Japan · Luxury · Scenic

SAPHIR ODORIKO

SAPHIR ODORIKO is JR East's E261-series limited express from Tokyo to Izukyu-Shimoda, running via Shinagawa, Yokohama, Atami and the Izukyu line down the east coast of the Izu peninsula.

Tokyo → Shimoda

Luxury · Scenic

The blue E261 series SAPHIR ODORIKO running on the Tokaido main line in Tokyo. · Photo: MaedaAkihiko · CC BY-SA 4.0

Experience: Rail enthusiasts · Luxury seekers
Route: Tokyo → Shimoda
Time aboard: 2h 29m

Why take this journey

The journey is the occasion

JR East built the E261 with no ordinary class at all, which changes the feel of a two-hour run.

Life on board

The train as a place to stay

Car one is premium green with single-plus-single seating and a nose window over the driver, cars two and three are private compartments for groups of up to four or six, car four is a working cafeteria where you can order a noodle set, and the rest are green cars with glass sized for the coast.

The cafeteria car of the E261 series SAPHIR ODORIKO, with counter seating and banquettes under the roof glazing. · Photo: Toshinori baba · CC BY-SA 4.0

The itinerary

The journey across the map

And the coast is the point: south of Atami the line clings to the shoreline through Itō, Izu-Kōgen and Kawazu, with the sea on the left going down.

The published route runs from Tokyo to Shimoda via Shinagawa, Yokohama, Atami, Itō, Izu-Kōgen.

Key stops

TokyoShinagawaYokohamaItōIzu-KōgenIzukyu-Shimoda

Japan · Approximate route through recorded stops · not exact railway tracks

Tokyo
Japan
Shinagawa
Japan
Yokohama
Japan
Atami
Japan
Itō
Japan
Izu-Kōgen
Japan
Izukyu-Shimoda
Japan

Luxury / rail cruise

What to know before you choose

What the premium buys

SAPHIR ODORIKO is JR East's E261-series limited express from Tokyo to Izukyu-Shimoda, running via Shinagawa, Yokohama, Atami and the Izukyu line down the east coast of the Izu peninsula. The 11:00 from Tokyo reaches Izukyu-Shimoda at 13:29, about two and a half hours. Every car is a green car: premium green, private compartments, a cafeteria car and panoramic green seating.

What defines the route

Tokyo to Izukyu-Shimoda via Shinagawa, Yokohama, Atami, Itō, Izu-Kōgen

Before you book

Reservation: required. Direct online booking is recorded. Premium green and green car seats are sold through eki-net. The green private compartments cannot be bought online and must be purchased at a Midori-no-madoguchi ticket office or a reserved-seat ticket machine in Japan.

Verified 2026-09-28

Plan the ride

Choose and book the experience

Use the verified journey, booking, season and onboard facts below to decide how to take this experience. Unknowns stay explicit.

Time aboard: 2h 29m
Reservation: Required
Booking: Direct online booking recorded
Rail pass: Not verified
Price context: Fare plus limited-express and green-car charges; no dated total was captured from a first-party page, so none is recorded here.
Timing: Check the current operating calendar
On board: No journey-specific onboard feature is currently verified

This guide does not imply a product variant unless a separate comparison decision is published.

When to go

Season and timing

Season guidance not yet verified

JanRuns
FebRuns
MarRuns
AprRuns
MayRuns
JunRuns
JulRuns
AugRuns
SepRuns
OctRuns
NovRuns
DecRuns

Runs

Year-round: Runs

Jan: Two round trips run daily between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda, with additional services on specific weekdays and weekends, including a Shinjuku-origin train at weekends and on holidays.

These months show when the train runs, which is a service fact. How good each month is for the experience has not been rated yet, so no month is presented as better than another.

Month-by-month notes

Jan: Two round trips run daily between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda, with additional services on specific weekdays and weekends, including a Shinjuku-origin train at weekends and on holidays.
Feb: Two round trips run daily between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda, with additional services on specific weekdays and weekends, including a Shinjuku-origin train at weekends and on holidays.
Mar: Two round trips run daily between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda, with additional services on specific weekdays and weekends, including a Shinjuku-origin train at weekends and on holidays.
Apr: Two round trips run daily between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda, with additional services on specific weekdays and weekends, including a Shinjuku-origin train at weekends and on holidays.
May: Two round trips run daily between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda, with additional services on specific weekdays and weekends, including a Shinjuku-origin train at weekends and on holidays.
Jun: Two round trips run daily between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda, with additional services on specific weekdays and weekends, including a Shinjuku-origin train at weekends and on holidays.
Jul: Two round trips run daily between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda, with additional services on specific weekdays and weekends, including a Shinjuku-origin train at weekends and on holidays.
Aug: Two round trips run daily between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda, with additional services on specific weekdays and weekends, including a Shinjuku-origin train at weekends and on holidays.
Sep: Two round trips run daily between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda, with additional services on specific weekdays and weekends, including a Shinjuku-origin train at weekends and on holidays.
Oct: Two round trips run daily between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda, with additional services on specific weekdays and weekends, including a Shinjuku-origin train at weekends and on holidays.
Nov: Two round trips run daily between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda, with additional services on specific weekdays and weekends, including a Shinjuku-origin train at weekends and on holidays.
Dec: Two round trips run daily between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda, with additional services on specific weekdays and weekends, including a Shinjuku-origin train at weekends and on holidays.

Who it suits

Is this journey for you

Good fit for

Rail enthusiasts
Especially good
The train and the line itself are a large part of the reason to travel.
Luxury seekers
Especially good
Sold as a premium product with service to match.
Budget travellers
Good fit
Unusually good value for the distance and the scenery covered.
Families
Good fit
Short enough, frequent enough or engaging enough to work with children.

Also works for 1 more

Photographers
Published photography score is high for this route's landscapes and structures.

Think twice if

You cannot just turn up
A reservation is required for this journey.

How it scores

Our current editorial assessment, for comparing journeys, a considered judgement, not a measurement.

SceneryStrong

ComfortExceptional

Value for moneyStrong

Character of the trainExceptional

Show the full editorial profile

More subjective

UniquenessStrong

Iconic statusStrong

PhotographyStrong

Travelling with childrenStrong

Not rated yet: food & drink, seat quality, onboard service, slow travel quality, romance, remoteness.

Step-free access and assistance are set out with the practical detail further down rather than reduced to a score.

Booking

Booking and price

Choose the itinerary, then confirm it with the operator.

Reservation: Required
Booking difficulty: Moderate

Not yet verified: typical price, rail pass validity. We leave these blank rather than guess.

Premium green and green car seats are sold through eki-net.
The green private compartments cannot be bought online and must be purchased at a Midori-no-madoguchi ticket office or a reserved-seat ticket machine in Japan.

Check availability with JR East Compare similar journeys

This is the operator's own reservation entry point. Fares and availability are confirmed there, not here. Journey length: 2h 29m. Checked 21 Sep 2026 · JR East · SAPHIR ODORIKO.

Continue exploring