If you missed the chance to ride the real-life Thomas the Tank Engine train this summer/autumn, you’re in luck. Day Out With Thomas has extended its event dates with tours available throughout December up until New Year’s Eve.
This annual event gives Thomas the Tank Engine fans a chance to hop aboard a locomotive designed to look like the main character from the popular children’s show ‘Thomas and Friends’. The excursion takes visitors on a leisurely train journey along the Oigawa Main line from Shin-Kanaya Station to Ieyama Station, with plenty of fringe activities to enjoy at both terminals.
While you’re onboard the train, you can purchase exclusive souvenirs from the snack cart as well as tuck into Thomas-themed bento boxes, which are available at Shin-Kanaya Station (just make sure you purchase one before boarding).
The Day Out With Thomas event also includes appearances by Thomas’s other locomotive friends including James, Percy and Bertie the bus at the Thomas Fair, which takes place at Shin-Kanaya Station. Plus, you can tour Thomas’s Maintenance Factory for a closer look at how these cute trains are being cared for. And because it’s Christmas, Thomas will be donning a festive Santa hat up until December 25.
The event has been around since 2014 and it's run by Oigawa Railway, the operator of several steam locomotives and tourist trains in Shizuoka prefecture. This last leg of the 2020 tours are scheduled from December 5 to 31. Tickets are available via a lottery system, which you have to enter between Saturday October 17 and Sunday October 25 for a chance to buy the tickets.
Adult round-trip tickets are ¥3,050 and children’s tickets are ¥1,530. For more information on the tour, visit the website.
Heading out? Read our guide on how to go out safely in Tokyo, or anywhere for that matter.
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