Tokyu Co.'s luxurious sightseeing train "The Royal Express Hokkaido Cruise Train" departed for delivery in Hokkaido from JR Ito Station in Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Tuesday at 4:39 a.m. to travel around Hokkaido from August to September.
The tour is the brainchild of the Hokkaido Railway Co. and Tokyu, serving as a promotional tool to generate tourism in Hokkaido after a strong earthquake rocked the area in September 2018.
The five-car train will travel to areas of Sapporo and the eastern part of Hokkaido over four days and three nights.
Because of the novel coronavirus, its number of runs has been reduced from five to three. In addition, measures have been enacted to prevent infection of the virus such as making disinfectant available in the car.
"I hope it will be a safe and peaceful journey," said Junya Katagiri, 41, an official of Tokyu Co.
Katagiri was on hand to witness the departure of the train, which set out on its voyage hooked to a Japan Freight Railway Co. electric freight train.
The Royal Express usually operates as an eight-car train between JR Yokohama and Izukyu Shimoda stations.
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