Yamanashi Prefectural Maglev Exhibition Center
A prefectural museum beside the maglev test track, with the car that hit 581 km/h.
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Yamanashi Prefectural Maglev Exhibition Center
SaveA prefectural museum beside the maglev test track, with the car that hit 581 km/h.
On test days an announcement signals the approach, and a 40-meter window wall lets you watch it pass.
MoreWhat kind of place
This is a prefecture-run visitor center that opened as test runs began on the Yamanashi maglev line. The line is 26.6 miles (42.8 km) long, and the L0 series cars have been in trials on it since August 29, 2013.
The center is two buildings: Doki Doki Linear, the one you pay for, and Wakuwaku Yamanashi, which is free.
On the first floor of Doki Doki Linear stands the actual test car MLX01-2, which hit 361 mph (581 km/h) in 2003, and a timeline beside it lays out 60 years of maglev development with a model of each generation.
The observation room on the third floor of the free building has a monitor giving the maglev's speed and position as it runs.
Sources and evidence (23)
- The Yamanashi maglev line runs 26.6 miles (42.8 km), and test runs with the new L0 series cars have been going on since August 29, 2013.source
- The nursing room is on the first floor of the Doki Doki Linear hall.source
- Inside the nursing room are a water heater for making formula, a changing table, and a nursing area.source
- The multipurpose restroom on the third floor also has a changing table.source
- Inside the kids' corner is a child-size restroom.source
- Coin lockers are on the first floor of the Doki Doki Linear hall.source
- There is no restaurant in the building, but there are vending machines for drinks, ice cream, bread, and snacks.source
- Michi-no-Eki Tsuru, a roadside stop about 0.4 miles (600 m) from the center, has a restaurant.source
- Exhibit labels are written in English, Chinese, and Korean.source
- The Linear Theater on the third floor puts multilingual subtitles beside the screen, and the Linear Diorama shows them at each part of the display.source
- The UDT multilingual subtitle app lets you read the exhibits in English, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.source
- The first floor of the Doki Doki Linear hall displays the actual test car MLX01-2, which set a top speed of 361 mph (581 km/h) in 2003.source
- Also on the first floor, a timeline lays out 60 years of maglev development alongside models of each generation of car.source
- The outdoor viewing terrace on the second floor lets you take in a superconducting maglev test run with all your senses, on the days a test run happens.source
- The Linear Diorama on the third floor is a large model of Yamanashi as it will be once the Chuo Shinkansen maglev opens, with a 12-minute show beginning at 10, 30, and 50 minutes past each hour.source
- The Linear Theater on the third floor puts you through a 310 mph (500 km/h) run with video and vibration, an 8-minute show beginning at 0, 12, 24, 36, and 48 minutes past each hour.source
- The third-floor viewing lounge stretches about 130 feet (40 m) along the window for watching the test runs, with part of it set up as a rest area where eating is allowed, plus vending machines for drinks, light food, and ice cream.source
- From the observation room on the third floor of the Wakuwaku Yamanashi hall you can watch the superconducting maglev on its test runs, and a status monitor shows its speed and where it is on the line.source
- The third-floor observation room and the second-floor tourist information corner of the Wakuwaku Yamanashi hall both have rest corners where you can eat and drink.source
- The second floor of the Wakuwaku Yamanashi hall covers travel around Yamanashi with videos and panels, and stocks tourist pamphlets from each city and town.source
- The shop on the first floor of the Wakuwaku Yamanashi hall sells maglev goods made for the center along with local specialties.source
- Parking is free, with 140 spaces for cars, 15 accessible spaces, and 10 for buses.source
- It is a prefectural museum-style visitor center that opened to coincide with the start of test runs on the Yamanashi maglev line.source
With kidsThe part that matters
Whether a test train runs while you are there depends on the day, so check the color-coded calendar before you go and pick a day marked for a run.
When a test car is coming, an announcement goes out through the building, and the third-floor lounge gives you about 130 feet (40 m) of window to watch from.
On the second floor, kids can float a little maglev car off its track and feel the magnets push it along, with workshops and a superconductor demonstration on the same floor.
The nursing room on the first floor has a changing table and a water heater for formula, and the kids' corner on the same floor plays railway videos.
Sources and evidence (8)
- On the second floor there is a mini maglev that lets you feel magnetic levitation and magnetic propulsion for yourself.source
- The second floor explains what superconductivity does through hands-on devices and a superconducting coaster, with explanatory videos in Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean.source
- Linear de GO! on the second floor puts your own face on a character on screen, so you move around inside the video.source
- The second floor runs workshops for making things and trying things around the maglev and superconductivity, along with the Superconductivity Lab, a demonstration of how a superconductor behaves.source
- On a test day it passes 5-6 times an hour; the 2F outdoor terrace is the best spot. Mini maglev queue: 30 min.source
- The 1F nursing room has a bottle warmer and changing table; a kids corner plays train DVDs, plus a child-size toilet.source
- Nowhere to eat inside; only a drinks-and-ice-cream machine on 3F, so lunch means the roadside station next door.source
- A five-minute walk up a hill from the parking lot. Empty at 9:30; by 10:30 the mini maglev had a five-person queue.source
By age0-1 / 2-3 / 4-6
- Ages 0-1On the first floor of the Doki Doki Linear building stands the actual test car (MLX01-2) that recorded 581 km/h in 2003, there to look up at from your arms. On test-run days an in-house announcement goes out as the car approaches, so you can wait at the windows of the third-floor viewing lounge, about 40 meters long. The kids corner on the first floor screens railway DVDs indoors and works as a rest space. Preschool children enter free.The nursing room is on the first floor of the Doki Doki Linear building, and inside it are a hot-water dispenser for making formula, a diaper changing table, and a nursing room. The multi-purpose restroom on the third floor also has a changing table, and multi-purpose restrooms are on every floor. The building has ramps and can be moved through in a wheelchair. Eating and drinking are allowed only in part of the third-floor observation lounge and on the second and third floors of the Wakuwaku Yamanashi building, nowhere else; there is no restaurant, but vending machines sell drinks, ice cream, bread, and snacks. Coin lockers are on the first floor. Parking is free, and if someone in the car has trouble walking they can be dropped off beside the Doki Doki Linear building.
- Ages 2-3On the second floor, Linear de GO! pulls your own face onto a character on screen and lets you move around inside the video. The Mini Linear, also on the second floor, shows magnetic levitation and magnetic travel happening right in front of you. The third-floor Linear Diorama runs 12 minutes, starting at 10, 30, and 50 past each hour, a length a small child can sit through. The first-floor kids corner is where you rest with a railway DVD on. Preschoolers enter free.There is a children's toilet inside the kids corner, and a multi-purpose restroom on every floor. Test-run times are never published, and next week's schedule only goes up on Friday evening, so waiting time is unpredictable; an announcement goes out as the car approaches, and run-status monitors are placed around the building. The third-floor Linear Theater is an 8-minute screening that puts you through 500 km/h with video and vibration, starting at 0, 12, 24, 36, and 48 past each hour, so it helps to know the seat shakes before going in. Eating and drinking are limited to part of the third-floor observation lounge and the second and third floors of the Wakuwaku Yamanashi building. Individual visitors need no reservation.
- Ages 4-6The second floor hands them the mechanism itself: superconductivity demonstration devices and a superconducting coaster to try with their own hands. The workshops on maglev and superconductivity, with staff guiding the making, and the Superconductivity Lab experiment showing what a superconductor does, are also on the second floor. On test days the outdoor viewing terrace on the second floor lets you take the run in with all five senses, though some days have no test run. A family with a train-loving child spent three hours here, workshop included.Admission to the Doki Doki Linear building is free for preschoolers, 200 yen for elementary and junior high students, and 420 for adults; on Saturdays, students of elementary, junior high, high, and special-needs schools get in free. The Wakuwaku Yamanashi building is free anyway. The calendar colour-codes each open day as test run scheduled, none, or undecided, and next week's version goes up on Friday evening. These are plans, and can be changed or cancelled without notice for testing reasons. Closing days can change too, and the museum itself asks you to check the calendar; some local bus services do not run on closing days. From the bus stop in front of Otsuki station on the JR Chuo line, the bus to the Linear Exhibition Center takes 15 minutes at 380 yen one way for adults, half for children.
By weatherRain, heat, cold
- Rainy dayYou can watch the test runs from the viewing lounge on the third floor, which runs about 40 meters along the track. There is also an outdoor viewing terrace on the second floor.
- Hot dayNot checked yet
- Cold dayNot checked yet
Time needed3 h
How was it with your kids?
Not greatGreat
Family checks✓ easy for your family
- ElevatorElevator：not checked
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：with conditionsconditions
- RentalStroller rental：not checked
- NursingNursing space：with conditionsconditions
- ChangingDiaper changing table：with conditionsconditions
- Family WCFamily restroom：with conditionsconditions
- Kids' toiletKids' toilet seat & step stool：with conditionsconditions
- Own foodOutside food allowed：with conditionsconditions
- EnglishEnglish support：with conditionsconditions
Tap a mark for details
* Other not checked (2)
Diaper disposal bin, Child switch (rider swap)
Green = we confirmed it. Gray = not checked yet. Gray with a line through = the place does not have it.
Worth a look before you go
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
On a test day it passes 5-6 times an hour; the 2F outdoor terrace is the best spot. Mini maglev queue: 30 min.
How busy is the Maglev Exhibition Center, and how long does it take? Test-run days and quiet days
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
The 1F nursing room has a bottle warmer and changing table; a kids corner plays train DVDs, plus a child-size toilet.
Glued to a 500 km/h world: touching the future at the Yamanashi Maglev Exhibition Center
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Nowhere to eat inside; only a drinks-and-ice-cream machine on 3F, so lunch means the roadside station next door.
Taking a 7- and 5-year-old to see the maglev test runs, and why they were bored after an hour
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
A five-minute walk up a hill from the parking lot. Empty at 9:30; by 10:30 the mini maglev had a five-person queue.
Taking the kids to the Yamanashi Maglev Exhibition Center: what to look for
Yamanashi Prefectural Maglev Exhibition Center · Links & reads ▾
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Where it is
2381 Ogatayama, Tsuru-shi, Yamanashi 402-0006source
Before you go
- Closing days can change, and the center itself tells visitors to check its calendar.source
- The calendar color-codes open days three ways: test run scheduled, none scheduled, or undecided. Some closed days are marked as having a test run scheduled too.source
- The test run schedule is only a plan, and runs can be changed or called off without notice as the testing requires.source
- The Doki Doki Linear hall keeps staff on hand to explain the exhibits, though they may not be able to take requests when it is crowded.source
- Some bus services do not run on days when the center is closed.source
More notes (10)
- The center has announced that its admission prices change on April 1, 2027.source
- Admission can be paid by credit card, electronic money, or QR code payment, and some online ticket sites sell tickets as well.source
- The following week's test run schedule is posted on Friday evening.source
- Details such as the times of the test runs are not made public.source
- Visitors coming on their own do not need to reserve anything.source
- Groups of roughly 20 or more, and anyone arriving by chartered bus, download the group application form and send it in by fax in advance.source
- Wheelchairs are lent free at the first-floor reception of the Doki Doki Linear hall; the number is limited and they cannot be reserved in advance.source
- Eating and drinking are allowed only in part of the third-floor observation lounge and on the second and third floors of the Wakuwaku Yamanashi hall, and nowhere else.source
- Pets cannot come inside, not even in a pet bag or carrier, though guide dogs, hearing dogs, service dogs, and other assistance dogs can come in with you.source
- You can follow what the test runs are doing on the status monitors placed around the building, and an announcement goes out when a test car is approaching.source
Basics
- Fee：The two buildings are priced differently. Wakuwaku Yamanashi Kan is free. Doki Doki Linear Kan charges ¥420 for adults and university students, ¥310 for high school students and ¥200 for junior high and elementary students; pre-school children go in free. Groups of twenty or more pay ¥340, ¥250 and ¥170. Students and students of elementary, junior high, high and special-needs schools go free on Saturdays, and so do people with a disability certificate together with one carer. Prices change on 1 April 2027 — the figures here are the ones before that.source
- Hours：Open 9:00-17:00, last admission 16:30; the shop keeps the same hours. Mondays are closed, but the rule bends around public holidays and the official pages themselves differ on it, and closures can change — so check the calendar on the official site for the day you plan to go. The days after public holidays are also closed unless they fall on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and 29 December to 3 January is closed. Some of the buses from Otsuki Station do not run on closed days.source
- Time to allow：3 hsource
- Booking：No booking is needed if you come as a family. Groups of roughly twenty or more, or anyone arriving by chartered bus, download the group form and send it by fax beforehand. Admission can be paid by credit card, electronic money or QR code, and some online ticket sites sell tickets too.source
- Note: whether a test run happens depends on the day — next week's schedule appears on the official calendar on Friday evening, and times are never announcedsource
Basics in detail (17)
Fees
- The Doki Doki Linear hall costs 420 yen for adults and university students, 310 yen for high school students, and 200 yen for junior high and elementary students.source
- Groups of 20 or more pay 340 yen for adults and university students, 250 yen for high school students, and 170 yen for junior high and elementary students.source
- Preschool children get into the Doki Doki Linear hall free.source
- The Wakuwaku Yamanashi hall is free, and the Doki Doki Linear hall is the only building you pay for.source
- Going into the Wakuwaku Yamanashi hall costs nothing, while the Doki Doki Linear hall charges admission.source
- Students of elementary, junior high, high, and special-needs schools get into the Doki Doki Linear hall free when they come on a Saturday.source
- Visitors with a disability and their helper enter free on showing a disability certificate, with one helper per certificate.source
Hours and closures
Getting there
- The building has ramps, and you can get around it in a wheelchair.source
- If you have an older passenger or someone who has trouble walking, you can drop them off and pick them up beside the Doki Doki Linear hall.source
- From the bus stop in front of Otsuki Station on the JR Chuo Line, the bus for the Linear Exhibition Center takes 15 minutes and costs 380 yen one way for adults, half that for children.source
- It is about 1 mile (1.6 km), a 20-minute walk, from Kasei Station on the Fujikyuko Line, and about 1.4 miles (2.3 km), or 25 minutes, from Tanokura Station; neither station has taxis waiting.source
- A taxi from Otsuki Station runs somewhere around 2,500 to 3,000 yen.source
- The address is 2381 Ogatayama, Tsuru, Yamanashi, and the phone number is 0554-45-8121.source
Once you've decided
evidence & sources (11)
- Official: Nursing space, Diaper changing table, Family restroom
- Official: Stroller access notes
- Official: English support
- Official: Indoor / outdoor
- Official: Outside food allowed
- Official: main site
A prefectural center in the hills of Tsuru, built to watch test runs on the Yamanashi maglev line. On the first floor stands the vehicle that reached 581 km/h in 2003. The second floor has a mini maglev floating on magnets and a game that puts a child's face on screen. Upstairs a theater carries the shake of a 500 km/h run, and the lounge faces about 40 m of track. Times are never published and some days have none, so seeing one is never guaranteed.
| Nursing space | Yes | One room, on the first floor of Doki Doki Linear Kan. Inside it are a hot water dispenser for making up formula, a diaper changing table and a nursing room. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | linear-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diaper changing table | Yes | In the nursing room on the first floor of Doki Doki Linear Kan, and also in the multi-purpose toilet on the third floor. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | linear-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp |
| Family restroom | Yes | A multi-purpose toilet on every floor, built so wheelchair users can use it. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | linear-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp |
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Yes | Inside the kids' corner on the first floor of Doki Doki Linear Kan. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | linear-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp |
| Stroller friendly | Yes | Ramps run through the building, so wheelchairs get around — the official pages say nothing about strollers specifically. Wheelchairs are lent free at the first-floor reception of Doki Doki Linear Kan, in small numbers and with no advance booking. Coin lockers are on the same floor. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | linear-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp |
| Steps & slope caution | Barrier-free | Ramps through the building and a multi-purpose toilet on every floor. Fifteen accessible parking spaces, and if someone in the car finds walking hard you can drop them off beside Doki Doki Linear Kan. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | linear-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp |
| Indoor / outdoor | Indoor & outdoor | The exhibitions, the theater and the viewing lounge are indoors; the second-floor viewing terrace, where you feel the test run go past, is outside. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | linear-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp |
| Outside food allowed | Yes | Eating is allowed in part of the third-floor viewing lounge of Doki Doki Linear Kan and on the second and third floors of Wakuwaku Yamanashi Kan, and nowhere else. There is no restaurant inside — only vending machines with drinks, ice cream, bread and snacks. Michi-no-Eki Tsuru, about 600 m away, has one. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | linear-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp |
| English support | English menu & signs | Displays are captioned in English, Chinese and Korean. The Linear Theater puts subtitles beside the screen and the Linear Diorama has them at each part of the display. A free app called UDT carries the captions for the exhibits in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | linear-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp |
| Best-fit ages (guide)Extra info — guide only | Yes | Pre-school children go into Doki Doki Linear Kan free, and Wakuwaku Yamanashi Kan is free for everyone. The kids' corner on the first floor shows railway DVDs and doubles as a rest space, with a children's toilet inside. On the second floor a mini maglev shows magnetic levitation you can try, and Linear de GO! puts the child's own face into the game. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | linear-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp |
| Stroller access notesExtra info — guide only | Yes | Parking is free — 140 ordinary spaces, 15 accessible, 10 for buses. From Otsuki Station on the JR Chuo Line a bus runs to the center in 15 minutes, ¥380 one way for an adult and half for a child, though some services do not run on closed days. From Kasei Station on the Fujikyuko Line it is about 1.6 km, a 20-minute walk; from Tanokura about 2.3 km, 25 minutes; neither station has taxis waiting. A taxi from Otsuki runs about ¥2,500-3,000. Pets cannot come in, carriers included; assistance dogs can. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | linear-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp |
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | ||||
| Elevator | Not checked yet | ||||
| Stroller rental | Not checked yet | ||||
| Child switch (rider swap) | Not checked yet |
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