Diorama Kyoto Japan, Arashiyama

While we were waiting for the Sagano Romantic Train ,  we noticed that there’s train diorama gallery in the same building as the Saga Torokko Station. Being a big fan of trains, I vehemently insisted that we go inside and have a look

Inside we found a HYUUUGE train diorama made of HO scale trains. The diorama is  12.3 by 17.3 meters making  a total of 285.15 square meters.

For a small fee of ¥200 you can take control of one of the trains with a real train throttle for around 5 minute (honestly I forgot how long a single session is). You could also bring your own HO train models and run it on the diorama for ¥1500 for the first hour and ¥1000 every 30 mins after.

The diorama features several Japanese landmarks such as the Kiyomizudera and Kinkakuji.

A building on fire

A traffic accident

several sets of running cable cars

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And of course lots of trains. Including Thomas the tank engine.

Every 30 minutes, there will be a night cycle where the ceilings darken and reveal stars and constellations.

You can get inside the driver’s cab area of a real life JNR EF66 locomotive and drive the model trains for ¥1000/15 minutes

You could also purchase various model trains.

So if you’re a railfan and you’re in Arashiyama, you definitely HAVE to visit this place!

Website: https://www.sagano-kanko.co.jp/en/diorama.php
Address: Sagatenryuji Kurumamichicho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, 616-8373, Japan
Hours: 09:00 to 17:30 – Last entry at 17:00 (On busy days up to 18:00, last entry at 17:30)
Entrance fee:

• Standard: Adult ¥500, Child ¥300
• Sagano Romantic Train passengers: Adult ¥400, Child ¥200
• Group of 15 or more: Adult ¥450, Child ¥240
• Kyoto Railway Museum ticket holder *: Adult ¥400, Child ¥200

* Kyoto railway museum ticket discount is valid from the date of Kyoto railway museum entrance up to the same date on the following month

How to get to Saga Torokko Station

From Kyoto Station

Take the JR San’in line and get off at Sagaarashiyama station. The trip is around 17 minutes for ¥240. The fare is fully covered if you have a JR Pass.

From Osaka

Take the JR Kyoto line to Kyoto station and continue with the JR San’in line to Sagaarashiyama station. The trip is around 50-60 minutes for ¥970. The fare is fully covered if you have a JR Pass. Another alternative is to take the Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka station to Kyoto Station.