Hello!! I’m Kazu.
Two Sundays ago, the “Seven Stars in Kyushu” was stopped at Aso Station, so I snapped a photo of it. When I later asked Chappie about it, I was surprised to learn that this “Seven Stars” is actually a world‑famous luxury train (_;
As for the origin of its name, I wondered if it might be meant to clearly express the idea of traveling through the seven prefectures of Kyushu—or perhaps, for overseas audiences, the name “Seven Stars in Kyushu” reflects the company’s passionate commitment to this project. Just my little guess✌✌✌
It turns out that NHK aired a special feature on this luxury train. The title was:
“New Project X – The Challengers” ‘The Luxury Train Recognized by the World – The Miracle Achieved by a Deficit‑Ridden Railway’ (Aired on May 16 this year)
According to the narration, the train was introduced as having been ranked No.1 in the world for three consecutive years by a world‑renowned travel magazine. Naturally, my curiosity—because I love anything that’s No.1—made me ask Chappie what kind of magazine it was and how prestigious it might be (＾ω＾)
The magazine that gave this evaluation was none other than Condé Nast Traveler, an American travel magazine known for its annual rankings of luxury trains, hotels, airlines, and more. It has tremendous influence in the global travel industry… Amazing 😊😊
After the former Japanese National Railways was split into six passenger companies, including JR Kyushu, on April 1, 1987, the company continued to suffer major deficits until the debut of the “Seven Stars in Kyushu” on October 15, 2013—the first true “cruise train” in Japan. And now, to rise to No.1 in the world for three consecutive years, surpassing even the legendary Orient Express—the setting of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express—is surely proof of the extraordinary effort of everyone at JR Kyushu 😊😊 Their business performance must have improved as well.
And now, here is the photo I took of the world‑No.1 cruise train “Seven Stars in Kyushu”, as ranked by the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler 👇👇
The bus parked in front of Aso Station is used for sightseeing by the “Seven Stars” passengers (to places like Kusasenri and Aso Shrine).
The flow goes like this: the train stops → passengers go sightseeing by bus → they return before departure.
And look at that — even the license plate has a 7 on it ( ﾟДﾟ)👇👇
Well then, everyone, thank you for staying with me until the end!(^^)!
Let’s all get through the coming week without losing to the heat, and take good care of ourselves until next Thursday. 😊😊
