Shinkansen Museum (Hikari Plaza)
On December 7, 1991 (Heisei 3), the inside of a Type 951 Shinkansen test train that was transferred free of charge to Kokubunji City from the Railway Technical Research Institute, a public foundation, was opened as a Shinkansen museum.
The history of Shinkansen development is presented in panels, models, videos, etc. There are also driver’s seats and passenger seats.
This carriage was manufactured in 1969 (Shōwa 44) and it was a memorable vehicle that set a world speed record of 286 kilometers per hour between San'yō Shinkansen Nishi-Akashi and Himeji before going into operation in 1972 (Shōwa 47)(with a total length of about 25 meters, a height of about 4 meters, a width of about 3.4 meters, and a weight of about 60 metric tons).
The name of Hikari town is derived from the Hikari Shinkansen bullet train.
