Really into trains? Good news: you can now admire Odakyu Electric Railway’s limited express Romancecar up close at this new museum in Ebina. The first floor features a small theatre where you’ll get to watch a short film walking you through the train’s history. Further on, you’ll find six different Romancecars including the very first edition, and you can even go inside some of them to sit and relax.
On the second floor is a 190sqm diorama park which maps out the railway that runs from Shinjuku to Hakone. The model has working miniature trains and dynamic lighting and a panoramic screen to create day and night effects. You can even drive one of the model trains yourself for ¥100 for three minutes.
The other half of the floor is just for kids, with a small scale diorama they can play with plus an area for engaging in paper crafts (¥500). There’s also an interactive train simulator, open to all ages, where you drive a Romancecar around Greater Tokyo.
When you’re done looking through the exhibit, stop by the café, which has booths installed with seats that look like the ones in its Romancecar trains.