Kyoto Railway Museum

The Kyoto Railway Museum is the largest of its kind in Japan and a near-perfect family day out, whether or not anyone in the group thinks they like trains. Opened in 2016 on the site of the historic Umekoji facilities, it merged the collections of the former Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum and the Modern Transportation Museum in Osaka into a single, gleaming three-storey showcase of Japanese railway history from the steam age to the bullet train.

Fifty-three retired trains are on display, and the museum's genius is that you are encouraged to climb aboard, sit in the seats, work switches and peer into cabs rather than admire from behind ropes. The lineup traces the whole arc of the nation's rail story: an early steam locomotive, cheerful mid-century commuter cars, a sleek first-generation 0-series Shinkansen with its round nose, sleeper-express carriages and freight equipment. Interactive exhibits let children operate signals, drive train simulators and watch a huge, beautifully detailed model diorama come to life in scheduled shows.

The emotional heart of the museum is the Umekoji roundhouse, a working fan-shaped locomotive shed built in 1914 and now an Important Cultural Property. Around its central turntable sit twenty preserved steam locomotives, and several are still in steam. For a small extra fee you can ride the SL Steam Locomotive, a short but genuinely thrilling trip behind a real hissing, whistling engine that leaves many adults grinning as widely as the kids.

Up on the third floor, the Sky Terrace is a free, breezy viewing deck overlooking the live Kyoto rail corridor. From here you can watch Shinkansen, limited expresses and local trains threading in and out of Kyoto Station in a constant, hypnotic flow, with the Kyoto Tower and the eastern mountains as a backdrop. There is also a restaurant serving railway-themed bento where you can eat while trains roll past the windows.

The exhibits are richly bilingual and the whole building is stroller- and wheelchair-friendly, with lifts, baby facilities and plenty of space to roam, which makes it one of the easiest major attractions in Kyoto to enjoy with young children or less mobile travellers. Allow at least two to three hours; enthusiasts routinely stay much longer.

The museum sits inside the green expanse of Umekoji Park, so you can combine it with the adjacent Kyoto Aquarium and a picnic on the lawns. Getting there could not be simpler: ride the JR Sagano Line one stop from Kyoto Station to Umekoji-Kyotonishi Station and walk two minutes, or take a pleasant twenty-minute stroll west from Kyoto Station through the park. Because it is on the JR network, it is easy to reach on a Japan Rail Pass, though the pass does not cover the admission ticket. Admission is 1,500 yen for adults, with discounts for children, and the museum closes on Wednesdays.