The JR East Railway Museum: See Japan’s History Move on Wheels of Steel

May 26, 2021

The JR East Railway Museum: See Japan’s History Move on Wheels of Steel

A good many visitors to Japan have been known to utter out loud, “there sure are a lot of trains in Japan!” …And they wouldn’t be wrong! We happen to have the world’s highest per capita train ridership and are home to The world’s busiest station as well. It is not an overstatement to say that rails built modern-day Japan, and finding out just how true this is and how that came to be is pretty interesting, not to mention it makes for a good outing by yourself or with the family.

So what can we find inside?

According to the Wikipedia page, The Railway Museum (鉄道博物館 Tetsudō Hakubutsukan) opened October 14th, 2007. It was built and operated by the East Japan Railway Culture Foundation, a non-profit affiliate of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), as a successor to the original museum that used to be located just east Ochanomizu station under the JR tracks near Akihabara.

Inside you’ll find restored and saved 30 railway cars covering everything from steam engines all the way up to and including the Shinkansen “Bullet Train.” Not to be missed are the train cab simulators which are every bit what you’d face if you were to pilot a JR train, down to the last switch and dial. There are an extensive array of railway dioramas so finely detailed you’ll wind up looking for your particular station to see if they’ve captured it right. This is a proper museum outside of the interactive bits, so there’s also some brain food for those who want to know all about Japan Rail from its inception in the late 1800s through artifacts and books, video booths, and a research room. Rounding out the amenities, there’s a multi-purpose hall, a gallery balcony overlooking the Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen lines, a cafeteria and children’s play area, and of course, the museum shop,

Getting There〒330-0852

Access: The Railway Museum is located next to Tetsudo Hakubutsukan Station on the New Shuttle Line, one stop north of Omiya station.

Website: THE RAILWAY MUSEUM

Hours: Every day except Tuesdays, 10 am-5:30 pm; Closed December 29~January 1 for New Year’s holidays.

—By Jason L Gatewood

 

Image: Saitama Railway Park Zone By Lover of Romance – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Image: 2012-06-02_JRRailwayMuseum002” (CC BY-NC 2.0) by theKNB