What are the difference between train shows in Japan from train shows in America

[Dillon]

I know this sounds like a weird(and probably stupid) question, but I was watching a YouTube video, titled, "Anime Events in Japan Are VERY Different From America" and it has great information about the anime cons and events in the U.S. and Japan. I wonder if there is any difference between train shows in Japan and train shows in the U.S., I won't be surprised if there isn't really any difference between train shows in Japan and the U.S., or if there is a difference between them. Anyway, from watching videos on YouTube, I always wanted to visit Japan to see talented modelers, models, and layouts from shows like the International Model Railroad Convention and other shows, a dream mostly.

 

Cheers,

 

Dillon Trinh, owner of 'The Little Nevada'

[bill937ca]

In Japan you will encounter group running sessions given the tight quarters of a typical Japanese home.  It may happen regularly or  informally and probably does not have any vendors.  It might be something as simple as setting up banquet tables in a large rectangle and just laying down track on the bare table top.

 

Most of the big shows are manufacturer run. Many hobby activities that are enthusiast organized in the West like last run trips are usually organized by railways themselves.  There are several train shows put on by various railways including the Hankyu and Tokyu.

 

Shows like the Shizuoka Hobby Show are trade shows for manufacturers with a couple of general public open days.

There is a hobby show in July in one of the Tokyo department stores, Matsuya Giza but this is manufacturer only. 

 

The big train show of the year is the JAM International Model Train Convention  in August which is intended for the public but also has a large manufacturer contingent.

In the past there was quite a bit of resistance from the major manufactures to having more shows outside Tokyo or Osaka.  This came up in relation to the former shows at the Maruei Department Store in Nagoya.

Edited March 21 by bill937ca

[Kamome]

There aren't the same level of shows compared to the UK or US. Can't speak on behalf of the US, but a good many of the UK shows are organised by the modelling groups, rather than manufacturers. 

 

JAM is the largest, organised by the JMRA. When you see the members of JMRA, they are all manufacturers rather than individuals. I think the executive committee for the show is the model company, Imon.

 

There’s a smaller event in Ota ward in October too, but again manufacturer's showcasing their wares rather than modeller-led layouts etc..

 

The Shizuoka Hobby Show is predominately a trade show across all disciplines of scale modelling as most manufacturers are based in or around Shizuoka City. It's not focussed on railway modelling although the larger of the makers will have a stand there.

 

Kato run their miniature diorama event in 2 locations each year. This showcases their small 124mm length kits as well as junior high and high school engineering projects. While there are some impressive ideas, I would say a lot of the modelling was relatively unrefined, plus it isn't really a model show in the regular sense.

 

There are little to no modeller group shows to my knowledge. You may get smallish events, in a local rental function room or public facility but these are not well advertised. 

The focus for most larger events is on collecting trains and product rather than modelling or replicating operation. JAM is by far the best I've been to in terms of showcasing modelling but trains are just running around the layouts, sometimes at inappropriately high speeds to reduce stalls . There's not the same idea of simulating a working railway.

[Beaver]

13 hours ago, Kamome said:

There are little to no modeller group shows to my knowledge. You may get smallish events, in a local rental function room or public facility but these are not well advertised.

 

Probably the most successful of these is the Keiben Matsuri held in Tokyo (at a JR employees social club apparently) each autumn. You can find plenty of Youtube videos of it, including on this forum. Narrow gaugers come from all over Japan and even overseas*, but as far as I understand it no real attempt is made to accommodate those who are not already in the know about narrow matters.

 

*(For years the show was twinned with ExpoNG in the UK with delegations from each show organising group visiting the other and bringing displays and sometimes stalls.)

 

13 hours ago, Kamome said:

JAM is by far the best I've been to in terms of showcasing modelling but trains are just running around the layouts, sometimes at inappropriately high speeds to reduce stalls . There's not the same idea of simulating a working railway.

 

There have been some displays of operational layouts, such as the 3 station end to end temporary layout at the 2018 show which was operated to a time table including live departure boards and an announcer.

 

 

 

But yes, still unusual. While there was certainly an awful lot of 'look how big our collections are all whizzing round this table' type displays, I think it was still worth it for the good displays that do exist. Such as actual prototype modelling, eg; this (I think) Bibai Coal Railway diorama (Bibai used steam well into the seventies because with their own coal supply the running costs for steam were very low.), and a lovely modular representation of the Hakone Tozan Railway.

 

 

 

And the finescale clubs layouts; HOj, Proto-13 and TT9

 

 

 

 

 

Proper railway modelling. Certainly not a trade fair. Still a lot of trade, pleasingly including many small suppliers and one man bands selling all sorts of kits and parts for things the box shifters would never cover.

 

 

Edited March 21 by Beaver