{"id":1742,"date":"2017-08-11T09:11:38","date_gmt":"2017-08-11T07:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/blog\/?p=1742"},"modified":"2018-09-20T17:26:21","modified_gmt":"2018-09-20T15:26:21","slug":"japan-railway-museums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/blog\/japan-railway-museums","title":{"rendered":"Japan Railway Museums: Complete guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Do you love trains? From children to adults, many people are fascinated by these massive, powerful vehicles. Japan, with its long history of innovative rail transportation, is a vacation destination for train lovers of all ages.<\/p>\n<p>The Japanese railway train museums chart the history of the train in Japan and around the world, from early steam locomotives to diesel and electric train cars, to the innovative shinkansen bullet train and maglev trains. As a boon for international travelers, these Japanese museums include informative displays in English as well as Japanese. The <strong>main museums in Kyoto, Nagoya<\/strong><strong> and Tokyo<\/strong> are family-friendly, offering exciting hands-on exhibits for the education and enjoyment of little railroad fans and their parents alike.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>If you are a railroad enthusiast, don\u2019t miss these must-see railway museums in Japan.<strong> In Japan, the rails are not just an efficient and affordable way to travel \u2013 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/blog\/japanese-trains\">Japanese train system<\/a> constitutes a culture in and of themselves.<\/strong> The railroad museums are also an attractive recreational option if you are traveling in Japan during a busy time, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/blog\/golden-week-travel-tips\">Golden Week<\/a> or during children\u2019s vacations from school. Why? The museums are big and spacious, a pleasant place to visit even when crowded. We\u2019ve compiled the top three for your consideration.<\/p>\n<div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"toc_white no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Table of Contents<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#The_Kyoto_Railway_Museum\"><span class=\"toc_number toc_depth_1\">1<\/span> The Kyoto Railway Museum<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Railway_Museum_Saitama\"><span class=\"toc_number toc_depth_1\">2<\/span> Railway Museum (Saitama)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#SCMaglev_and_Railway_Park_Nagoya\"><span class=\"toc_number toc_depth_1\">3<\/span> SCMaglev and Railway Park (Nagoya)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Other_train-related_museums\"><span class=\"toc_number toc_depth_1\">4<\/span> Other train-related museums<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<h2><span id=\"The_Kyoto_Railway_Museum\">The Kyoto Railway Museum<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>This Kyoto train museum features an enormous central room housing 53 real, full sized train cars<\/strong> for visitors to explore, spanning the long history of rail travel in Japan. In 2019, a new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/blog\/japan-train-stations\">Japan Rail station<\/a> is set to open next to the museum, with a viewing area to observe the activities of currently running trains. Nearby Umekoji Park has a steam locomotive that offers short rides several times a day.<\/p>\n<p>There are also exhibits on display that were once held at the <strong>Modern Transportation Museum in Osaka<\/strong>, which operated from 1962 to 2014. If you are a train enthusiast traveling with others who are not, never fear \u2013 the Kyoto Train Museum is located near other museums and family-friendly attractions, including the Kyoto Aquarium, allowing you to include in your day something for everyone.<\/p>\n<p><em>How to get there<\/em>: The museum is located near <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/blog\/getting-around-kyoto\">Kyoto station<\/a>, a mere 20-minute walk. Or, you can take a bus from Kyoto Station to the Kyoto Railway Museum-mae bus stop.<\/p>\n<p><em>Website<\/em>:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.kyotorailwaymuseum.jp\/en\/\">www.kyotorailwaymuseum.jp\/en\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n            <a class=\"fasc-button banner-button-shortcode fasc-size-large fasc-type-flat fasc-rounded-medium ico-fa fasc-ico-after fa-chevron-circle-right fasc-style-bold\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/the-japan-rail-pass\">\n                Buy your JR Pass\n            <\/a>\n        <\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Railway_Museum_Saitama\">Railway Museum (Saitama)<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>The Tokyo Railway Museum is located in Saitama City, about an hour outside of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/blog\/getting-around-tokyo-metro\">Tokyo<\/a>.<\/strong> It commemorates the twentieth anniversary of the JR East rail system, and features exhibits on Japanese trains and those from abroad. There is a History Zone exhibit, as well as 36 actual train cars on display.<\/p>\n<p>Children\u2019s exhibits include model trains, a video simulation of driving a train, and a miniature train on which children can ride. <strong>Visitors can also drive miniature train cars on a test track.<\/strong> Interestingly, this museum also houses a research and development department for JR East.<\/p>\n<p><em>How to get there<\/em>: <strong>From Tokyo Shinjuku station, take the JR Saikyo line or the Shonan-Shinjuku line to the JR Omiya Station.<\/strong> From there, you can take a three-minute shuttle ride, using the new shuttle. The museum is also next door to the Tetsudo Hakubutsukan Station (not covered by JR Pass).<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"SCMaglev_and_Railway_Park_Nagoya\">SCMaglev and Railway Park (Nagoya)<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Located in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/blog\/nagoya-travel-guide\">Nagoya<\/a>, this Japan rail museum houses 39 railway vehicles, a bus, many models, and a train cab simulator.<\/strong> A highlight of this museum is the futuristic Maglev car, which can achieve unprecedented speeds by literally hovering above the train track due to magnetic repulsion. An extremely popular museum, this park reached the milestone of one million visitors within one month of opening.<\/p>\n<p><em>How to get there<\/em>: To reach this museum, take the Aonami Line from Nagoya Station to Kinjofuto Station. From this station or nearby <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/blog\/theme-parks-japan#Legoland_Park_Nagoya\">Legoland<\/a>, the museum is a short walk away.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Other_train-related_museums\">Other train-related museums<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This list is, of course, not exhaustive. <strong>You may find other interesting train exhibits during your travels, including the Keio Rail-Land, Tobu Museum, Subway Museum, and Ome Railway Park in Tokyo<\/strong>; the Tsuyama Railroad Educational Museum in Okayama; the Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park in Gunma; the Otaru City Museum in Hokkaido; the Kyushu Railway History Museum in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/blog\/fukuoka-travel-guide\">Fukuoka<\/a>; and the Shikoku Railway Cultural Center in Ehime.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, how better to travel between the aforementioned railway museums than by using Japan\u2019s unique railway system? The passage on JR trains, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/shinkansen-bullet-trains\">shinkansen bullet train<\/a>, is fully covered when you use the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/the-japan-rail-pass\">Japan Rail Pass<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Which museum or museums will you visit on your next Japanese vacation? <strong>Whichever you choose, you are in for the ride of your life!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you love trains? From children to adults, many people are fascinated by these massive, powerful vehicles. Japan, with its long history of innovative rail transportation, is a vacation destination for train lovers of all ages. The Japanese railway train museums chart the history of the train in Japan and around the world, from early steam locomotives to diesel and electric train cars, to the innovative shinkansen bullet train and maglev trains. As a boon for international travelers, these Japanese museums include informative displays in English as well as Japanese. The main museums in Kyoto, Nagoya and Tokyo are family-friendly, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/blog\/japan-railway-museums\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Japan Railway Museums: Complete guide&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[],"acf":{"related_tours":{"tour_number":false}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.10 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Japan Railway Museum and Train Museums - Japan Rail Pass<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Japanese train museums in Kyoto, Nagoya and Tokyo include from old steam locomotives to futuristic Maglev bullet trains. 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