Hara Model Railway Museum

Yokohama


Hara Nobutaro (1919–2014) was Japan's pre-eminent trainspotter, taking the pastime to a typically Japanese level of obsessiveness as this superb personal collection of model trains and other railway-associated memorabilia shows. Even if you don't care much for trains, the model railway – a mammoth gauge-one diorama of moving locomotives where you can act as train driver – is a delight.

Railway buffs can enjoy browsing digitised photo albums of Hara's trainspotting sojourns around the globe, a visual treasure trove of long-forgotten locomotives and rural branch lines.