The Yamanashi Prefectural Maglev Exhibition Center: Experience the future of maglev trains!

Japan is an exciting place, a place where you can both see and experience cutting-edge technology like nowhere else. For example, a maglev train with a speed of 500 km/h—the fastest in the world! Maglev trains are the next generation of high-speed train technology that has captured the attention of the whole world. And the Yamanashi Prefectural Maglev Exhibition Center is the perfect place to learn more about them. It is also the only place in the country where you can see a maglev capable of reaching 500 km/h. A one hour train ride from Shinjuku on the JR Chuo Line’s limited express, followed by a 15-minute bus ride will get you there.

The facility is divided into two areas: the Maglev Exhibition Hall and the Yamanashi Pavilion. In the Maglev Exhibition Hall, visitors can observe a test run and learn about superconductive maglev trains, especially the Linear Chuo Shinkansen, via displays, models, and dioramas. On the first floor, you can examine the actual tester train that recorded 581km/h up close. You can even go inside!

People of all ages are sure to enjoy the hands-on corner. The Linear Theater can give you a taste of what 500km/h feels like through the use of a video and simulated vibration. You can also experience a magnetic levitated run on the Miniature Maglev. It's a strange, yet exciting, sensation to silently advance without rattling, one quite unlike regular trains.

The Yamanashi Pavilion, on the other hand, is a place visitors can gather Yamanashi sightseeing information, purchase special maglev-related goods, and refuel in the rest area while planning their next destination.