JR Hokkaido will make all express trains “Kamui,” “Lilac,” “Soya,” and “Okhotsk” between Sapporo Station and Asahikawa Station, and express trains “Sarobetsu” between Asahikawa and Wakkanai Stations, all of which will have reserved seats from spring 2026.
In response to the chronic congestion of non-reserved seats, the company states that this will resolve the inequity of seating opportunities. All “Hokuto,” “Ozora,” and “Tokachi” trains already have reserved seats, and JR Hokkaido has announced that all temporary limited express trains will also have reserved seats starting with this revision, eliminating unreserved seats from JR Hokkaido’s conventional limited express trains.
Each train will offer unassigned seat tickets that allow passengers to use unassigned seats in ordinary cars. The limited express commuter pass “KayoAir” will be changed to “KayoAir+” which can be used with seat reservation 7 days in advance and will continue to be available (no need to repurchase the ticket if it crosses the spring of 2026).
The company also announced that it will discontinue sales of some special tickets in the spring of 2026.
The “Non-reserved seat round-trip discount ticket (S ticket)”, “Reserved seat round-trip discount ticket (R ticket)”, “Sapporo Kaitoku ticket”, “Sapporo round-trip limited ticket”, “Furano/Sapporo round-trip ticket”, “Furano/Biei free ticket”, “Asahiyama Zoo ticket”, “Asahiyama Zoo Access Ticket” are all discontinued. The “Asahikawa-Nayoro 4 coupon ticket”, which only includes a boarding ticket, will also be discontinued.
The aforementioned “KayoAir+” service is also scheduled to be terminated as of March 31, 2027. As a successor, the company is calling for the use of “Tokkyu e-Pass,” a ticketless limited express commuter pass that will begin service in the spring of 2026.
© Source travel watch