Railway Museum Omiya

The museum opened in 2007 beside the Omiya railway works, which has built and repaired rolling stock since 1894, and its centrepiece is a hall of about forty full-size vehicles arranged around a turntable that is operated with steam whistle several times a day - from a Meiji-period imperial carriage and early electric locomotives through to a 0 series shinkansen nose and a C57 steam locomotive. What separates it from a static collection is the operating content: a large working model layout, simulators for several eras including a full-motion 205 series and a shinkansen cab, a small outdoor line where visitors drive a real short train themselves, and a science hall explaining braking, adhesion and signalling with working rigs. Popular simulators are allocated by lottery on arrival. It is genuinely a full day and it is aimed at adults as much as children.

History

The museum succeeds the Railway Museum that opened under the elevated tracks near Tokyo Station on 14 October 1921, at the start of the 50th year of railways in Japan, and later became the Transportation Museum in Chiyoda; in 2012 it formed a sister-museum alliance with the National Railway Museum in York (Wikipedia, Railway Museum (Saitama)).

The main sights

• Forty full-size vehicles - from Meiji carriages to an early shinkansen, around a turntable.
• The turntable demonstration - a locomotive rotated with steam whistle several times daily.
• Simulators by era - including full-motion cabs, allocated by lottery.
• A driveable train - a short outdoor line visitors operate themselves.

When to go

All year; weekdays in term time. A full day.

Before you go

Closed Tuesdays. Popular simulators are balloted on arrival and many visitors miss out. Explanations are mostly Japanese with English summaries. Weekends and holidays are very busy with families.

Nearby

Omiya is two stops away; central Tokyo is thirty minutes south.

Key facts