If you’re looking to stay out late on New Year’s Eve for hatsumо̄de — the first visit of the year to a shrine or temple — or to celebrate the start of 2023, it helps to know which trains are operating throughout the night.
In the pre-pandemic era, all-night trains were the norm. But since 2020, railway operators have reduced or stopped offering such services on Dec. 31. This year, though, some will be brought back — a sign that things are starting to get back to normal.
In Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, three metropolises where trains usually stop running from around midnight to 5 a.m., operations vary by railway line.