Sagano Romantic Train: Current Cars Retire 29 December 2026
Sagano Romantic Train's current cars retire on 29 December 2026. Seats go on sale online at midnight Japan time one month ahead; ¥880 one way.
The Sagano Romantic Train’s current cars make their last runs on Tuesday 29 December 2026, and a new train takes over in spring 2027. Every seat is reserved. Individual tickets can be bought ahead only online, from midnight Japan time one month before the day you ride; the station counters sell same-day tickets only.
The exact last day and the light-up dates are in Sagano Scenic Railway‘s Japanese press release of 18 September 2026. The company’s English pages, checked on 21 October 2026, list the extra evening trains in the 2026 timetable and calendar, but give neither the 29 December date nor the light-up period; the English notice says only that the current train will retire after its 2026 operations. The release also contains a catch for the final fortnight: on most days from 14 December, only one train a day runs while the lights are on, and it leaves from the Kameoka end at 16:30.
The current cars run until 29 December 2026
Tuesday 29 December 2026 is the last day the current cars carry passengers; the new train is due in spring 2027, with no start date announced.
The company’s September 2026 release calls 29 December the retirement day of the current cars and says the 2026 light-up is the last one seen from them. Its English notice of 20 January 2026, the 2026 Operation Schedule, says the current train, in its 35th anniversary year, is planned to retire after its 2026 operations.
The operating calendar shows trains every day from 22 October to 29 December 2026, except Wednesday 16 December, when nothing runs. Nothing is shown for 30 and 31 December.
The replacement is described in the company’s new-train announcement: five cars, a locomotive and four passenger cars (the passenger cars built by JR West Technos), with glass ceilings and sides, wider seat spacing and aisles, on-board displays in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean, and a special room for groups in car 4. In August 2026 the company said test runs would start that month.
Seats go on sale at midnight Japan time, one month ahead
Individual tickets go on sale on the company’s booking site at 0:00 Japan time on the same date one month before you ride, and for individual travellers that is the only way to buy before the day.
The Sagano Scenic Railway FAQ sets the window. A seat for 29 December goes on sale at 0:00 on 29 November. If the previous month has no matching date, sales open on the 1st of your travel month: 31 October went on sale on 1 October. By 30 October 2026, every November date is already on sale, and the December dates open one by one through November.
Check this
Midnight in Japan is the afternoon before in Europe and the morning before in North America. For dates from 2 to 29 December, sales open at 15:00 the previous day in London and 10:00 the previous day in New York, and at 02:00 the same day in Sydney.
The ticket page and the FAQ set out the booking itself:
- Make an account.Register on the booking site with an email address or a social media login before the sale opens.
- Pick the date and direction.Saga or Arashiyama to Kameoka is the down train; Kameoka to Saga or Arashiyama is the up train. There are no round-trip tickets, so a return trip is two bookings.
- Pick the train, car and seat.Seats are four-person boxes, lettered A to D, with A and D at the window. Up to 8 tickets fit in one booking.
- Pay with a 3D Secure card.The site takes Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB and Diners Club, and debit cards. A card not registered for 3D Secure cannot be used, so check with your card company before the night of the sale.
- Show the QR code on your phone.The QR code appears only on the day you ride, and a printed voucher is not accepted at the gate. A booking made on a computer still has to be shown on a phone or tablet, and the ticket page says the site asks for a one-time password when you open it on a different device or browser. The FAQ says the password is sent by email. Open your booking on the phone you will carry before you leave home.
The fare is the same for any section of the line: ¥880 one way for adults (12 and over, except elementary school pupils) and ¥440 for children, according to the fares page. Children pay from elementary school age; one child under 6 rides free on the lap of each ticket holder, and a child who takes a seat pays the child fare.
Changes are free until 23:59 the day before
You can cancel for free, or change your seat, until 23:59 the day before you ride; on the day itself, nothing can be refunded or changed.
The FAQ sets these limits:
- Seat changes: up to three times, on the same train only. Some products allow changes only until two days before.
- Date, train or number of people: cannot be changed. Cancel and book again, from the seats still left.
- Adult and child mix-ups: cannot be corrected either; cancel and rebook.
- Refund timing: depends on your card company.
Good to know
The JR Pass and the Seishun 18 ticket cannot be used on the train, the company’s FAQ says. If you are weighing a pass for the rest of your trip, whether the JR Pass pays for itself and regional JR passes are separate questions; neither changes the ¥880 here.
Sold out online? The counters sell only same-day seats
If the date you want is sold out online, the station counters sell only tickets for that day, first come, first served, and Torokko Hozukyo Station sells none.
The ticket page gives the counter opening times as about 8:35 at Torokko Saga, 8:50 at Torokko Arashiyama and 9:10 at Torokko Kameoka; in busy periods, all three open at about 8:35, according to the FAQ. The counters take cash, credit cards and IC cards such as ICOCA and Suica, but not PiTaPa.
Once the reserved seats are gone, the FAQ says, the counters sell a limited number of standing tickets, capped for each car; when that cap is reached, the train is sold out. The first regular train leaves Torokko Saga at 9:02, so a same-day ticket is a plan for whatever is left, not a way round the online sale.
The evening light-up: which trains, and the December catch
The light-up runs from 16:30 until the last train every operating day from 24 October to 29 December 2026, and the first train from which you can see it is the 16:30 from Torokko Kameoka.
The press release lights the line from 16:30 to the last train, every day from Saturday 24 October to Tuesday 29 December, except 16 December. It names Sagano 16, leaving Torokko Kameoka at 16:30, as the first train from which the lights can be seen. On top of the regular timetable, it adds extra evening trains on set dates:
| Train | Leaves | Arrives | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sagano 16 | Kameoka 16:30 | Saga 17:04 | Every operating day |
| Sagano 81 | Saga 17:10 | Kameoka 17:38 | 24 Oct–13 Dec, 26–27 Dec |
| Sagano 82 | Kameoka 17:43 | Saga 18:12 | 24 Oct–13 Dec, 26–27 Dec |
| Sagano 91 | Saga 18:26 | Kameoka 18:54 | 14–30 Nov, 5–6 Dec |
| Sagano 92 | Kameoka 18:59 | Saga 19:28 | 14–30 Nov, 5–6 Dec |
The 2026 timetable lists the same times for all five trains.
Counted by date, that makes three lit trains a day from 24 October to 13 November, from 1 to 4 December, from 7 to 13 December and on 26 and 27 December, and five on 14–30 November and 5–6 December.
Watch out
The catch is in the last fortnight. On 14 and 15 December, from 17 to 25 December, and on 28 and 29 December, no extra trains run, so Sagano 16 is the only lit train of the day, including the very last day of the current cars. It starts at Torokko Kameoka, the far end of the line from Arashiyama. To ride it, you go out to Kameoka first: Torokko Kameoka is about a 10-minute walk from Umahori Station on the JR Sagano Line, according to the station page.
The FAQ puts the autumn leaves along the line from mid-November to early December, depending on the weather, which lines up with the five-train days from 14 to 30 November.
Close the loop on the JR Sagano Line
With no round-trip tickets, a one-way ride and a JR train back is the simplest plan, because the JR Sagano Line stops near both ends.
The station pages put Torokko Saga about 5 minutes’ walk from JR Saga-Arashiyama Station, and Torokko Kameoka about 10 minutes from JR Umahori. Torokko Arashiyama, the station by the bamboo grove, is about 20 minutes on foot from JR Saga-Arashiyama and has about 60 steps up to the platform with no lift, so the company points wheelchair users and people with walking sticks to Torokko Saga.
Two rules in the FAQ give some room on the day:
- A Saga ticket works from Arashiyama. With a ticket from Torokko Saga to Torokko Kameoka you may board at Torokko Arashiyama instead, and the other way round.
- You can get off early, once. With a Kameoka to Saga ticket you may get off at Torokko Arashiyama, but you cannot board again on the same ticket.
The regular down trains leave Torokko Saga at 2 minutes past each hour from 9:02 to 16:02 and take 23 minutes to Kameoka; the up trains leave Torokko Kameoka on the half hour from 9:30 to 16:30, per the 2026 timetable.
What I could not settle
Not confirmed yet
- The new train’s start date and fares. The company says spring 2027 and nothing more yet. I checked the top page, the fares page and the news list on 21 October 2026.
- Whether the new train has an open-air car. The current car No. 5, the “Rich” car, has no windows and a see-through floor, according to the FAQ. The published description of the 2027 train lists glass-roofed, glass-sided cars and a special room, and does not mention an open-air car either way.
- Which days count as busy. The FAQ says all three counters open at about 8:35 in busy periods, but does not list the dates.
Quick answers
- Should I book car No. 5 if rain is forecast?
- Don’t, unless you are happy to get wet. Car No. 5 is open-air, umbrellas are not allowed in it, and the FAQ says there is no refund, seat change or train change on the day because of rain.
- Can I bring a suitcase?
- Yes, if its three sides add up to about 120 cm or less; that rides free, according to the FAQ. Anything longer than 1 metre is not allowed on board.
- Can a friend use a ticket I booked for them?
- Yes, once: forward the booking email to one person; they register their email address, enter the one-time password the site sends them and open the e-ticket on their own phone, according to the FAQ. A ticket forwarded to several people, or forwarded again, cannot be used.
Dates, fares and booking rules checked on 21 October 2026.
— ko, writing from Niigata
Have a Question?