Inside Japan’s Amazing New Ferrari-Designed Super Train

Sure beats Amtrak.

When Japanese designer Ken Okuyama designed the Ferrari Enzo and P4/P5 while working for Pininfarina in Italy, it probably never occurred to him that one day he would design the world’s most luxurious excursion train.

Japan, home of the bullet train and many commuter lines, is a train-friendly culture, so it should come as no surprise that the Train Suite Shiki-Shima will provide the Land of the Rising Sun with a sleeper train that sets new standards for style and comfort.

Although Okuyama’s prolific work includes eyeglasses, watches and his own Ken Okuyama Design cars, like the Kode 57, trains bring his aesthetic to an enormous new canvas.

The walls of the lounge car feature windows patterned to resemble a quiet forest, with bent wood trim evoking the trunk and branches. Throughout, traditional Japanese artistic techniques derived from eastern Japanese culture are employed.

The dining car is trimmed with multi-colored wood paneling, chandeliers, marble flooring, and windows at different orientations.

It is the same for the sleeping suites, which are designed in Japanese style and incorporate private lavatories and showers for customers.

The observatory car provides breathtaking views of the Japanese forests, fields and coastline passed by the train.

You aren’t the only one who thinks a trip in this train looks appealing; every planned trip through next March is already sold out, with prices that start at the equivalent of about $5,000 and rise to about $10,000 for a three-day trip.