The Railway Museum 鉄道博物館

Our first view of the History Zone, looking down from the second floor terrace.

For most toddlers in Japan, especially boys, there seems to be a deep fascination with trains. So of course, taking Markus on a trip to The Railway Museum (鉄道博物館, Tetsudō Hakubutsukan) in the Saitama Prefecture turned out to be a hit. Like many of his friends, he has memorized many of the trains' names. It was pretty impressive when he was naming the models in the current train exhibits.

The Railway Museum opened in Saitama last October 2007. Previously, it was known as The Transportation Museum and orignally located in the town Chiyoda, Tokyo. The museum serves three purposes including an informational resource of the history of the Japan Railways, an educational resource, and lastly, a facility to preserve and research historical railway documents.

From the moment we stepped into the museum hall, Markus was captivated. Everywhere you look - trains! Old trains, new trains, model trains, bullet trains, and so on. He was so excited and happy to pose for pictures throughout the day (without me pleading for him to stand still). There were multi-levels to the enormous space with the main History Zone displayed in an ambient dark setting.

The Benkei 7101 steam locomotive was imported from the United States and first operated in Hokkaido in 1880. This locomotive was among the few active during the Meiji era.


"Toki" (right), is classified as a Kuha 181 Electric Railcar. During and after WWII, trains were modernized with power transmissions throughout each carriage, instead of the conventional method of pulling passenger carriages with a single locomotive. These commuter trains were known as "hotels on the run," which provided superior service.

Inside the Toki Limited Express bound for Niigata Prefecture.

This exhibit contains the Locomotive No. 1 (Class 150), one of the very first passenger trains, active during the Meiji era. It served between Shimbashi and Yokohama since the start of the Japan railway system. The builing beside is a replica of part of the Shimbashi Station during the same time operation first commenced.

We were able to wander freely into most of the older train cars on display, which was very cool. Back then, most of the interiors were made of wood including the walls and flooring. Seats were covered with thick plush velvets.

Here, Markus is aboard a Commuter Transport carriage that operated during the golden age of railroad during Showa period, pre-World War II. While walking through a few crowded cars, it was interesting to learn that you were allowed to eat in the display trains, just as folks were having their obento lunches (boxed meals). Some were even asleep in their seats. Note: Sleeping in the trains is commonplace in Tokyo. I'm often amazed to see people awake just before their stop.

Another view of the History Zone from the second floor.

For over 30 minutes, we waited patiently in the cold to ride the mini-shuttle shinkansen, which connects the the North wing and the Park Zone. I wasnt' too impressed by the short length of the ride, neither was Markus. It lasted all of two minutes. But neither of us were up to waiting another 3o to ride it again.

All smiles when we finally got into the mini-shinkansen

Outside in the Park Zone were mini-operating trains you could ride. However, I wasn't aware reservations had to be made in advance to take the special ride. (What a bummer!) Nevertheless, Markus enjoyed watching several of the train cars ride the tracks.

We spent nearly four hours at the museum that Saturday. Many exhibits were interactive including a train simulator where you could manually operate the controls as an engineer would. There was plenty to enjoy and learn just as we experienced.

Thanks to our wonderful Keiko for the recommendation!

SUICA Penguins

These penguins can be seen in advertisements all over Japan. SUICA is the electronic mobile ticketing and e-cash system used for trains and subways in the greater Tokyo area, as well as several other areas of Japan. Conveniently, Suica cards can be used as cash toward purchasing goods and products at stores within train stations and surrounding areas.

My Suica card...I never leave home without it! (I know, how cheesy!)