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Introduction
 The railway was first established in Japan on October 14, 1872, about 50 years later than in other advanced nations.
Today, the railway celebrates well over 100 years of service and development in Japan. In 1964, the Shinkansen made Japan the first country in the world with, a high-speed rail system that would keep the railway competitive with automobiles and airplanes. Today Japan continues to make an efforts to create new railways that will meet the environmental and social needs of the Japan of the future.
In 1872 the then new Meiji government, with the help and support of the British, opened the first Japanese railways, in "Shimbashi," Tokyo and the harbor "Yokohama" From there the railway spread to all corners of Japan, and through the growth of Japanese own technological skill, the railway has made immeasurable contributions to the building of the modern Japanese nation.
In order to leave a record of the history of the railway for future generations,in 1921, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the railway in Japan, the Railway Agency founded the first railway museum in Japan.
This is the Transportation Museum in Tokyo, the museum features various exhibits like early steam locomotives, and is operated by the East Japan Railway Company.
The second railway museum in Japan, the "Modern Transportation Museum" was founded in 1962, reflecting the rapid technological progression made by the railway at that time and emphasizing the future of the railway.
Over the years, the museum has also come to focus on the historical and cultural aspects of the railway, and today is operated by the West Japan Railway Company.
By 1975 steam locomotives were no longer in usen't Japan.
and this world become a year to be remembered as marking the achievements made in locomotion.
In 1970,as the page of history were turning, the "Umekoji Steam Locomotive Preservation Hall" was established in a fan-shaped engine house located in the Umekoji Engine Depot of Kyoto.
The museum, operated by the West Japan Railway Company, preserves numerous steam locomotives,even operating several of them throughout the year.
In addition to these three major railway museums, you can also find museums throughout Japan that offer introductions to the railway history and culture of the local areas, here one can see the modernization of Japan and the history of the railway.
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