Poppo-no-Oka

Poppo-no-Oka is a railway museum in Isumi, Chiba Prefecture, where visitors can view old train cars and steam locomotives from different eras. The vehicles sit on former grazing land surrounded by paths and green spaces that invite exploration.

The museum began in 2010 when the president of Isumi Railway bought the first car for 2 million yen and repurposed the grounds of an old cattle farm. More vehicles arrived in following years, transforming the grounds into a collection of railway history.

The site offers the chance to eat inside preserved dining cars and taste Japanese dishes in the original setting of rail travel. A café inside serves tamago kake gohan, a simple dish of raw egg and rice that travellers once ate on the move.

The grounds open from Friday to Monday and on public holidays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., near stations on the Isumi line. Admission allows free entry to most cars and the chance to walk around the entire site.

Visitors can ride in a conductor cabin pulled by a small yard mover and feel for themselves what steering and braking are like. This kind of direct encounter with the machinery is seldom found elsewhere.