Public transit meets luxury transport in this elegant and open train design with rich interiors as well as copious windows for viewing the passing landscape.
The champagne-colored Shiki-Shima sleeper boasts aesthetics by Ken Kiyoyuki Okuyama, the automotive designer behind the Ferrari Enzo as well as Maserati Quattroporte. Inside, branching window frames are meant to conjure images of tree-lined forests.
Window geometries on the exterior reflect the different needs of interior spaces, from lovely common rooms and fancy dinner cars to split-level sleeping compartments.
The design is also distinctly Japanese, featuring traditional wood, paper and lacquer interiors with tatami mats and artistic techniques developed over centuries of history.
and brings the elegant physique of a supercar to public transport. with dome cars, large geometric windows and a plush sofas, a trip on the rain suite shiki-shima is comparable to a luxury cruise.
“Okuyama nods to japanese artisanal crafts with his use of bentwood—made by curving wood with steam—to frame the sofas and seating. Meanwhile, oriental carpet mills takes car of the design under foot, using their signature ornate carpets that can already be found in the Vatican palace and Kyoto state guest house. The train consists of 17 rooms in total, with two large suite rooms and 15 smaller ones. JR east, the rail operator behind the luxury masterpiece, seeks to provide ‘a high-grade space’ that is currently unseen in existing railway journeys.”
sourse:weburbanist.com