Drive a train for real (well, almost) at Tokyo's riveting Railway Museum

Drive a train for real (well, almost) at Tokyo's riveting Railway Museum

From bullet trains to commuter clunkers, there's a nerdy draw for all at this amazing attraction

By Mike Nakada

All aboard the lunch train -- a parked express is now a dining hall.

Whether you live in Japan or are just visiting, it's pretty hard to spend a day without using the train at least once.

Trains are an important part of modern urban life in Japan and -- let's face it -- Japanese rolling stock looks pretty darn cool.

Which is why, about 45 minutes out of Tokyo, there's a museum dedicated entirely to these heroes of the daily commute. It's called the Tetsudo Hakubutsukan -- the Railway Museum.

Over 30 actual train cars that were rescued from their fate of being sold for scrap are displayed inside and outside the museum.

Starting with the classic steam locomotives of the 19th and early-20th century, the museum has a train car from just about every period.

They include a first-generation Shinkansen, or bullet train, preserved in its original form.

History on rails

Trains R Us -- the view of the museum's main floor.

The main building of the museum is built like a giant warehouse, with the history zone display on the first floor being the biggest attraction.

Here, you can hop aboard a bullet train to see what it was like to be on the world's fastest train in 1964 or maybe check out what the average commuter train looked like in the 1930s.

The Imperial train car used by Emperor Hirohito himself is even on display.

Powerful locomotives -- steam, diesel and electric -- are also something not to miss.

Every day at noon and 3 p.m., the steam locomotive at the center of the museum goes for a spin (literally) on a giant turntable and blows its horn a few times to let the crowd know it's not going to sit in the museum quietly like the rest of its friends.

The really old gets a look-in too. And that's just the visitors.

Don't forget to head to the information desk to ask about borrowing English language guide devices before you start exploring.

These little machines scan QR codes on plaques and translate the descriptions of the displays for you. Video displays are also available in English -- all you need to do is press a button located near each screen.

For anyone looking for a bit of a challenge, the museum has train simulators that let you test your train-operating skills on some of the major commuter lines around Tokyo.

Each of these simulators is built to look like the driver's cab of a specific train and is equipped with a panorama screen in front displaying actual footage from the train line.

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THE MING NECROPOLIS The Ming Dynasty Tombs China

A dignified pavilion rises behind the main entrance of the magnificent Ming Necropolis, which is located 50km northwest of Beijing. Seven kilometres long, the holy avenue, 'Spirit Way', of the Ming Necropolis is lined with numerous beautiful stone figures. Dingling, the mausoleum of the 13th Ming Emperor, Wanli, is one of three restored grave sites where elegant stairs, decorated with beautiful stone masonry, lead up to the terrestrial section of the mausoleum. According to ancient Chinese tradition, an earthly section had to be built for the soul of the dead, in which the soul would be comforted. For this reason, the magnificent buildings and great halls were designed in the style of the emperor's palace. The expenditure for the royal funerals was without limit and it took almost six years and around 30000 workers to build the grave complex for Emperor Wanli. Changling is the largest mausoleum of the Necropolis and was built for Emperor Yongle, who reigned during the beginning of the 15th century. But this extremely well restored grave site has a darker side to it. Together with the Emperor, it is believed that 30 living concubines were buried in this grave.

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