"Amanecer Komachi": JR East's first overnight Shinkansen leaves Tokyo at 21:44 on 27 December
E6系「アマネセルこまち」（東京→盛岡・秋田、団体専用臨時列車）
A one-off E6 Komachi tour train spends the night at Ichinoseki and reaches Akita before the first regular Shinkansen from Tokyo. Window seats only, sold as a package online from 5 November to 13 December.
When27 Dec – 28 Dec 2026
WhereTokyo → Morioka / Akita
JR East is running its first Shinkansen that departs at night and arrives the next morning. Amanecer Komachi (amanecer is Spanish for "dawn") leaves Tokyo at 21:44 on Sunday 27 December 2026, waits at Ichinoseki from 23:57 to about 6:00, then reaches Morioka at 6:23 and Akita at 8:45 on 28 December — earlier than the first Komachi from Tokyo. At Morioka you can change to Hayate 93 (6:54) for Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto at 8:58.
It is a tour train, so you buy a package rather than a ticket: ¥22,000 per adult for an ordinary reserved seat (¥15,000 for primary-school children and younger) or ¥29,000 for a Green Car seat, Tokyo to Akita. Only window seats are sold, and one car is a family car where talking at night is fine. The package includes an E6-themed amenity pouch and a ¥500 NewDays voucher; no tour guide travels with you.
Sales are online only on JR East View Tourism's "Japan travel, rail travel" site, from 5 November (14:00) to 13 December 2026 (23:59). During the stop at Ichinoseki you can't leave the station; the doors open for about 30 minutes after arrival and before departure for the platform vending machines and smoking area. The lights stay on all night, and maintenance work nearby may be audible.
For visitors
- The JAPAN RAIL PASS can't be used — this is a travel package, not a normal train. The booking site is in Japanese.
- Buy food and drinks before boarding: shops at Ichinoseki are closed and vending machines may sell out.
- There's space for big suitcases on board. It's an upright seat, not a bed — think of it as a very early first train, not a sleeper.
- Nyuto Onsen and Lake Tazawa are on the Komachi route; Akita is a good base for snowy hot-spring towns at New Year.
Sources
- JR East news release via PR TIMES (4 Nov 2026) (official, Japanese)
- JR East press release (PDF) (official, Japanese)
Summarised in our own words from the sources above; last checked 5 Nov 2026. Plans can change — confirm with the operator before you travel.
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