In Tokyo, an old sleeper train “Hokutosei” will be revived in partnership with Tokyo Hostels. Come stay at a train themed hostel and experience a piece of history. This is a fun experience for train fans and tourists.
East Japan Railway Company and JR East Urban Development Cooperation announced they will reuse a sleeper express train called “Hokutosei” that recently stopped on August, 2015. It is being remade into “Train Hostel Hokutosei” in Tokyo, and it will be opened by the middle of December 2016. Hokutosei had a restaurant and lounge car, it was called the “first gorgeous sleeper express in Japan”. It ran between Tokyo and Hokkaido.
Their policy is “being a hostel means the journey should be more fun” and they are hoping train fans and inbound tourists will be the main customers. They have 78 beds in total and it might be attractive to many train fans because it reuses some parts from the trains that were previously in service. Additionally, there are information booths for tourists, mainly about the Tohoku area. The hostel encourages people, especially inbound tourists to visit eastern Japan. A room costs 2,500 yen to 4,000 yen, per night and it depends on the type of room. The hostel is for tourist wanting to stay short term or long term.
The hostel consists of six floors and is divided into three sections. The first floor has the front desk of the hostel. All the staff can also speak English. The website is in Chinese, Korean, and English. On the second floor there is a lounge space and from the third floor to fifth floor it is the hostel. They have a dormitory type room which is for four people and private rooms, the actual interior pieces from Hokutosei have been used. There are bunk beds in the dormitory type and single beds in the private rooms. There is a shared bathroom, shower, and laundry space. There is free wifi and space to store large suitcases.
