Hara Model Railway Museum

Jan Yamaguchi a month ago

It's the private collection of a guy whose name I forgot. When he was younger, he travelled different countries to take pics and vids of trains. There are exhibits about that. Anyway, the model train diorama is in g-gauge, or 1-gauge (45mm track width), so the diorama is pretty big. About the size of a tennis court. It depicts an european scenery with a small town, a few mountains and a lot of railway related stuff. There are plenty of seats to have a rest and just enjoy the trains going round and round. They have a lot of German trains running, also french and American. The trains also change (there is a timetable, of course). A nice guy is talking to the guests and explains a lot of stuff. The lighting was really good, changed from day to night every few minutes. There's also a smaller HO-gauge diorama depicting Yokohama. You have to buy the tickets in advance. Easiest way is to get them at the convenient store (the touch screen machine where you can buy almost anything online). I spent a couple of hours there and have good memories.

Jane Burrett a month ago

A great little museum to visit if you or your child likes trains the guide was very helpful and provided information to us in English, and pointed out many parts of the train diorama to us to make sure we were included. Excellent!

Sandy Goh 3 months ago

It was a fun place to learn about trains. One of the guide is so passionate that he kept sharing with us. Its quiet on a Thursday noon time. The kids had fun trying to find the items that were on the brochure. Too bad that they don't have a souvenir shop after covid. Tickets have to be bought on level 1 from the convenience store. Nothing too inconvenient really.

Matthew Sharpe 8 months ago

American Family visiting. Be sure to buy your tickets in advance. There is a Family mart on the first floor where you can use a machine to purchase. I didn't purchase in advance and was lucky to be in while it was slow so a museum staffer came down and helped me purchase. Very friendly. Very little English spoken but the exhibits have some English to help and there is a QR guide (I didn't use). Lots of trains on display from around the world as well as the history of the museums namesake. It was very cool. Recommend Google Translate to help where needed. The hardest part for non Japanese speakers would likely be the ticket purchase. Tickets are purchased for specific time slots so if they are busy and you just walk up, they may not have tickets but the place was very slow when we visited. The diorama room was amazing with different sets of trains running at different times. Lighting goes through the cycle of the day. One staffer in this room was very enthusiastic explaining the diorama and all the hidden things and art you can find in it. He used a translator with great success to explain things. A slow walk through the exhibits you spend probably about an hour going around (less with impatient kids, more for the enthusiast who wants to take in every detail of the trains). Highly recommended and a fun visit. A little on the high side for tickets however there is no souvenir shop so the price kinda evens out. Loved it and would visit again.

Aiden Utama a year ago

Impressive amount of miniature trains complete with dioramas of cities and towns. Definitely worth visiting if you are a train enthusiast. Tickets are available for purchase at the Family Mart on the first floor. Will need to ask for assistance because the instructions are in Japanese.