first-floor seats, which are actually a little below where you get on the train, and so are accessed by stairway too.

The seats on the first floor are the same as the ones on the second, but the windows are straight panes, without the extra bit of wrap-around that the ones on top have, and there was no red carpet, so if you’ve got a choice, we recommend the second-floor seats.

Regardless of which floor you’re on, at the front of the carriage is a monitor letting you know which stations are coming up.

As the train got closer to downtown, more and more passengers started getting on, with some even standing in the aisle and waiting for Green Car seats to open up.

After about 45 minutes, the train pulled into Shinjuku, the closest train station to SoraNews24 headquarters, where Ahiruneko got off.

As he exited the train, he felt an extra spring in his step. While the Green Car doesn’t provide meal services or other airline-like amenities, there’s no question that the nicer seats and extra personal space make it a much more comfortable, less stressful way to get to or from downtown Tokyo, and Ahiruneko felt hardly a fraction of the fatigue his commute to the office ordinarily leaves him with.

Currently, the Chuo Line Rapid’s Green Cars are in a sort of early-access phase, which is why there’s no additional fee (above the standard train fare) to use them right now. JR says that the Chuo Line Green Cars will enter into standard service in the spring of 2025, most likely meaning in late March/early April near the start of the business year, whereupon passengers will be required to purchase a supplementary Green Car ticket to use the special carriages, so now’s the time if you want this taste of luxury without any extra cost.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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