01 June 2026
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There’s a particular kind of magic to train journeys in Asia. Scenic rail routes unfold slowly, from neon-lit cities to rice paddies, jungle-covered mountains to salt-bright coastlines, the landscapes shifting constantly outside. On these journeys, travel is not simply a means to an end. It becomes a way of moving through regional cuisines in real time, stopping off to explore and taste a country’s cuisine.
In Taiwan, high-speed rail links Taipei to Tainan in just a couple of hours, often alongside lacquered bento boxes and detours into night markets. In Vietnam, the Reunification Express traces the length of the country, connecting street-food capitals and cities shaped by French-influenced dining rooms. Thailand’s railways pass through coconut groves and river towns where cooking is defined by spices and herbs. And in South Korea sleek intercity trains connect hypermodern cities with deeply rooted culinary traditions, from market feasts and temple cuisine to late-night barbecue.
These are five train journeys in Asia designed for travelers who plan their routes around food as much as scenery — and who understand that the best way to know a place is to taste it, one station at a time.
1. Vietnam: Eating Your Way Down the Country by Rail
Why Go: It turns Vietnam’s north-south railway into a continuous food route of regional cuisine — from Hanoi’s broths to the Mekong Delta’s sweeter southern flavors.
The Reunification Express stretches more than 1,000 miles from Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh City in the south, threading Vietnam’s spine with a rhythm you can only experience on rails. From the Old Quarter’s narrow streets and the misty limestone karsts of Ninh Binh, the train moves through river plains, fishing villages and swaths of rice paddies that ripple like water. The most dramatic stretch is the Hai Van Pass, where mountains tumble straight into the sea, a reminder of how sudden and cinematic the country can be.
Each station is a marker of flavor: northern broths and street-side pho, central chilies and imperial dishes, southern sweetness in markets and cafés. Traveling this way isn’t about getting from A to B — it’s about seeing the country’s shifts in landscape and taste, station by station, at a pace that invites attention and appetite.
Where to Eat and Stay Along the Way
In Hanoi, book a room at Three-Key Capella Hanoi for some opera-themed drama or One-Key Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi for a heritage stay, and dine at the theatrical Hibana by Koki or Phở Gà Nguyệt for a dry chicken pho. Around Da Nang and Hoi An, check into Four Seasons Resort, The Nam Hai or InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, with meals at La Maison 1888 or Mì Quảng 1A for a local Da Nang delicacy. In Hue, stay at Azerai La Residence, Hue.
Further south, pause in Nha Trang for a stay at Six Senses Ninh Van Bay. In Ho Chi Minh City, end at Park Hyatt Saigon or Hôtel des Arts Saigon - MGallery for a good cocktail or a sundowner, with standout meals at CieL, where local produce becomes the star, or Mặn Mòi (An Khánh) and Nhà Tú for affordable local delicacies.
Travel Hack
Book a soft sleeper for overnight legs — wake up in a new food region, no flight required.
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2. Taiwan: Exploring MICHELIN Guide Cities on One Rail Line
Why Go: Because it turns Taiwan’s western spine into a continuous, edible itinerary — where every station is a doorway to a new regional kitchen and the train simply connects the next thing worth eating.
Taiwan reveals itself best in motion, through train windows streaked with rain, past betel nut palms and low-slung towns, between bites that change every hundred miles. Running the length of the island, the Western Trunk Line connects New Taipei, Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung into a seamless north-to-south tasting menu. This is no mere transport system: It’s a slow-moving feast that invites travelers to get off along the way to explore.
Begin in Banqiao, where the platform spills directly into the city’s pulse, then glide into Taipei, where heritage noodle shops sit minutes from design-forward hotels. Southbound, Hsinchu’s windswept streets carry the scent of rice vermicelli; Taichung softens into something more spacious, its dining scene balancing nostalgia with reinvention. By the time you reach Tainan, Taiwan’s oldest city, the tempo slows further — broth flavors and textures deepen, recipes stretch back generations. The journey ends in Kaohsiung, all salt air and harbor light, where banquet tables meet street-side simplicity.
Crucially, everything sits within reach of the tracks. Restaurants, markets, hotels — often just steps from the station — make this less a rail journey than a continuous immersion into Taiwan’s culinary landscape, one city, one dish at a time.
Where to Eat and Stay Along the Way
In Banqiao, start with Da One Gone Lamb for herbal lamb soup or Wonderful Baba Bak Kut Teh King of King for peppery Fujian-style bak kut teh broth. Near Taipei Main Station, pair a stay at the Palais de Chine hotel with a meal at Three-Starred Le Palais for refined Cantonese flair, or explore local favorites like Chi Chia Chuang (Changchun Road) for a homey menu circling around chicken and Lao Shan Dong Homemade Noodles for Taiwan’s famous beef noodle soup.
In Hsinchu, follow the smoke to Miao Kou Ya Xiang Fan (Zhongshan Road) and Yuan Wei Duck Noodles for the city’s renowned duck dishes, or linger over broth at Dongmen Rice Noodle Soup. Taichung offers comfort at Moon Pavilion and heritage bites at Taichung Meatball, with a stay at design-centric OKU Hotel Taichung.
Tainan is all depth — try Hsi Lo Tien Beef Soup and Fu Tai Table Third Generation for authentic local tastes, then check into U.I.J Hotel & Hostel to experience its unique industrial and nostalgic elements. In Kaohsiung, end with Old New Taiwanese Cuisine (Jiuru 2nd Road) or Hou Chi Duck Rice, and a night at boutique Brio Hotel.
Travel Hack
Stick to local TRA trains over high-speed rail — slower, cheaper and they stop where the best food actually is.
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3. South Korea: Slow Travel on the Mugunghwa Line From Seoul to Busan
Why Go: Because it replaces the rush of modern Korea with five unhurried hours of shifting landscapes, market stops and regional flavors unfolding all the way from Seoul to the sea in Busan.
In a country obsessed with speed, the Mugunghwa line offers something rarer: time to notice. Over five unhurried hours, the train glides from Seoul’s dense neighborhoods into river valleys, across quilted plains framed by mist-softened mountains, before finally reaching the salty air of Busan on the southeast coast. The journey isn’t about rushing — it’s about the spaces in between, where cities pulse quietly, markets hum and regional flavors linger.Step off at Daejeon and enjoy a pause at Korea’s understated science capital. Jungang Market sits opposite the station, alive with sizzling skewers, steaming dumplings and the fragrant pull of street broths. Further south, Daegu and Miryang drift past: low hills, farming villages, small streets lined with local eateries. By the time the train slides into Busan, the sea greets you, along with seafood markets, spicy milmyeon and dwaeji-gukbap waiting just steps from the station.
Where to Eat and Stay Along the Way
In Seoul, book Sosuheon for refined sushi in a hanok, or Hwa Hae Dang for soy-marinated crab near Yeongdeungpo Station. In Daejeon, graze through Jungang Market. Near Busan’s Gupo Station, stop at Pyeongyangjip for delicate North Korean-style dumplings, then Pyeongsanok for slow-broiled pork by Busan Station. Stay at L’Escape Hotel or SIGNIEL Busan for bookends worth the journey.
Travel Hack
Skip the KTX, South Korea’s flagship high-speed train, built to connect major cities: Mugunghwa tickets are cheaper, quieter and far better for spontaneous food stops.
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4. Thailand: Why Train Travel Is the New Fine Dining
Why Go: Because it slows Thailand down to the speed of appetite, tracing a journey from Bangkok to Chiang Mai where landscapes, temples and regional dishes unfold together, station by station.
Across 500 miles, the rhythm of the rails replaces the urgency of flight, carrying you out of the capital’s heat and into a softer, greener Thailand. You leave Bangkok’s tangle of canals and traffic behind, passing the temple-studded plains of the old Siamese capital Ayutthaya, the quiet villages of Lopburi and rice fields that swell under a low, golden sun.
By the time the train climbs toward Chiang Mai’s misted mountains, the pace has slowed, the air softened, and each stop becomes an invitation to taste a region’s distinctive flavors — street noodles, riverfront curries and markets where the scent of lemongrass hangs in the air. It’s a route worth taking not for speed, but for the way the landscape and cuisine unfold together.
Where to Eat and Stay On the Way
In Bangkok, begin at Sorn, the world’s first Three-Star Thai restaurant, or Nusara for a stunning temple view at night, and stay at The Siam by the Chao Phraya River or Rosewood Bangkok for a skyscraper view.
In Ayutthaya, the locally known capital of Thai noodles, check into sala ayutthaya and eat riverside, enjoy a slow river cruise and a meal at Suriyan Chandra, or go casual with Pa Lek Boat Noodles. Roti Sai Mai Abeedeen-Pranom Sangaroon will satisfy those with a sweet tooth.
In Chiang Mai, retreat to Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai to enjoy views of lush rice fields with misty mountains or Rachamankha for a Lanna-style stay, and seek out the popular Rasik Local Kitchen, Aunt Aoy Kitchen and Baan Landai for northern Thai flavors.
Travel Hack
Book a lower-berth sleeper — more space, better views and first pick of breakfast as the countryside rolls by.
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5. Japan: From Osaka’s High-Energy Food Scene to the Seaside Onsen Town of Kinosaki
Why Go: A slower Limited Express route from Osaka to Kinosaki Onsen that trades speed for a slower journey, moving from city intensity through coastal and mountain landscapes into Tajima’s wagyu heartland and onsen town dining.
The shinkansen gets you there fast, but this isn’t that kind of trip. From Osaka to Kinosaki Onsen, travelers can choose between two Limited Express routes: the more frequent Kounotori and the Hamakaze. We chose the Hamakaze for its more dramatic journey from coast to mountains. The ride takes about three hours, and it’s just slow enough to notice the change of rhythm. You leave behind Osaka’s density — neon, noise, queues for ramen — and move into something quieter: paddy fields, tiled roofs, stretches of cedar forest.
Departing Osaka — long considered the nation’s kitchen — Hamakaze skirts the Seto Inland Sea near Akashi before turning inland at Himeji. What follows is a quiet unspooling of landscapes: rice fields glowing in the light, cedar forests closing in, villages that feel held in time.
This is Tajima country — home to the bloodline behind Kobe beef and many of Japan’s best-known wagyu brands — before the line reaches the Sea of Japan, and with it, Kinosaki Onsen. Here, the air shifts to salt and steam. Guests wander in yukata between bathhouses, and dinner becomes the destination: sweet, delicate crab in winter; richly marbled wagyu year-round.
It’s a journey that drifts from urban intensity to coastal calm, umami depth to ocean sweetness — best understood at the table.
Where to Eat and Stay Along the Way
In Osaka, book Sushi Murakami Jiro for precise Edo-style sushi, Kitashinchi Okurano for seasonal kaiseki with playful touches, or tanpopo for elevated comfort dishes like okonomiyaki. Stay at The Osaka Station Hotel, Autograph Collection or InterContinental Osaka.
In Kinosaki Onsen, check into Nishimuraya Honkan, where multicourse kaiseki spotlights Tajima beef and seasonal crab, before evenings spent drifting between lantern-lit bathhouses.
Travel Hack
Reserve a window seat on the left-hand side leaving Osaka for the best coastal views near Akashi before the Hamakaze turns inland at Himeji.
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Words: MICHELIN Guide editors Rooksana Hossenally, Ming Ling Hsieh, Hyo-Won Lee, Pruepat Songtieng, Suma Wakui.
Hero Image: An aerial view of a train passing through cherry blossoms in Busan, South Korea. © CJNattanai/iStock
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