The first Blue Train was known as the
Asakaze. It ran between
Hakata and
Tokyo beginning in 1956; air-conditioned cars were added two years later. As was the case with sleeper train services in other parts of the world, the Blue Trains acquired a romantic aspect and, at the peak of their popularity in the late 1970s, appeared in many novels. They were sometimes described as "moving hotels". The
Asakaze service connecting Hakata and Tokyo was eliminated in 2005, its average occupancy below 30 percent. The
Hayabusa and
Fuji were eliminated in March 2009. The daily
Hokuriku train from Tokyo to
Kanazawa was discontinued on 13 March 2010 along with its former Blue Train counterpart, the
Noto. Services like the
Cassiopeia (a Blue Train in all but color) retained some popularity among tourists until the completion of the
Shinkansen line to Hokkaido.
Discontinued services Limited express sleeper trains •
Akatsuki – connected
Kyoto and
Nagasaki/Sasebo discontinued in March 2008. •
Akebono – connected
Ueno (Tokyo) and
Aomori; discontinued in March 2014. •
Aki – connected
Shin-Osaka and
Shimonoseki; discontinued in October 1978. •
Asakaze – connected
Tokyo and
Shimonoseki/Hakata and Hiroshima discontinued in 2005. •
Cassiopeia – connected Ueno (Tokyo) and
Sapporo three times a week; used deluxe cars; discontinued in March 2016. •
Chōkai – connected Ueno and Aomori; merged with
Akebono in March 1997. •
Dewa – connected Ueno and
Akita; merged with
Chōkai in December 1993. •
Fuji – connected Tokyo and
Ōita; discontinued in March 2009. •
Hakutsuru – connected Ueno and Aomori; discontinued in November 2002. •
Hayabusa – connected Tokyo and
Kumamoto; discontinued in March 2009. •
Hokuriku – connected Ueno and
Kanazawa; discontinued in March 2010. •
Hokusei – connected Ueno and
Morioka; discontinued in November 1982. •
Hokutosei – connected Ueno and Sapporo; discontinued in August 2015. •
Inaba – connected Tokyo and
Yonago; discontinued in October 1978. •
Izumo – connected Tokyo and ; one roundtrip downgraded from Blue Train status and renamed
Sunrise Izumo in July 1998; remaining roundtrip discontinued in March 2006. •
Kii – connected Tokyo and
Kii-Katsuura; discontinued in January 1984. •
Mizuho – connected Tokyo and Kumamoto/Nagasaki; discontinued in December 1996. •
Myōjō – connected Shin-Osaka and
Nishi-Kagoshima; discontinued in November 1986. •
Naha – connected Kyoto and Kumamoto; discontinued in March 2008. •
Nihonkai – connected Osaka and Aomori/
Sapporo discontinued in March 2012 , but the train some times connected to Sapporo and Hakodate some days. •
Sakura – connected Tokyo and Nagasaki/
Sasebo; discontinued in March 2005. •
Seto – connected Tokyo and ; downgraded from Blue Train status and renamed
Sunrise Seto •
Yūzuru – connected Ueno and Aomori; discontinued in March 1988.
Express sleeper trains •
Amanogawa – connected Ueno and Akita; discontinued in March 1985. •
Chikuma – connected
Nagano and Osaka; downgraded from Blue Train status in October 1997; discontinued in October 2005. •
Daisen – connected Osaka and Izumoshi; downgraded from Blue Train status in October 1999, discontinued in October 2004. •
Ginga – connected Tokyo and
Osaka; discontinued in March 2008. •
Kaimon – connected
Mojikō and Nishi-Kagoshima; replaced by
Dream Tsubame in March 1993. •
Kitaguni – connected Osaka and
Niigata; downgraded from Blue Train status in March 1985; discontinued in 2012. •
Marimo – connected Sapporo and
Kushiro; downgraded from Blue Train status in March 1993; discontinued in August 2008. •
Myōkō – connected Ueno and
Naoetsu via the Shin'etsu Main Line; downgraded from Blue Train status in March 1985; discontinued in March 1993. •
Nichinan – connected Hakata and Nishi-Kagoshima via the
Nippō Main Line; replaced in March 1993 by
Dream Nichirin. •
Noto – connected Ueno and
Kanazawa via the
Shin'etsu Main Line; downgraded from Blue Train status in March 1993; discontinued in March 2010. •
Rishiri – connected Sapporo and
Wakkanai; downgraded from Blue Train status in March 1991; discontinued in September 2007. •
Sanbe – connected Yonago and
Hakata; discontinued in February 1984. •
Shinsei – connected Ueno and
Sendai; discontinued in November 1982. •
Taisetsu – connected
Sapporo and
Abashiri; replaced in March 1992 by
Okhotsk. •
Towada – connected Ueno and Aomori via the
Jōban Line; discontinued in March 1985. •
Tsugaru – connected Ueno and Aomori via the
Ōu Main Line; discontinued in March 1985. ==Notes==