Riding Thomas the Tank Engine in Japan with Kids: Oigawa Railway, Booking and a Day Plan (2026)

Is the Thomas train worth it with kids? The short answer

Here’s the short version: this is a real, working steam locomotive dressed as Thomas, and for children aged roughly 2 to 6 that difference lands hard. The catch is logistics — it’s about 2 to 2.5 hours each way from central Tokyo, and tickets must be booked in advance, so this is not a spontaneous day out.

Here’s who it suits, and who it doesn’t.

Your situation	Verdict
A 2–6 year old who knows Thomas	◎ It genuinely moves. Recognition makes the reaction bigger
Mostly preschool-age children	◎ Free if they ride on your lap (see below)
A child who loves trains	◎ Steam engines, a turntable, and cabs you can stand in
A tight 3–4 day Tokyo trip	△ Think hard about spending 4–5 hours in transit
You like deciding plans on the day	✕ Seats are reserved in advance. Walk-ups are difficult

One more thing. With small children, what decides how the day goes is not what you see once you arrive — it’s when you book. Operating days are limited and seating is reserved, so locking in seats as soon as your dates are fixed is the basic move. This article is organised in that order.

What this article covers: getting there from Tokyo / fares and the rule for preschoolers / where to book / what to do onboard / where to wait / two nearby stops / a full day plan.

Getting there from Tokyo

The Thomas train departs from Shin-Kanaya Station in Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture. Budget 2 to 2.5 hours each way from central Tokyo.

Method	Route	Rough time
Shinkansen + local line	Tokyo → (Tokaido Shinkansen) → Shizuoka → (Tokaido Main Line) → Kanaya → (Oigawa Main Line, ~4 min) → Shin-Kanaya	2 – 2.5 hours
Car	Shin-Tomei Expressway, Shimada-Kanaya IC, then Route 473 south	~10 min from the exit
Car	Tomei Expressway, Sagara-Makinohara IC, then Route 473 north	~15 min from the exit

JR Kanaya Station and the Oigawa Railway’s Kanaya Station share the same building — you simply change platforms. From there it’s about 4 minutes to Shin-Kanaya on a local train.

With children, driving is the easiest option because it minimises both luggage handling and transfers. Parking at Shin-Kanaya is ¥1,000 per day. The two side trips below also assume a car, so a rental is worth considering.

⚠️ These times are estimates. Which Shinkansen services stop where (Hikari vs. Kodama) and how the local connections line up will change your total significantly. Check the operators’ official timetables before you travel.

If you’re unsure about moving around Tokyo itself with a stroller, see Tokyo Subway with Kids.

Fares and booking: preschoolers ride free on your lap

The Thomas train runs between Shin-Kanaya and Kawane-Onsen-Sasamado (17.7 km each way). Round-trip fares are as follows (as of August 2026).

Category	Round trip
Adult (junior high and up)	¥6,000
Child (elementary school)	¥3,000
Preschooler (on a lap, no seat)	Free
Preschooler (with their own reserved seat)	Child fare applies

That round-trip fare includes the local train between Kanaya and Shin-Kanaya.

The rule that matters most for families is the one for preschoolers. Oigawa Railway’s official FAQ states that children below elementary school age travel free in principle, as long as they sit on a lap and don’t occupy a seat. If you do reserve a separate seat for a preschooler, the child fare applies.

In practice: two adults plus a four-year-old on a lap comes to ¥12,000 total, versus ¥15,000 with a seat of their own. Each leg is about 40 minutes; the round trip is 1 hr 30 min on the morning service and 1 hr 51 min on the afternoon one, so it comes down to your child’s size and mood. We went with the lap option; by around age five, an hour and a half or more on a lap is cramped for everyone and the extra seat would likely be worth it.

Where to book

Tickets are sold through several sites.

• JR Central “EX Tabisaki Yoyaku”
• JR East “JRE MALL Ticket”
• Asoview! (lets you pick seats from a seat map)
• Lawson Ticket

If you want to choose your own seats, Asoview! is the easier one to work with thanks to its seat map.

⚠️ These booking sites are primarily in Japanese with limited English, so a browser translation tool helps. Fares, sales channels, and on-sale dates change, and operating days are limited — always confirm current conditions and availability on the official site.

Plenty of other places in Japan are free or discounted for children. See Where Kids Go Free or Cheap in Tokyo.

On the day: from the station to your seat

Thomas makes two round trips a day from Shin-Kanaya (based on the July–December 2026 schedule).

Service	Departs Shin-Kanaya	Back at Shin-Kanaya	Note
Morning	10:39	12:09
Afternoon	13:58	15:49	Includes a water-spray display. 21 minutes longer than the morning run

The train stops at Ieyama and Kawane-Onsen-Sasamado along the way.

The station gets busier than you’d expect. Once Thomas pulls in, both the platform and the forecourt turn into a wall of cameras, so if you want a family photo, arriving 30–40 minutes before departure makes life much easier.

Percy also runs from the same station during this period — a real working locomotive since 30 May 2026.

Toby, however, runs between Senzu and Okuizumi — and getting there needs planning. The Oigawa Main Line has been closed between Kawane-Onsen-Sasamado and Senzu since typhoon damage in 2022, with full restoration reportedly targeted for around 2029. To reach Senzu you’ll need to change to a Kawanehon town bus at Ieyama, or drive. Trying to ride both Thomas and Toby in one day burns a lot of time in transit, so with children it’s better to pick one.

Which character runs on which date varies, so decide up front whether you specifically want Thomas or whether any of them will do — it makes choosing dates much simpler.

⚠️ Operating days, times, and which locomotive runs all vary by date, and services may be cancelled in bad weather. Restoration timelines and replacement bus schedules change too. Check the official calendar and Oigawa Railway service information for the day you plan to travel.

How to fill the 90 minutes to two hours onboard

Inside, everything from the seat covers to the ceiling decorations is Thomas. The biggest reaction comes the moment you step aboard, so take your carriage photos early.

As for filling that 90 minutes to two hours, there’s more onboard than you might expect.

• Trolley service — a cart comes through with original merchandise and snacks. It stops close enough that children can peer into the basket themselves, which is an event in its own right
• The windows — they open on some sections, and the route follows the river past tea fields
• Station stops — there are moments at Ieyama and Kawane-Onsen-Sasamado when you can step outside

Buy the bento before you board

There’s a Thomas bento you can eat onboard. We bought ours in advance at KADODE OOIGAWA (covered below) and opened it on the train. The price at the time of our visit was ¥1,300 including tax.

Buying ahead is the safer bet — numbers are limited and it can be sold out close to departure. The contents are kid-friendly (fried chicken, hamburger steak), and the box itself is a keepsake you can take home.

⚠️ Price, sales locations, and stock all vary. If you definitely want one, check availability in advance.

If you’re worried about what your child will actually eat in Japan, Food in Tokyo Kids Will Actually Eat may help.

Where to wait, and where to go if it rains: Plaza Loco

In front of Shin-Kanaya Station sits Plaza Loco, which gathers the ticket office, shop, and rolling stock displays in one place. It absorbs a surprising amount of the waiting time before and after your ride.

Here’s what we found when we visited:

• Steam locomotive cabs you can walk into. There’s a corner that lends children a driver’s uniform, so they can put on the cap and stand at the controls
• A Plarail play area with track already laid out and free to touch
• Photo boards shaped like train fronts, plus a recreated Shōwa-era station building

On Thomas operating days, a Thomas Fair is also held on the station grounds. That one costs ¥1,100 for a one-day pass (including tax); ages 2 and up pay, under-2s are free. It’s open 9:00 – 16:30 (last entry 16:00), takes cash or PayPay only, and allows re-entry. It includes the 360-degree turntable display, rides on Nia, photos with Flynn and Winston, a mini steam train, and a water play area.

Some areas are free and others need the fair ticket, so ask at the station window which is which before you start wandering.

⚠️ Displays, uniform loans, and pricing change over time. The uniform loan and cab access can be suspended when it’s busy or when locomotives are being serviced. Check the Loco Museum official page and the Thomas Fair at Shin-Kanaya for current details.

Much of it is under cover, which makes it a workable fallback on a rainy forecast. For more wet-weather options, see Indoor Spots in Tokyo for Kids.

Stop 1: KADODE OOIGAWA (connected to Kadode Station)

A green-tea-themed complex directly connected to Kadode Station on the Oigawa Railway. Entry itself is free, as is parking (roughly 550 spaces). Open 9:00 – 18:00, closed on the second Tuesday of each month and 1 January. Some areas keep different hours.

Three things stood out with a child in tow:

• Steam locomotive C11 312 is displayed indoors and you can get close to it. The wooden prayer plaques hanging from it are for exam success — the neighbouring station is called Gōkaku, meaning “pass”
• You can buy the Thomas bento here (see above)
• It’s spacious and cool indoors, which makes it a genuine rest stop on a hot or wet day

There’s also a corner for brewing green tea and a “Green Tea Tours” experience that walks you through steaming and rolling the leaves. It’s a place where adults aren’t just waiting around, which counts for something.

⚠️ Hours, closing days, and the pricing and timing of each experience all vary. Check the official site.

Stop 2: Chojiya and its grated yam soup (Mariko-juku)

If you’re heading back toward the Tomei Expressway, Chojiya in the Mariko district of Shizuoka City is a natural stop — a thatched-roof restaurant specialising in tororo (grated yam soup), founded in 1596.

Dish	Price (incl. tax)
Mariko set (tororo, barley rice, miso soup, pickles, condiments)	¥1,870
Fried tororo (3 pieces)	¥1,210
Children’s plate (limited quantity)	¥880

The children’s plate matters more than it sounds. If your child won’t touch grated yam, rice, fried shrimp and tamagoyaki will still get them fed. Seating is on tatami, so a child who needs to lie down after eating can do exactly that.

Hours are 11:00 – 14:00 on weekdays, and 11:00 – 15:00 (L.O.) plus 16:30 – 19:00 (L.O.) on weekends and holidays, closed Thursdays (with a Wednesday–Thursday closure at the end of each month). There’s no online reservation; only the private tatami rooms can be booked, for a fee and with conditions. The lunch peak means queues, so aim for just after 11:00 or around 14:00.

⚠️ Hours, closing days, prices, and reservation conditions change, and unscheduled closures happen. Check the official site first.

A full day plan with kids

Built around the afternoon departure (13:58), based on the route we actually walked with a toddler. Assumes you’re driving.

Time	Plan	Note
8:00	Leave Tokyo	By Shinkansen you can start a little later
10:30	Arrive KADODE OOIGAWA	Locomotive display, shopping, secure the Thomas bento
11:30	Watch trains at Kadode Station	Local trains pass right beside the platform
12:30	Drive to Shin-Kanaya, park	¥1,000 per day
13:00	Plaza Loco / Thomas Fair	Uniforms, Plarail, turntable
13:30	Wait on the platform	Claim a spot before the crowd forms
13:58	Board Thomas	Bento onboard; water display on this service
15:49	Back at Shin-Kanaya	Souvenirs at the shop
16:30	Drive to Chojiya (~1 hour)	On weekends you’ll make the 16:30 dinner service
17:30	Tororo dinner	On weekdays it closes at 14:00 — eat at lunch instead

On weekdays, Chojiya closes at 14:00. For a weekday trip, flip the order: lunch at Chojiya first, then the afternoon Thomas service.

Taking the morning departure (10:39) instead gets the ride out of the way early and leaves the afternoon for KADODE and other stops. If you can predict your child’s nap window, the morning service tends to go more smoothly.

If you’re adding a second day in the region, this pairs well with A Family Day Trip Around Mt. Fuji (Mishima and Yamanashi). For a day trip from Tokyo in a different direction, there’s also Mother Farm with Kids.

Practical summary

Item	Detail
Route	Shin-Kanaya – Kawane-Onsen-Sasamado (17.7 km each way)
Duration	~40 min each way / round trip 1 hr 30 min (morning), 1 hr 51 min (afternoon)
Departures	Shin-Kanaya 10:39 and 13:58 (July–December 2026 example)
Round-trip fare	Adult ¥6,000 / Child (elementary) ¥3,000
Preschoolers	Free on a lap without a seat (child fare if reserving a seat)
Booking	Advance reservation. Asoview! / EX Tabisaki Yoyaku / JRE MALL / Lawson Ticket
From Tokyo	~2 – 2.5 hours each way
Parking	Shin-Kanaya ¥1,000/day; KADODE OOIGAWA free
Thomas Fair	One-day pass ¥1,100 (ages 2+; under 2 free)
English support	Booking sites and on-site signage are mainly Japanese — a translation app helps
Strollers	Fine at stations and facilities; fold onboard, a carrier is more nimble
Time needed	Half a day to a full day (a full day with the side trips)

That covers the planning side of the day. One last thought about what’s left over once the trip ends.

Keeping that day on film

The look on a child’s face the moment Thomas whistles into the platform — half frightened, half thrilled. By the time you’ve raised a camera, it’s usually gone. And one parent is always holding the camera or holding the child, which means almost no photos have the whole family in them.

What we do is help families keep the moments they didn’t manage to capture themselves, on film. Have a look if you’re interested.

👉 See the Tokyo Family Records service

※ Fares, timetables, opening hours, and menu prices in this article are current as of August 2026. Operating days, featured locomotives, and pricing may change, and services can be cancelled in bad weather. Please confirm the latest details on the Oigawa Railway DAY OUT WITH THOMAS official site.