It’s hard not to admire Japanese trains. As someone who hails from a country where the trains are not only unreliable but visually unappealing too, witnessing the efficiency and stylishness of Japanese trains for the first time several years ago felt as if I had entered a whole different world.

If you’re a Japanese train fan like me, then you might find it cool to know that it’s now possible to own real Japanese train parts repurposed as furniture. The entity behind this is Odakyu, one of Tokyo’s major railway companies known for their Romancecar series of trains. In fact, the parts in question belonged to a Romancecar, the Super Express (SE) 3000, which ran from 1957 to 1992.

Known for inspiring the development of the Shinkansen bullet train, the SE 3000 was also for its candy apple red color, which can be seen as the main color motif of the repurposed furniture. Odakyu’s most recent announcement revealed five furniture pieces being sold as part of the company’s Romancecar Memorial Parts Project, the proceeds of which will be used for the preservation and management of retired Romancecars.

The furniture pieces were designed by Noriaki Okabe Architecture Network -- who has a history of working on designs for other Romancecars -- and the five pieces are:

• the SE Romance Sofa (440,000 yen), the original seat of the SE 3000 with a new head cover,
• the SE Romance Car Table (650,000 yen), made from the flooring material of the SE train carriages,
• the SE “Running Coffee Room” Sideboard (650,000 yen), a sideboard made from the showcase used for the Romancecar’s Running Coffee Room service, wherein passengers were served a variety of drinks and light meals,
• the SE “Kaikōtō” Light Stand (350,000 yen), a reproduction of the fluorescent lamp cover used on the ceiling of the train carriages,
• the SE Glass Cabinet (450,000 yen), whose glass door was made from the train’s side windows.

SE Romance Sofa

(Sold out at the time of writing.)

SE Romance Car Table

SE “Running Coffee Room” Sideboard

SE “Kaikōtō” Light Stand (left), SE Glass Cabinet (right)

Previously, there were four other pieces made with parts of the Super Express Romancecar. They have been restocked to coincide with the newly released furniture, and they are the SE Wood Dining Chair (61,500 yen), the Super Express Kids Chair in large (61,500 yen) and small (56,500 yen), all three of which are chairs made with cushions from the SE Romancecar trains, and the SE Wood Hanger (41,500 yen), which has a real seat number plate attached to it and whose wood grain colors were based on the SE 3000.

SE Wood Dining Chair (left), Super Express Kids Chair, large (middle), SE Wood Hanger (right)

The Romancecar furniture pieces will be up for sale until November 30, 2021, but unfortunately for train fans abroad, they’re currently only available to those living in Japan. However, if you’d still like to see more photos or learn more about each piece, you can visit Odakyu’s Japanese page for the Romancecar Memorial Parts Project.