Hara Model Railway Museum, Yokohama

The Hara Model Railway Museum, situated in Nishi-ku, was inaugurated on July 10, 2012. Under the management of Mitsui Fudosan, this museum showcases a vast array of model trains curated by the Japanese enthusiast Nobutaro Hara. Spanning approximately 1,700 square meters, the museum boasts a display area covering about 1,200 square meters, showcasing around 1,000 items from Hara's personal collection, which exceeds 6,000 model railway pieces.

The museum's focal point is the "Ichiban Tetsumo Park," a 30-meter by 10-meter diorama featuring "1 gauge" model trains from various countries, equipped with approximately 450 meters of track. This setup incorporates functional overhead lines to power trains through their pantographs. Notably, the collection includes original models of Thomas the Tank Engine and other characters from Thomas & Friends predating the show's transition to CGI animation in 2009, some of which are occasionally operational on the layout.

Displayed exhibits encompass models in various gauges, including 1 gauge (45 mm gauge, 1/32 scale), 0 gauge, and H0 gauge. Nobutaro Hara, born on April 4, 1919, in Tokyo, developed his passion for model trains at the age of 13. He pursued mechanical engineering studies at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and subsequently worked as a development engineer for Kokuyo, a company specializing in office equipment.

Despite receiving numerous invitations from museums to exhibit his collection over the years, Hara consistently declined until agreeing to lend a portion of it to Mitsui Fudosan. His decision was influenced by the museum's location in Yokohama, the terminal of Japan's inaugural railway line originating from Shimbashi in Tokyo. Hara passed away on July 5, 2014, at the age of 95.