Traveling Mercies: museums in japan

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Tokorozawa Aviation Museum

Tokorozawa Aviation Museum is one of the must-see places in Tokorozawa City. It only takes a 8-minute walk from Seibu Shinjuku Line's Koku-Koen station to reach this place. It only takes around 40 minutes to reach this place from Shinjuku. It is right beside the public library and across the municipal hall. It is open from Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:30am to 5:00pm.

This museum has something to offer for both plane enthusiasts and those who are still exploring about planes. I myself am not a big fan of planes before I went to this museum but I was surprised with how much I enjoyed being in this museum. The museum has two main parts, the exhibition hall and the large scale theater. Tickets for the exhibition hall costs Y500 and Y600 for the theater. If you want to get both, you can get a discounted ticket at Y800.

The large scale theater has a large screen measuring 10 meters high and 20 meters wide. It can hold up to 200 people per screening. Movies run four times a day at 10:20am, 12:40pm, 2:20pm and 4:00pm. The movies would have been interesting but they are all in Japanese. I decided not to try the theater for this reason and instead only bought a ticket for the exhibition hall which I think is still worth it. I didn't feel that I actually missed something on not going to the theater.

In front of the museum is a large display of the Curtiss- Wright C 46 cargo plane, which was previously used by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in the 1950s.

Upon entering the museum, you will see this information board with several interesting flyers not only about airplanes but also about some events in the Tokorozawa area. There's even a promotional flyer of the movie Zero starring Okada Junichi, Miura Haruma and Inoue Mao. On the right side of the entrance, there are also several pilot uniforms of several sizes with matching hats that you can wear for picture-taking purposes. There are also sizes for kids.

The exhibition hall offers several interesting areas such as the Runway and Apron, where real planes and helicopters previously used by the Japanese defense forces are on display.

You can even board some of them, sit on the pilot's seat and move the plane's wings and tail. However, it is important to note that the controls should be handled with care.

There are also disassembled parts of the planes like motors, seats, propellers, wheels, etc. In the History of Tokorozawa, there are photos of famous people from Tokorozawa Saitama who had been involved in Japanese aviation. There are also old flying suits and gloves.

The Hangar tells the history of aviation. There is a special part dedicated solely to the Wright Brothers, the first ones who succeeded in flying the world's first engine-powered flight. In the Control Tower, there are replicas of actual control units used for controlling air traffic. There are also flight simulation devices where you can try to fly and land a plane.

In the Laboratory, there are videos and illustrations that show how the planes and helicopters, like insects and birds, are able to fly. If you press the red button, this rocket will fly up in the air.

This is an interesting scale that would determine how many balloons are needed to lift you high up in the sky.

This is an example of only one among many flight simulation devices in the museum. You can try flying the model helicopter in front of you by controlling the joy stick and pressing some buttons.

Additional attractions that are worth trying are: the workshop, where you will be taught some experiments and handicrafts related to airplanes; the sky hope, a flight simulator for flying a helicopter; and the space walker, which allows you to experience various types of gravity.

The museum is small but because there are a lot of things to do inside, it will take an average of two hours to explore the place. If you would want to try all the simulation devices, it might take longer. Also expect that there will be more people and longer lines on the simulation devices during weekends.