The Railway Museum

Great museum to find. Easy to walk through, they have interactive areas for all ages. This is a great place to visit for families and multi generational. The museum is broken up into sections, history, science and future. It has a railway themed park and miniature railway which you can ride. As an overseas visitor it also provided a good overview of Japanese railways.

The Railway Musuem was an amazing look at the history of the railroad in Japan. It is worth the price of admission since they have dozens of decommissioned trains and explain every aspect of them. How they work, what they did; where they went, plus the history and evolution of the technology. You could spend hours here just soaking in all the sights and sounds. It’s really cool to sit in a cab from the 1920’s and imagine across the country. The Railway Museum was worth the price of admission.

The museum is huge and has an impressive collection of Japanese locomotives. You can even go inside many of the old and historic trains to see what they looked like back in the day. On the top floor, there’s a great exhibit where you can read about and explore the history of railways in Japan. We also visited the outdoor area where you can drive mini trains, but we were in a bit of a rush since we needed to get back to Tokyo before rush hour. I recommend planning a full or half day trip to this museum because there’s so much to see and explore, and there are cafes here to enjoy. It’s a wonderful museum especially for train enthusiasts like me!

This railway museum is incredibly large and very family-oriented, making it a fantastic place to visit with children. There are many different trains on display, from the past to the present, and my favorite was definitely the impressive Hayabusa. The Shinkansen lounge is also a great spot for lunch, as you can sit comfortably and watch the high-speed trains pass by while you eat. The diorama experience is another highlight and truly brings the railway world to life in an engaging and memorable way. There is also a well-stocked gift shop selling a wide variety of keychains, magnets, toys, and souvenirs for train lovers of all ages. I spent about five hours here and still felt it wasn’t enough because there is just so much to explore. Parking is spacious and convenient as well. One helpful tip: remember to download the app before your visit so you can queue for the rides smoothly. Highly recommended!

An awesome experience that was worth the detour for. Driving down from Fuji Q, we took an additional 20 mins drive to visit this museum and we had no regrets! Knowing that Japan is one of the few countries with the most advancement with trains, we got to learn and experience this all in this museum and also what lies ahead. The activities such as driving the mini train, simulator or going for train class is damn awesome and only at an additional small fee of 660 yen! Sadly, i missed the operating hours for the bento boxes, they closed early so dont forget to visit it first!!!!

The railway museum is quite far from the city, takes atleast 1-1.5 hours to reach from Central Tokyo. The museum is huge and you get to sit in all the trains and actually experience how these trains are. More importantly, you get to see the history of railways in Japan, which really fascinated me! However, the place does not have exhibits with information given in English at all. So, it's quite a hassle to translate everything. Plus, to actually experience Shinkansen simulator and other such simulators, you'll have to download their raffle app and you might get picked if you win the lottery. Overall, it's a decent place for visiting once and more so, if you're a railway enthusiast!

Great place for a train geek like Sheldon! You can sit inside train car models and just chill and think about life. The restaurant was also pretty cool where you buy the bento set and sit inside the Shinkansen to eat. The museum shows the history of the trains from the first train in Japan to the most current ones. The museum also shows the interior of different cars throughout the years. Really soothing and calming for me

A Wonderful Day Out at the Railway Museum I had a fantastic time visiting the railway museum and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in trains or looking for an engaging day out. One of the highlights was being able to explore the older trains up close – actually stepping inside and sitting in the carriages really brought history to life in a way that simply looking at displays never could. The museum goes above and beyond by allowing visitors to purchase food and dine in some of the historic dining cars, which was a unique and memorable experience that added an authentic touch to the visit. The museum offers an impressive variety of exhibits, so there's plenty to see and explore. I was particularly taken with the diorama, which was beautifully detailed and fascinating to study. Families will appreciate that the museum is very child-friendly, with exhibits and activities that will keep younger visitors engaged and entertained. The gift shop is well-stocked with interesting memorabilia and makes for great browsing. Another major plus is the accessibility – the museum is conveniently located right on a direct train line, making it incredibly easy to reach without the hassle of driving or complicated connections. Overall, I had a really enjoyable visit and left with a greater appreciation for railway history. Whether you're a train enthusiast or just looking for an interesting outing, this museum is definitely worth a visit.

Got a train enthusiast or just love trains? Well this is the place to be. We vacationed in Tokyo for a couple of weeks and found this railroad museum. It was quite the train ride like 1+ hours (switch to a smaller local train that takes you directly there) but well worth the break in our busy days of traveling. We got tickets when we got there...plenty of kiosks to purchase from...can use credit card or suica. Entering felt a bit intimidating- so much to look at. There are massive trains you can get explore and a whole 2nd floor for great views (check out their scheduled turntable times). You can have lunch there with window seating to see trains go by or step outside and check out other food options (go to the 3rd floor in the building across). Don't forget to check out the gift shop! Your children can spend all day here and they will get tired at some point. But they can also learn and explore. Depending where you stay however, this can be out of the way to check out.

One of the biggest Train museums I have ever visited. The Railway museum is awesome for adults and children of all ages. They have something for everyone from full size trains, miniature models, simulators, rides and toys! All of the trains are well maintained and could roll out at any moment and be back in service. My favorite part is you can literally go on every single train, most museums I've visited in US they have a few you can go into but most you just look at from the outside. The care for every detail is meticulous and you can tell these trains have been well cared for. My boys loved the children's area that had tons of toy trains and tracks to play with and build their own city. They have a great kids cafe that was a fantastic value. They could easily mark up their menu but served cheese burger sets which included drink and a huge bag of fries for roughly 1,000yen. I ordered the chicken sandwich and it was fire! You can enjoy a meal while watching the kids play. They had miniature trains that adults or kids could drive on a mini track. They had an outdoor playground as well. We spent 4 hours here and the kids were still not ready to go. Needless to say we will be back next time we visit Japan.

The Railway Museum in Saitama on a Sunday: Me and many kids and parents. It's a great family place - inexpensive and lots of room to run. Who'd wear out first: My nearly 64-year-old arthritic joints or the children? You take the New Shuttle from JR Omiya Station. It's a bit of a walk, but not bad. Just stay inside the building. The signs by the door can make it seem like you go outside. Buy a one-way or round-trip ticket at a machine (190 yen or 380). The shuttle is not just for museum-goers, but for locals too. The museum is the first stop and the ride is only a few minutes long. The entrance to the museum is immediately after you exit the station. I bought a ticket online the day before and mistakenly ended up with a same-day ticket. I was prepared to buy another but two kind staff members assisted me. All of the buildings, restrooms, and restaurants are accessible. There are ramps throughout but you need to be able to take stairs to get up close to some of the rolling stock. It's an extensive collection on the main floor. A lot of upstairs is kid-directed but that doesn't mean adults wouldn't enjoy it. There are escalators and elevators. At 10:30 I went to the 4th floor of the South building, a short walk away, and ate at the View Restaurant. It's a small menu with items for adults and kids. Order at a machine first (English available), select your main dish by itself or of your want to bundle it with a drink. (No diet soda.) There are only two machines, and the far one takes only Suica/IC cards. I think there are only two machines so neither the kitchen nor the dining room gets overwhelmed. Turn in your ticket at the counter behind you and you'll get a buzzer that will notify you when it's time to pick up your food. I had hamburg steak with karaage chicken, ham, and fried egg. Rice and cabbage too, of course. It was fresh and tasted good. Tables next to the window have an unobstructed view of passing Shinkansen; of course those get filled immediately. (The museum is sandwiched between the Shinkansen tracks on one side and local and freight train tracks on the other.) Just outside the restaurant is a terrace with tables and where you can watch Shinkansen and other trains go by. You can eat in the train car restaurant or get ekiben at a little outside stand between the main and South buildings. The ekiben selections include special train-themed containers. There are drink vending machines sprinkled around, and benches at ground level in various places so you can watch local and freight trains go by. Naturally I had to spend a little money in the souvenir shop before departing. I saw kids running laps through and around cars, followed by parents desperately trying to corral them. In one case, a child was literally bouncing off the seats. A little girl in a princess dress lovingly hugged a bag that had a Shinkansen model peeking out of the top. A freight train ambled past while commuter trains moved more quickly on several different tracks. My joints began to really ache around noon, necessitating more time seated and pain medication. So I guess my body gave out before the kids. But it doesn't matter because we all had a good time.

Before planning my most recent trip to Tokyo, I had watched quite a number of programs on NHK World. One of my favorite programs, Japan Railway Journal, had an entire program on the Railway Museum in Saitima. I had been anxious to visit this fascinating museum ever since I first watched that program. The museum is about an hour train ride north of Tokyo Station, but well worth the time and effort. My first visit to Tokyo was in 1990 and I had my first experience riding the very unique trains and shinkansen (bullet train) in Japan. Ever since then I always looked forward to riding the trains in Japan! One of my favorite things to do is to get an ekiben (packaged bento lunch for traveling) and take a ride on a Shinkansen. At the museum you can purchase a variety of ekiben and sit inside one of the trains on display (outdoors) and enjoy your meal without the movement of a train you would normally experience! This apparently is a very popular place to have that experience. There is also a couple of more upscale restaurants. The View Restaurant on the 4th floor and the Nippon Shokudo on the 2nd floor. The Railway Museum was fascinating & enormous in size. I might recommend downloading the Museum's app to your smart phone prior to visiting the museum. Most of the signage at the museum is, naturally, in Japanese and this app really helped give me a background on most all of the train cars on display. I believe there are around 40+ full-size train cars available to view and most all of them allow you to tour inside them. The second floor has an entire very long wall (75 yards long) of miniature trains which really show the evolution of trains in Japan--amazing. I think it's a great museum for families interested in trains, as they have a play area on the ground floor devoted to children. There is a "kid's" café with many choices of meals available & most served in dishes to resemble a train car. There is also a small shinkansen which the kids can ride outside in this same area. I think one of the most popular attractions is the train simulators. I believe there are 3 different simulators you can get in line for. Since my Japanese language is very rudimentary, I didn't dare give it a try. I went on a weekday morning so there was virtually no waiting. In the center of the main floor display of "Rolling Stock" trains, there is a large steam locomotive train on display. At noon and 5pm, it's a big production and the train is turned around on a really enormous turntable complete with large train whistles and a conductor directing the move. All things considered, if you have an interest in trains, it's well worth the time to travel to the Tetsudo-Hakubutsukan station to see this museum. (The museum is a direct short walk from the train station and sits parallel to the station.) Lastly, there is an excellent museum shop, TRAINIART, which a huge variety of goods for gift giving and souvenirs!

I visited here on Thursday, April 18th.There were still a lot of people.Even I could see many kids.This museum is very family friendly.There were a lot of activities for kids.Kids can learn trains and the technology. Of course, the adults can enjoy this museum.Many people were waiting for train simulations which people can operate some trains on the computer screens. Personally, I really liked history of Japanese railways.150 years ago, Japan started modernization and hired many Europeans&Americans in order to develop nationwide railways.Today, Japanese high speed rail technology is the greatest in the world! I saw a lot of non-Japanese.Many people around the world want to learn Japanese high speed rail technology. They can learn lots here.However, most of the descriptions at the exhibition were written in Japanese.The museum needs English, Chinese and Korean descriptions. This is a new and super clean museum.You can enjoy great views of high speed trains and Saitama city.Please visit here!

An incredible museum and a must stop when visiting. Once you have spent some time in Japan you can begin to feel how trains have shaped this country and are a way of life. You can take them almost anywhere at almost any time and be certain you will be onetime and safe. Their time tables not only maintain their operations, but also the habits of the people. For this reason I wanted to visit the Museum to get a true sense of their history and when I arrived I was shocked at the size and detail of the museum. It is by far one of the greatest sites I've ever visited. From just simply walking inside the historic cars to learning all about the fundamentals of engineering trains. This site has it all and will require you a full day, I promise. If you ever are in Tokyo, make sure you see this site if you are at all interested in the culture of trains in Japan.