Visited on May 23, 2026 and was lucky to have beautiful sunny weather. We arrived early and got on the second trip of the day. Even then, there were already many people lining up, including both local and international tourists, so arriving early is highly recommended. Parking is quite limited, and the lot can fill up quickly, especially on busy days.
The ride lasts about 30 minutes round-trip and costs ¥2,300 per adult. The scenery along the route is beautiful, with lush greenery, valleys, and impressive views of the surrounding landscape.
One of the highlights was passing through a tunnel illuminated with colorful dancing lights. The train also stops on the high railway bridge, giving passengers time to enjoy the breathtaking views and take photos. A fun touch was the driver spraying bubbles into the air, which added to the cheerful atmosphere and was enjoyed by both children and adults.
The staff were friendly and organized despite the crowds. While the ride is relatively short, it offers a unique experience and a different perspective of Takachiho’s natural beauty. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area. Arrive early for both parking and ticketing.
This was the highlight of our Japan trip! I would recommend getting there early and get your tickets because there is no online reservation. We arrived at 12pm during the Golden Week, and were lucky to get our tickets for a 5pm ride for two on the day. The ticket cost Y2800 YEN including the railway museum, which was a lot of fun!
It was a rainy day for our day tour.
We initially consider if we should skip the training ride as it is open top but decided to go ahead and had great fun and experience. Note, umbrella is not allowed so you need to get rain coat beforehand or at the attraction for 300 yen.
The train will travel for about 10 mins through tunnels and it will reach a bridge over a mountain and pause for breathtaking view, then head back to where it started.
Quite unfortunate… I paid 2,800¥ per person to ride the train and enter the museum. The train price alone is 2,300¥.
I watched a documentary about this railway on YouTube and was super excited to go and see and feel the history behind it all.
However I arrived before opening (8:50) and couldn’t buy tickets until 11:40 and as soon as I walked away from the counter the next three time slots completely sold out to large tour groups that send one representative to buy tickets for the afternoon. Reservations online are not possible.
These bus groups do whatever they want, and the railways have no way of controlling them.
They cut in line to board, and take up too much of the seating area. You also face strangers the whole time with no room to turn and look anywhere. If you’re short you won’t see anything until the bridge section when you can stand and turn around. Way too many people to be enjoyable.
Cash only.
Despite being quite gimmicky, it was still a very fun experience! It delivered exactly what was promised, which was a short ride on an open-air train to see the local views.
There were many sakura trees along the way, and they blow bubbles when showing you the mountains. There were also kids waving to us as the train went by, so it’s pretty cute.
Do note that you can only buy tickets directly from the station on the day itself, so you should go early to buy the tickets if you want a specific timeslot. We arrived at 11.15am on a Monday, and the earliest slot we could get was at 1.40pm as the earlier slots were sold out.
