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!)

Happy Birthday Markus!

Time flies...look who turned 3 today!

Happy Birthday to our Sweet Markus!

Wintry Weekend in January - Mt. Murayama & Shibuya Ekiden

I don't recall the weather being as chilly in Tokyo last winter. The end of January to mid-February are known to be the coldest days in Tokyo, which I can definitely attest to. But as Dr. Seus says, "On you will go though the weather may be foul...", we won't let it put a dent in our plans from exploring. Here is a compilation of photos of another eventful weekend beginning January 19.

Heavenly views of Mt. Murayama in Niigata Prefecture

Rodney has had much excitement on the slopes this winter. He's taking advantage of the prime snow conditions for honing his snowboarding skills by making side trips up north with some friends from Aoyama Honda Headquarters. Based on his photos, you can see that much of the views are spectacular.

A day trip to Mt. Murayama with some friends.

(L-R) Nagai-san, Yoko-san, Fujino-san, Travis and Rodney

Taking a break on the white blanket before heading down the slope

At the bottom of the hill, a crowd gathered around a group of men hard at work pounding down sticky rice to produce omochi (Japanese rice cakes). Making omochi is part of the New Year's traditions, though it is available to buy at any local supa throughout the year. Without the essential equipment such as a large wooden mortar, and wooden mallets, and a little elbow grease, it's virtually impossible to produce omochi the correct way.

Rodney taking a stab at omochi making

In the meantime, Markus and I stayed back in Tokyo. Aside from taking care of a few errands, and taking a trip to the bookstore, we chilled out at home. Sunday, the 20th was the day of the anticipated Shibuya Ekiden (relay race), so I wanted to be sure to get adequate rest the day before.

I left home very early the next morning to meet with my team members in Yoyogi Park for the event. All I could think of while riding to the station was how cold it was. I was surprised to see such a large turn-out of people. Yoyogi Park for one, is a huge park lined with many trees, bike paths and beaten tracks. For the relay race, 3.2 km of the area was blocked off with pile-ons and guarded by volunteers wearing orange coats so you could easily determine the running path. Moving through the crowd, I soon spotted the Nambanners grouped together stretching and trying to keep warm. We pinned our numbers and registered with the officials at the starters booth. The first runners lined up together (all divisions, both men and women). After the exciting shotgun start, you could hear the crowds cheering "Gambatte, gambatte!" I ran anchor position in my group, which meant that I had to wait for three other runners to pass off their sashes before my turn. It was a challenge enough to keep myself warm as I waited nervously. But once I got on the path, I felt good and soon started to feel my body warm up quickly. 3.2km seemed to go by quickly and I finished with a time of 15:07. Overall, the Namban Rengo team did fantastic as the men's masters and the women's A team placed first, as well as three other teams making it to the podium. All four ladies on my team had great runs. It was a very exciting and organized event. After the race, the Nambanners went to Raj Mahal Restaurant in Shibuya. I'm not very fond of spicy Indian food, however the food was delicious! Thanks to Juergen for organizing the luncheon and Mika for organizing the ladies' teams.

My team members (L-R): Yukari-san, Ayumi-san, Keiko-san and me.

Hanging out with Alice while waiting for our turn

1st Place Men's masters team receiving medals

Namban Rengo team

That Sunday evening, we finished the weekend off with Kenta Ebara's concert at Dress Tokyo in Akihabara. As I've mentioned before, Markus enjoys listening to Kenta's music so we thought we'd bring him along to the venue. He behaved very well as he listened and applauded just like the rest of the audience.

After the show with Kenta, Ryoko and Markus

2008 Tokyo Auto Salon

For the 'souped-up' car enthusiast, this would be the car show you wouldn't want to miss. This three-day event is known to be the world's largest exhibition of cars dressed with aftermarket parts. We attended the very crowded Tokyo Auto Salon on Saturday, January 12th, at the Makuhari Messe convention centre.

Greddy Nissan GTR

One of Markus' favourite animated movies is Disney's Pixar movie, Cars. When we explained to him we would see cars similar to characters, "DJ", "Boost" and "Wingo" at the show, it of course motivated him enough to want to go. Surely, there were plenty of cars, scooters and motorcycles to keep him interested throughout the day.

In this photo, Markus is trying to figure out if this 33-inch wheel would work with any of his toy cars at home.

Markus sizing-up tires for his new wheels!

Compared to the super flashy, decaled vehicles, there were many beautiful and clean cars that I would love to drive...this smooth looking M3 was one of my top picks.

One of the many drift cars

We discovered that the value of this dressed-up Bentley was well over $250,000 USD.

As you can see, the men scope out more than just cars; a typical site at auto shows in Japan. I highly doubt this hefty crowd marvelled at the purple car at this exhibit.

The new Honda Goldwing is a beast of a motorcycle. I swear the ultra comfortable passenger seat felt like I was sitting in a Lazyboy. The driver's seat was just as nice. Honda debuted the 2006 Goldwing as the first motorcycle to be equipped with front airbag. Shortly after release, Rodney said there were reports of the system having a huge impact on reducing rider injuries. One of his co-workers here in Tokyo was part of team that developed this system.

This Recaro racing-style seat nearly swallowed Markus up, yet he thought it was pretty funny.

Check out the dual super-chargers in this tuned SC400 Lexus.

As always, PEACE!

Heading toward the exit, we heard some loud banging sounds coming from outside of the convention centre. Beyond the crowd we could see cars drifting on a short track. We didn't have the greatest view from where we were standing, though we could still hear the loud engines popping and see the action from a distance. Very cool to witness live! It was cold and rainy that day and the road was very slick. I'm sure these professionals had a blast wooing the crowd as they drifted just inches apart from each other. Rodney is planning an upcoming weekend at the track to watch an all Japan drifting competition. Tanoshimi!