Written by Chris Kirkland
The Laview — Seibu’s canary-yellow limited express from Ikebukuro to Chichibu — is a comfortable 80 minute ride taking you from central Tokyo to deep countryside.
You’ve possibly seen a viral clip of the Laview train’s yellow seats spinning around to face the other way — usually with a caption about the future having arrived. Small secret: nearly every limited express in Japan does that, and it is about as futuristic as a load-bearing wall. The seats flip so the train can head back the way it came.
What exactly is the Laview?
Launched in March 2019, the Laview was designed under the direction of Kazuyo Sejima — the Pritzker Prize-winning architect behind half of SANAA. It took the 2020 Blue Ribbon Award, the annual prize for Japan’s best new railway vehicle. The large windows, that start down near your calves, are a real treat as you glide through the countryside.
The ride: watching Tokyo fall away
From Ikebukuro, the first stretch is regulation Tokyo sprawl — then somewhere past Hannō the apartment blocks give up, the line starts to climb, and the last half hour is all cedar forest, river glimpses, and proper mountains. Those floor-deep windows earn their keep here; it is the rare train where the window seat argument is worth having.
The run to Seibu-Chichibu Station takes as little as 77 minutes on the fastest services — call it 80–90 minutes for most departures, roughly hourly, with extra trains on weekends and in leaf-peeping season.
Tickets, fares, and when to book
Every seat is reserved, so you need two things: the base fare (¥800) and a limited express ticket (¥900) — ¥1,700 each way, all in.
Pro tip: Sit on the right side heading to Chichibu for the longer river views – that means the left side if you board the train at Ikebukuro as the train switches direction halfway at Hannō
Where it drops you
Seibu-Chichibu Station is the jumping-off point for the whole Chichibu region: the Chichibu day trip classics, the little Chichibu Railway on to Nagatoro, and the bus up to Mitsumine Shrine. Time it right and you can be grilling senbei in Nagatoro before lunch.
