Know Your Trains: Super Hakuto and Super Inaba

Edit 19 May 2019: Updated with new map.
Edit 7 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

A HOT-7000-series "Super Hakuto" train, near Kamigori Station.
Mitsuki-2368 [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

In the lead-up to my holiday in Japan, I had planned a day's excursion from Osaka to Tottori, in the San'in region on the Sea of Japan coast.  Whilst I ended up scrapping the idea for the trouble I'd have to go through, perhaps the prospect may entice some of you readers to plan a trip to Tottori yourself.  To that end, allow me to introduce you to the Super Hakuto and Super Inaba, two trains which offer some of the fastest and (relatively) easiest access to Tottori and the San'in region.

Name	Start Station	End Station(s)	Time*	Max. Frequency**
Super Hakuto	Kyoto	Tottori	3 hours 10 minutes	1 per 2 hours, 7 per day
		Kurayoshi	3 hours 40 minutes	1 per 2 hours, 5 per day
Super Hakuto	Okayama	Tottori	3 hours	1 per hour

The Super Hakuto (スーパーはくと, Sūpā Hakuto) connects the major cities of the Kansai region (Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe) with Tottori.  Some Super Hakuto trains also continue to the town of Kurayoshi.  Another train, the Super Inaba (スーパーいなば, Sūpā Inaba), follows mostly the same route, but instead starts at Okayama, a city in the middle of the Sanyo region.  To get north to Tottori, both trains use the Chizu Line, operated by the private Chizu Express railway.  For this reason, holders of a Japan Rail Pass will need to pay a fee only for the use of the Chizu Line, which I will go into further detail in the Tips section below.

Name (English)	Name (Japanese)	Line	Super Hakuto	Super Inaba
Kyoto	京都	JR Kyoto (A)	X	I
Shin-Osaka	新大阪		X	I
Osaka	大阪		X	I
Sannomiya	三ノ宮		X	I
		JR Kobe (A)
Akashi	明石		X	I
Himeji	姫路		X	I
		JR Sanyo (A)
Aioi	相生		O	I
Okayama	岡山		I	X
Kamigori	上郡		X	X
		Chizu Express Chizu Line
Sayo	佐用		X	X
Ohara	大原		X	X
Chizu	智頭		X	X
		JR Inbi (B)
Koge	郡家		X	X
Tottori	鳥取		X	X
		JR San'in (A)
Kurayoshi	倉吉		O	I

Legend
X: All trains stop at this station.
O: Some trains stop at this station.
I: No trains stop at this station.

The Tottori Sand Dunes, part of the San'in Kaigan Global Geopark.
Hashi photo [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

Notable stops

• Kyoto: Japan's history-laden former capital city.
• Shin-Osaka/Osaka: The economic and culinary centre of the Kansai region.
• Sannomiya: The main station of Kobe, a port city with one of Japan's three major Chinatowns.
• Himeji: Home of the famous Himeji Castle.
• Kurayoshi: The south end of the Chizu Line.
• Chizu: The north end of the Chizu Line.
• Tottori: A city with a vast sand dune park nearby.
• Kurayoshi: A town of soil-lacquered buildings and traditional crafts.

The Super Hakuto uses HOT-7000-series trains with special tilting technology.  This allows them to achieve top speeds of 130 km/h (80 mph), making them the fastest diesel-powered trains in Japan.  Regular seating is laid out in 2+2 format and offers 98cm (38 in.) of seat pitch.  Half of one car's seating is used by Green Car seats, in a 2+1 layout with 116cm (45 in.) of seat pitch.  The Super Inaba, meanwhile, uses just two cars on its trains, none of them offering Green Car seats.

Service	Total Cars	Non-Reserved Cars	Reserved Cars	Green Cars
Super Hakuto	5	2 (Cars #1-2)	2½ (Cars #3-5)	½ (Car #4)
Super Inaba	2	1 (Car #2)	1 (Car #1)	0

A KiHa-187-series "Super Inaba" train.
Mitsuki-2368 [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Tips

• The Chizu Express line is not covered by the Japan Rail Pass.  Thus, JR Pass users must pay for that section when booking tickets.  For those travelling the entire length of the line, the cost comes out to ¥1,750 for non-reserved seats, ¥1,850 for reserved seats, and ¥2,380 for the Green Car.
• On the other hand, JR West regional passes that cover the Sanyo and San'in regions do cover the Chizu Express line.  These include the Sanyo-San'in Area Pass, the Sanyo-San'in-North Kyushu Area Pass, and San'in-Okayama Area Pass.
• Because the Super Hakuto has so few Green Car seats (only 18 seats, in fact), they are liable to be booked faster, so reserve your tickets as early as possible.
• Do not confuse the Super Hakuto with the Super Hokuto (Hakodate to Sapporo), nor the former Super Hakucho (Shin-Aomori to Hakodate, withdrawn in 2016), both operated by JR Hokkaido.

Trivia

• The name "Hakuto" means "white rabbit".  It is a reference to the Hare of Inaba, a folk legend with ties to the Tottori area.
• The name "Inaba" refers to the former province of the same name, which corresponds to the eastern part of modern-day Tottori prefecture.
• The Super Hakuto used to be supplemented with another service, simply named Hakuto.  It was withdrawn in 1997, only three years after introduction.