クルーズトレイン「ななつ星in九州」｜JR九州

Spring to Autumn Course Guide(March - September 2023)
Autumn to Spring Course Guide(October 2023 - March 2024)
Hospitality
Kirishima
Journey
A journey to experience Kyushu's pottery and history,and to reminisce a century of rail travel.
This is a journey to experience pottery, local sake and magnificent nature while traveling around Kyushu by train.
The excursions will take you to where the sound of the kara usu wooden clay-crushing devices echo in the Onta Yaki Pottery Village in Oita Prefecture mountains, to the Chin Jukan kiln where the ware has been fostered for more than 400 years since crossing to Satsuma from Korea, to the areas rich in nature that stretch in the Nishimoro area of Miyazaki Prefecture at the foot of the Kirishima mountain range, and to the UNESCO Eco Park areas of Bungo-Ono and Bungo-Taketa in Oita Prefecture. Please enjoy this nostalgic but new and exciting journey.
*The itinerary may be changed.
Click here for new journey image movie
Day 1Into a land of history and tradition

The first destination is Hita in Oita Prefecture. You can experience a day filled with the traditions of Oita, with an excursion to Hita and Onta, the traditional pottery village where you will find the pleasant sound of the kara usu wooden clay-crushing devices, or staying on the train for the experience of making geta (wooden clogs) made of Hita cedar, which are a traditional specialty of Hita.

Day 2Visit southern Kyushu, which has the sun and superb views

On the second day, you will travel along the Hisatsu Orange Railway and enjoy the glittering azure colored East China Sea and Yatsushiro Sea. Customers who have chosen the off-train excursion will go to the Satsuma ware pottery "Chin Jukan" kiln. Customers staying onboard the train can enjoy the dynamic scenery of the beautiful Kinko Bay and Sakurajima from the train windows. For the accommodation, we will aim for at Kirishima Onsen, a famous hot spring that represents Kyushu.

  • Chin Jukan kilnChin Jukan kilnMORE
  • Tenku no MoriTenkuTenku no MoriTenkuMORE
  • Myoken IshiharasoMyoken IshiharasoMORE
  • Wasure no Sato GAJOENWasure no Sato GAJOENMORE
Day 3A nostalgic hidden route looking up at the magnificent Kirishima mountain range

In the latter half of the trip, the train will travel along the Kitto Line which connects Kagoshima and Miyazaki, for the first time since the start of the Seven Stars operation. Please enjoy the view that can only be seen here and now from the Seven Stars.

  • Kitto LineKitto Line　©Junya HirosawaMORE
  • Nishimoro areaNishimoro areaMORE
Day 4Thinking about railway travel

The last part of the Cruise Train journey is along the Hohi Main Line, with a view of Mt. You will build up your thoughts on the travel as scenes flow past the train windows on your way to Hakata Station, which is the last station of your trip and a new starting point for your life.

  • Fuko-ji TempleMOREFuko-ji TempleMORE
  • Bamboo work making experienceBamboo work making experienceMORE
3泊4日 1日目マップ
3泊4日 2日目マップ
3泊4日 3日目マップ
3泊4日 4日目マップ
3泊4日詳細
Timetable / route
3泊4日ルート
*This timetable is for 3N4D journeys from March 14th 2023.　*As of April 1st 2023.
Days of operation
Cuisine
3-Night 4-Day Journey to
Savor Kyushu’s Bountiful Cuisine
Our skilled chefs from all over Kyushu spend time and effort themselves to cook the seasonal ingredients,
which have been grown with love by carefully selected farmers.
Enjoy the luxurious cuisine, which includes Japanese, French, local and Italian cuisine.
Return to route

Day 1

Imoto
Enjoy simple Kyoto cuisine made with seasonal ingredients from Hakata. The dishes are prepared in a neat and elegant manner, gently harmonizing the owner's sensibility with traditional, yet unorthodox methods. You can enjoy dishes with a balance of seasonal fish and vegetables that you will not get tired eating. (Lunch)
Imoto
La Verveine
La Verveine is a French restaurant located in Yufuin, Oita Prefecture. It uses local ingredients for dishes that will make your mind and body healthy and enable you to eat with peace of mind. The cuisine is made with the hope that you will eat the delicious food and be revitalized. (Dinner)
La Verveine

Day 2

Seven Stars Head Chef
On the morning after your first overnight stay on the train, you will be served with the breakfast of your dreams. Kumamoto's local cuisine (Tai Pien) will be on the menu. As some of you may know, to put it simply, it is "vermicelli soup." Mung bean vermicelli in chicken broth, steamed 'Amakusa Daioh'-brand chicken and seasonal coloring. Start the day with a warm meal. (Breakfast) (Supervised by Hitomi Otsuka)
Seven Stars Head Chef
Hitomi Otsuka
A cooking researcher from Fukuoka Prefecture. She uses foods she has chosen by personally visiting the producers and prepares original dishes for the Seven Stars that bring out the goodness of the carefully prepared ingredients. Please enjoy the comforting dishes that can only be eaten here and now and are perfect for the middle part of the trip. (Lunch)
Hitomi Otsuka

Day 3

Nishimoro Omotenashi Bento
Miyazaki has a history of forestry. At Hinamori Meiboku, "Kirishima cedar" which have been carefully collected at the expert judgment of previous generations are dried naturally for many years before use. Everything is filled with "vital energy". Dishes made from local ingredients are packed in bento boxes made of "wood with vital energy". (Lunch)
Nishimoro Omotenashi Bento
CERCA TROVA
Italian cuisine made using ingredients from the mountains and sea of nature-rich Nobeoka. Please enjoy original dishes that are created with the incorporation of the wishes of the producers who deliver the vegetables harvested that morning and the freshly caught seafood. (Dinner)
CERCA TROVA

Day 4

Breakfast at Murezuru Shuzo
"Watadamai" (rice for presentation to the Imperial Family) cooked in the oven of the cellar of the Murezuru Shuzo brewery, and "Torijiru" chicken soup. Watadamai rice is a historic rice which is known as "gozenmai", because it was eaten by local feudal lords in the Edo period. It is cooked in the oven of the brewery cellar. The Torijiru chicken soup is a local dish prepared with local chicken, vegetables and seasonings. (Breakfast)
Breakfast at Murezuru Shuzo
olmo coppia
This is an organic restaurant in a renovated 160 year old storage house near Aso Station. It is well known for its dishes that are warm and good for both body and soul. On the Seven Stars, the restaurant "Kasei" at Aso Station will serve safe and heartwarming homemade dishes using organic ingredients, with a focus on homegrown vegetables and organic vegetables grown in open fields that are delivered from Minami-Aso. (Lunch)
olmo coppia
運行日カレンダー
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Onta
Onta village in the mountains of Hita is listed in the "100 Soundscapes of Japan".
In the Sarayama district, you can hear the sound of the kara usu wooden clay-crushing devices pounding the clay with the power of the water flow. The blessings of nature are utilized there as nine potters continue to preserve the tradition by handing down their teachings to just one child. The British pottery artist Bernard Leach also spent time here and it is a place that has a richness that can only be felt by visiting it.
(Customers who choose to go on the outdoor excursion)
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Hita geta
Hita is one of the three major geta production areas in Japan. The tradition has been handed down from the Tenpo era, and although the volume of production is decreasing due to changes in lifestyle, the nostalgic and gentle comfort of Hita cedar is now being reconsidered. On the Seven Stars, you can experience putting thongs on original specification geta under the instruction of the head of Motono Hakimono Kogyo, where craftsmen perform all the processes with great care.
(Customers who choose the activity)
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Chin Jukan kiln
The "Chin Jukan" kiln has been making Satsuma ware following the tradition of the Joseon Dynasty pottery in Kagoshima for more than 400 years. Starting from the first generation craftsman Chin Tokichi, the Chin name has been passed down to the 15th Chin Jukan of today. Through a painting experience, you will be able to sense the traditional beauty that won praise from around the world at the Paris and Vienna Expositions.
(Customers who choose to go on the outdoor excursion)
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Tenku no Mori
This is the ultimate private resort. There are just five villas scattered in a site area 13 times the size of Tokyo Dome. The view from the open-air bath of a guest room is a 360 degree panorama. The food served is mostly made from homegrown ingredients. The cuisine teaches us that expensive fish and brand meat are not the only delicacies.

https://tenku-jp.com
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Myoken Ishiharaso
The Amorigawa River flows from the Kirishima mountain range. This famous ryokan is located next to that mountain stream. It has a well-known artesian hot spring that does not require water addition or a storage tank, and the cuisine is kaiseki cuisine made with seasonal ingredients produced locally. Please eat it in the bowls that are specially-selected to suit each food.
https://www.m-ishiharaso.com
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Wasure no Sato GAJOEN
The first thing that stands out is the buildings with thatched roofs. And then you will be greeted by chickens.
GAJOEN is an inn where you can sense a fondly-remembered lifestyle and culture of Japan. The hot spring water flows directly from the source and the quality of the spring is exceptional. Most of the ingredients in the cuisine are items grown self-sufficiently. They are the tastes that people in this area have eaten for a long time. They are truly the tastes of the local area. This is an inn recognized by the world-renowned "Relais & Châteaux".
https://gajoen.jp
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Kitto Line
The Seven Stars will run for the first time on the Kitto Line, which celebrates its 110th anniversary this year. There is not a single tunnel on the line and from the train windows you can see the Kirishima mountain range and the rural landscape at the foot of it, which change their appearance each season.
Ebino Station (formerly Kakuto Station), which opened in 1912, was also a location for the 2003 movie "Utsukushii natsu kirishima (A Boy's Summer in 1945)".
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Nishimoro area
"The Nishimoro area in the southwestern part of Miyazaki Prefecture is surrounded by the Kyushu Mountains and the Kirishima mountain range.
You can enjoy the nature of each season on the plateau which spreads out at the foot of the mountains.
This area is surrounded by clean water and clean air and offers visitors great “restful comfort”.
At the Ebino Station, we will prepare a car for each group on the Seven Stars trip. Please enjoy your time with a variety of plans you can choose from. ”
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Fuko-ji Temple
The Fuko-ji Temple is located in Bungoono City, Oita Prefecture. The temple grounds are rich in nature and include one of Japan's largest Magaibutsu (Buddha figures carved in a rock face), which was carved in the Kamakura period. On the “stage” next to that Buddha, you can experience Ajikan (meditation), a Shingon sect meditation method, with the chief priest.
(Customers who choose to go on the outdoor excursion)
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Historical romance and tradition in the Taketa area​
Taketa City, the castle town of the Oka domain. At the remains of Oka Castle, which was a famous castle that was impregnable, and in the town where Rentaro Taki used to live, the flow of time gives the feeling that you have time-slipped into the past. You can take advantage of the long stop at the Bungo-Taketa Station to take a walk thinking about olden times, or to enjoy the experience of making bamboo craft original to Seven Stars at Taketa Sogo Gakuin.
(Outdoor excursion)
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