Each year I do a display of train simulators for the Japan Australia Friendship Associations Kodomo no Hi celebration. This page details the software and internet resources used.
These were produced by printing in poster mode on a MultiFunction Printer. JREast has currently got English and Japanese maps available for download from the English main page and Japanese maps page respectively. I recommend you use the Japanese version as it is more up to date and has most of the information in English as well. JRWest have maps, including one of Osaka. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader with Japanese Font Pack to view most of these. If you are travelling to Japan I recommend you visit the Japan National Tourism Organisation site for tourist information.
Two of these games were on display - Yamanote line (PCRW-90039) and Hanshin line (PCRW-00035). They are part of a long series of games produced by Ongakukan. I bought the Yamanote line in the Yaseau book centre in Tokyo but could have bought it much cheaper in Akihabara. The Hanshin line game was bought by a friend of a friend for me from Big Camera in Ikebukuro. The controller was bought some years later from a shop in Akihabara. I was quite pleased to get it at a 70% discount from recommened retail price, particularly as I thought it was only obtainable on mail order. Train simulator is also popular like Densha de Go! and both are easily obtainable in Japan. If you are in Australia you could have Japanese Model Supplies import the game for you. More information about this and other train simulator games can be found on my train simulator page.
This is also part of a long series of games produced by Ongakukan but runs on a Japanese Playstation 2. This and the console were obtained by an Australian living in Japan.
Part of the Densha de Go! series, this game looks at the Shinkansen from Osaka to Hakata. I bought it along with the controller from a shop in Akihabara (of which there are many). Some care was needed to install it under Windows ME as the installation program needs a Japanese Operating System.
Densha de Go! is easily obtainable in Japan. If you are in Australia you could have Japanese Model Supplies import the game for you. More information about this and other train simulator games can be found on my train simulator page.
A number of videos were shown including
The signs were produced using JWPce an excellent freeware Japanese word processor and Powerpoint. Many more useful programs handling Japanese and learning Japanese can be found on Jim Breen's Nihongo archive.
No! All of the computers were running English Windows 95, 98, ME or XP. Only the games were Japanese. You can surf the internet in Japanese and write Japanese emails using Microsoft Internet Explorer with a add-on Japanese Language Kit. Note that XP is a lot easier as it support double byte filenames and Japanese text natively. More information about using Japanese on your English Windows computer (and a bit about using English on your Japanese Windows computer) can be found in the Japanisation FAQ for computers running Western Windows.
This exercise is based on a E231-500 series railcar used on the Yamanote line. These cars have 6 double doors on each side, are 19.5 metres long and 2.95 metres wide. They have a nominal loading of 162 people (54 sitting on the seats along each side). This translates to 2.8 people per square meter. But then it gets squashier because loadings are often up to 200% (but fortunately not any more at 250% or 300% where pushers are required).
The core of the display is the Tomix Playrail Hometown Set (Yokohama line) and 700 Series Shinkansen Set (includes model Mt Fuji complete with advertising signs!). They were purchased from was purchase from Hakuhinkan Toy Park in Ginza, Tokyo. Extra track has been purchased in Australia as it is sold as Thomas the Tank Engine (blue track). The station and some of the more specialised track were purchased by doting grandparents in Big Camera, Namba, Osaka.
These calendars were kindly provided to me by Mr F. Hamada from Kumamoto, Japan. You might like to visit his Online Photo & Video Album.
The paper trains that were displayed come from JRWest's extensive Japanese language Railway Gallery Site. There is a menu (Japanese but easy to navigate) of trains you can make on the main paper train page. You will need the freeware Adobe Acrobat Reader and Japanese Font Pack to view most of these.
The train that was build on the day was the 0 series shinkansen (one end and one middle unit). This unit was made by printing on a laser printer on A4 paper and then enlarging on a photocopier to A3 size.
If you would like to build a simpler train I suggest a 201 series. You will need to build two end units and a number of middle units.
This is a playstation game by Taito and was run using the Bleem! emulator. Bleem has ceased trading since I bought my copy of it. An better alternative to run this game would be to use a Playstation capable of playing Japanese games. The emulator has trouble with sound and occasionally pauses or displays the screen with defects. Densha De Go! is very popular in Japan. More information about this and other train simulator games can be found on my train simulator page. I had this game bought in Japan for me using the services of Japanese Model Supplies. If you are in Australia and cannot have the game easily bought for you in Japan you could use their services.
The large JR Map was downloaded in early 1999 from the JREast website. It was then printed in postscript, enlarged using the poster program and then printed out as 3 rows of 4 A4 sheets. JREast has currently got English and Japanese maps available for download from the English main page and Japanese maps page respectively. I recommend you use the Japanese version as it is more up to date and has most of the information in English as well. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader with Japanese Font Pack to view most of these. If you are travelling to Japan I recommend you visit the Japan National Tourism Organisation site for tourist information.
Please contact me via my comments page and I'll try and answer it.
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This page last reviewed 7 May 2006.