As you recall, we planned to see some shrines today, but sometimes fate intervenes. We knew we had to take a bus to get there, so we went to the bus station and boarded the correct bus . . . going the wrong way. We elected to stay on it for a couple stops to see if it helped us go anywhere else. We saw it stopped at the Kyoto aquarium which incidentally is right next door to the newly opened Kyoto Railway Museum. Clearly this was a sign. We exited and got in a long line for tickets. It was a very massive space with trains from all eras on display.
They had steam locomotives and the latest Nozomi shinkansen trains. There were other exhibits about the different interiors of the cars, model trains, and some cafes built inside old rail cars where people could order bento boxes. As much as I use Tripadvisor, the museum is too new to even show up on the website, and as a result, Nicole and I were the only non-Japanese people in the entire museum. It appears that there isn't much marketing toward english speakers anyway. All the explanations and captions were entirely in Japanese.
My favorite part of the whole place was an outdoor upper level observation deck. It overlooked the tracks. From there one could watch trains arrive and depart from nearby Kyoto station with To-ji temple's pagoda in the background. I stood out there for a while watching the Shinkansens zoom by it hoping for a decent picture, but I think Nicole was ready to go -- probably convinced that I intentionally put us on the "wrong" bus this morning. I find trains interesting, but some people are obsessed. Please refer to video below . . .
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