The Moonlight Nagara sleeper train between Tokyo and Ogaki in Gifu prefecture has now been suspended. March 29, 2020 marked the last day of operations for this cheap and convenient service.
Nevertheless, the popular Sunrise Express overnight train, which connects Tokyo with the Izumo and Sea of Seto areas, is still in operation and included in the Japan Rail Pass.
Furthermore, you still can travel by day from Tokyo to Nagoya with the Tokaido Shinkansen using a JR Pass.
Moonlight Nagara itinerary
This train ran seasonally during the busy periods of spring (two weeks from late March to early April), summer (late July to the end of August), and the Christmas and New Year holiday season.
This train, which started operating seasonally in 2009, was an overnight rapid transfer between Tokyo, Nagoya, and Ogaki, very close to Hikone. As it is connected to other local trains, it also facilitated the connections between Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.
It had 11 stops in total: Tokyo, Shinagawa, Yokohama, Odawara, Numazu, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, Toyohashi, Nagoya, Gifu, and Ogaki. However, only the train to Ogaki stopped at Odawara station, and only the train to Tokyo stopped at Toyohashi station.
Moonlight Nagara schedule
| Tokyo to Ogaki | Time | Ogaki to Tokyo | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Station | 23:10 | Ogaki | 22:48 |
| Shinagawa | 23:18 | Gifu | 22:59 |
| Yokohama | 23:36 | Nagoya | 23:20 |
| Odawara | 00:31 | Toyohashi | 00:17 |
| Numazu | 01:08 | Hamamatsu | 00:55 |
| Shizuoka | 01:50 | Shizuoka | 01:55 |
| Hamamatsu | 03:11 | Numazu | 03:19 |
| Nagoya | 05:24 | Yokohama | 04:41 |
| Gifu | 05:43 | Shinagawa | 04:58 |
| Ogaki | 05:50 | Tokyo Station | 05:05 |
How to book a seat
Despite being included in the JR Pass, it was not possible to reserve a seat online and the tickets went on sale one month prior to departure date.
You needed to get a reserved seat before you took the train. However, it was actually very hard to reserve a seat as all cars were reserved seat only, which meant that there were no green cars or even non-reserved cars either. To reserve a seat, it was necessary to visit one of the JR offices in one of the main stations of Tokyo or Nagoya.