Enormous Train Simulator Installed In Tokyo Hotel

Guests can use the same equipment on which Japanese train drivers practice

Two men in train station outfits operate the simulator.
This is a massive piece of equipment.
Photo: Tobu

Train fans, does Tokyo ever have the hotel room for you! At Asakusa Tobu Hotel, a large train simulator has been installed for guests to play on.

The train simulator isn’t a jumbo-sized Japanese arcade game like Densha de Go (though that would be pretty cool), but according to NHK World, it’s the same type of equipment on which real train drivers learn. Fittingly, they’ve dubbed the room, the Tobu Railway Operational Simulator Room.

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Since Tobu Hotel is part of the Tobu Group, which owns the Tobu Railway, this is a rare opportunity for the public to try out real railway training equipment.

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Guests can practice on the Tobu Line, with the simulator running between Ikebukuro and Ogawamachi Stations. The line also stop at Asakusa, where the hotel is located.

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The train simulator is located directly in front of the bed.
It takes up a good portion of the room.
Photo: Tobu

Besides the huge simulator, the room is filled with train photos, signs, and other paraphernalia that should please railway fans.

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According to NHK World, the hotel opened last year. Prior to the pandemic and Japan’s travel ban, Asakusa was packed with foreign tourists. But with nearly no international tourists, the hotel is trying to figure out a way to appeal to Japanese guests, and decided a room with a giant train simulator was the way to go. It’s not a bad idea, really.

This reminds me of the Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu, which has a room called the “Superior Cockpit Room,” that is outfitted with a full-sized flight simulator for a Boeing 737-800.

Currently, guests are not able to stay overnight, but the room is available for booking during the day to demo the train simulator. Rates are 10,200 yen ($89) for a 1:00 P.M. check in and a 5:00 P.M. check out. From November 5, the hotel will allow guests to stay overnight, but expect the room to book up quickly.

Little white gloves not included.

A man in a train outfit points at the train simulator on the monitor.
Japanese train drivers point to confirm the speed.
Photo: Tobu