Photo/Illutration A scene from the “Zombie Train,” which was offered for the first time last year (Provided by the Nikko city government)

NIKKO, Tochigi Prefecture--The wildly popular “Zombie Train” will return from the grave once more to terrify passengers daring enough to ride the rails alongside hordes of the undead for 90 minutes.

The Zombie Train will run for a total of nine days, mainly on Sundays, starting from June 2 and continuing through Sept. 1.

The inbound service will leave from Tsudo Station here, while the outbound service will depart from Omama Station in Midori, Gunma Prefecture.

Watarase Keikoku Railway Co., which runs through a mountain gorge to connect the tourist hotspot of Nikko to Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture, first offered this haunted house-on-rails experience last summer.

The Nikko city government initially came up with the idea in 2023, hoping that hordes of "flesh-eating ghouls" would boost business of the railway company affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and combat depopulation in areas along the line.

The eccentric idea of having zombies on board to scare passengers was well-received.

Last year, almost all the 1,080 seats available during the Zombie Train’s nine days of operation sold out. Horror buffs even joined a waiting list, hoping to get a coveted spot on the terror train.

This year, members of a dance club from a local high school will also serve as zombies for the Zombie Train.

Meanwhile, food trucks will be stationed at a parking lot of the tourist facility that conducts a tour of the now-closed Ashio Copper Mine near Tsudo Station and a stamp-print collecting event will be held in the Ashio area.

“We want to encourage passengers to travel around the local areas,” a city official said.

The fare is 3,500 yen ($22.50) for adults and 2,000 yen for elementary school pupils and younger children.

Reservations will be accepted by email or by telephone.

For details, visit the official website at: https://www.watetsu.com/news/news_det.php?E=1742.

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