This Fukushima special cuts through otherwise inaccessible snow-covered land in the winter. You can really get to know the locals—that is, if you can understand their unique Tohoku dialect.

This train is probably the most easily accessible from Tokyo, yet you wouldn’t know it from the ride. There's a special observation car with roomy seats so you can gaze at the unspoiled nature and forget all about the concrete jungle of Tokyo.

This local train makes all the stops, except that stops are often inside national forests like the Kushiro-shitsugen National Park and the Abashiri Quasi-National Park, not to mention the ride along a thin piece of land cutting between the Sea of Okhotsk and Lake Tofutsu. In the winter, you can even watch huge chunks of ice float around in the freezing ocean! You can also stop at one of the country’s most beautiful train stations, Kitahama Station, along the way.

Although there are others in the country, this is the only SL (steam locomotive) to make it on this list. Riding on an SL you get the old-school steam, noise, smell and ever-so-iconic whistle, in addition to the stunning scenery of tea fields, rivers and of course the southern Japanese Alps. All of the elements work together in perfect harmony to create an unforgettable experience.

Apart from passing through Shirakami-Sanchi, a UNESCO World Heritage-designated forest, and running along the coastline of the Sea of Japan, you get to experience northern Honshu’s unique and ancient Tsugaru culture. On the train you can listen to a shamisen (three-stringed guitar) performance and the conductor makes announcements in the almost incomprehensible (even to Japanese people) but very charming Tsugaru dialect.

Japan offers plenty of other similarly eccentric and enjoyable train rides, so the next time you board any local, countryside train, don’t think so much about where you’re going, take a look out the window and enjoy the journey!

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