The was a limited express sleeping car train service in Japan which operated between Ueno Station in Tokyo and Sapporo Station in the northern island of Hokkaido, taking approximately 16½ hours. It was operated jointly by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) from March 1988. The service became a seasonal service from the 14 March 2015 timetable revision, and was completely discontinued in August 2015, in preparation for the opening of the Hokkaido Shinkansen.
Route
Going from Ueno to Sapporo, trains called at Ōmiya, Utsunomiya, Kōriyama, Fukushima, and Sendai. One train made additional stops at Ichinoseki and Morioka. The first stop in Hokkaido was at Hakodate, with arrival in Sapporo around five hours later.
The Hokutosei ran on the following lines:
JR East area
Tohoku Main Line, Ueno – Morioka
Iwate Galaxy Railway Line, Morioka – Metoki
Aoimori Railway, Metoki – Aomori
JR Hokkaido
Tsugaru-Kaikyō Line, Aomori – Hakodate
Hakodate Main Line, Hakodate – Oshamambe
Muroran Main Line, Oshamambe – Numanohata
Chitose Line, Numanohata – Shiroishi
Hakodate Main Line, Shiroishi – Sapporo
Trains reversed and swapped locomotives at Aomori and Hakodate stations. The Tsugaru-Kaikyō Line consists of the Tsugaru Line, Kaikyō Line, Esashi Line, and Hakodate Main Line.
Accommodation and facilities
Sleeping accommodation
The Hokutosei consisted of type "A" and type "B" accommodation. Users of the Japan Rail Pass were waived the basic track fare, however the limited express fare and accommodations fare still applied.
Type A
Type A compartments were larger and had more amenities than their type B counterparts. There were two types of type A compartments: "Royal" and "Twin Deluxe".
Royal rooms were single-person private compartments, although they could be used by two people with the use of a supplementary bed. There were two Royal rooms in each of cars 9 and 10.
Twin Deluxe rooms were private two-person rooms, all eight of which were located in car 8.
Type B
Type B compartments were smaller and less expensive than type A compartments. There were three types of type B compartments: "Duet", "Solo", and "Two-level Type B". All type B compartments carried an accommodation fare of ¥6,300 per person.
Duet compartments were private two-person compartments. There were both upper-level and lower-level types.
Solo compartments were private single-person compartments. As with Duet compartments, there were both upper-level and lower-level types.
Two-level Type B couchettes had four beds which could be individually enclosed with a curtain. While normally used by individual travelers, there were also "B Compartments", which had a door that could be closed and used as a private room for a group of four people (or fewer if the travelers wished to pay for the extra bed(s)).
Dining car
The Hokutosei'''s dining car, called the "Grand Chariot", served various foods and beverages. The availability of foods in the Grand Chariot depended on whether it was the predesignated "Dinner Time", "Pub Time", or "Morning Time".
Dinner Time
French or Japanese cuisine was served during Dinner Time. Passengers who wished to have either course had to make a dinner reservation at a Midori no Madoguchi ticket office up to three days prior to departure.
Pub Time
An announcement sounded at the conclusion of Dinner Time, after which Pub Time began. During Pub Time the dining car opened to all passengers and various à la carte meals, snacks, and beverages were available for purchase. Prior reservations were not needed. Last order was at 10:30 pm, and the car closed at 11:00 pm.
Morning Time
During Morning Time, breakfast was served from 6:30 am. Both western-style and Japanese-style food was served.
Rolling stock
The train was formed of 24 series sleeping cars based at JR East's Oku Depot in Tokyo and JR Hokkaido's Sapporo Depot, typically consisting of 12 cars including a KaNi24 generator car. From Ueno to Aomori the train was hauled by a JR East Class EF510-500 dual-voltage electric locomotive, by a JR Hokkaido Class ED79 AC electric locomotive between Aomori and Hakodate, and by a pair of JR Hokkaido Class DD51 diesel locomotives between Hakodate and Sapporo.
Formation
, the trains were formed as shown below.
Cars 1 to 6 were owned by JR Hokkaido, and cars 7 to 11 (plus the generator van) were owned by JR East from March 2008 to March 2015. After that, all cars were owned by JR East.