Japanese Railway Museums

Here is a list of Japanese railway museums that are known about at the end of 2009.

Also listed are tram and subway museums, museums that feature railways as part of a larger display, and specially operated/preserved railways.

The Tokyo Transportation Museum used to be the first stop on any visit to Japan, but it closed and the railway exhibits were moved to a new out of city museum in 2007.

The same is happening to the west of Japan with a new central railway museum planned for 2011.

There are lots of small railway museums, often with just one or two locos and a few other exhibits, some only open at weekends and festivals, but the bigger museums are definitely worth the visits and are usually open six days or seven days a week (the usual closing day in Japan being Monday). The split between small and medium museums is fairly arbitrary and is based on the size of the railway content.

Major Museums

• Tokyo Transportation Museum (now closed)
• The Railway Museum
• Umekoji Railway Museum, Kyoto
• Osaka Modern Transportation Museum
• Oigawa Railway and Museum
• Kyushu Railway Museum, Mojiko
• Usui Pass Railway Cultural Village
• Ome Railway Park
• Otaru Synthesis Museum, Hokkaido

Medium Sized Museums

• Sakuma Rail Park (closed)
• Tokyo Subway Museum
• Tokyo Tobu Railway Museum
• Ohmi Railway Museum, Hikone
• Kaya SL Square
• SL & Piano Museum
• Edo Open Air Building Museum
• Hiroshima City Transport Museum
• Sapporo City Transport Museum
• Yokohama Tramway Museum
• Chichibu Railway Rolling Stock Park
• Nagoya Subway Museum
• Shuzenji Romney Railway
• Tokyu Train and Bus Museum
• Hokkaido RR Technical Hall

Small Museums

See page for listing - little information available for most of these

Mainline Operation

In varous parts of Japan there are regular steam operated services over mainlines. The Japanese Railway Society keeps a list of these.

Plinthed Locos

Around Japan in various city parks, squares, railway station yards, museum yardsm and so on, can be seen various preseved and plinthed static locomtives. There are too many to list here - keep your eyes open whilst in Japan!