Seibu Railway Co., Ltd. has begun development on a “tourism train” to allow customers to enjoy a refined space and experience, and dine their way from Tokyo to Chichibu (in Saitama prefecture, northwest of Tokyo).
The train has been nicknamed “The Seibu Traveling Restaurant – fifty two seats of happiness,” and a logo mark has been created for the train which is designed to evoke the nature of the Chichibu area, taking inspiration from the number ’52’ and thus modeled after playing card suits: The spade expresses ‘water,’ the diamond ‘autumn leaves,’ the club ‘plants,’ and the heart expresses the warm feelings the company wishes to impart on its customers.
Operation Area
Planned for the following routes, with potential for others:
Ikebukuro – Seibu Chichibu
Seibu Shinjuku – Seibu Chichibu
Seibu Shinjuku – Hon-Kawagoe
Operating Dates
The train will begin operating on Sunday 17th April 2016, and will operate as a special train service on approximately 100 days per year, mainly weekends and holidays.
Ticket reservations opened on 1st February, and can be made through the official website (Japanese only).
Design
Car 1: “Spring” – the phlox subulata cherry blossoms of Nagatoro
Car 2: “Summer” – the green of Chichibu’s mountains
Car 3: “Autumn” – the autumn leaves of the Chichibu mountains
Car 4: “Winter” – the Ashigakubo Icicles
Official website
http://www.seibu-group.co.jp/railways/seibu52-shifuku/overview/
(Japanese only)