On February 25, the Sagano Scenic Railway Company, in Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, unveiled the largest railroad diorama in Japan, located inside Saga Station, to the press. Models of trains, such as "Shinkansen," or bullet trains, and sleeper cars nicknamed "Blue Trains," run around model buildings, including the Golden Pavilion, Kiyomizu-dera Temple and private houses. Visitors can control the model locomotives from actual drivers' seats. It is open to the public from March 1.

This is a part of the project for celebrating the company's 20th year in business. Furthermore, this project is intended to invigorate tourism in the off-season as the number of passengers on "Torokko," or sightseeing trams, has been decreasing since 2008, when it reached a record high of 954,000.

The diorama is 212 square meters in size. It has approximately 2,700 meters of railroad tracks, including the tracks in the depot inside the diorama. It is built on a one to eighty scale, and 800 carriages of 250 types of trains, including freight trains and an imperial special train, run through the diorama. Five hundred and fifty model buildings and 20,000 dolls are arranged on it.

Visitors can control the model trains from two real electric train driver's seats, which are used to pull Blue Trains, and also operate them via six control panels beside the diorama. They can also cross over it via a bridge built over the center diorama.

The approximately 210-square-meter diorama in the railway museum "SCMAGLEV and Railway Park," which is scheduled to open in Nagoya on March 14 by Central Japan Railway Company, is similar in size to this one. The president of Sagano Scenic Railway Company, said, "We would like not only train enthusiasts but also men and women of all ages to enjoy it with wonder." They expect 100,000 visitors annually.

The admission fee is 500 yen for adults and 300 yen for children. There is an additional fee for operating the model trains. This train facility is closed every Wednesday.