Tokorozawa Aviation Museum

Just a short train ride from central Tokyo lies a hidden gem, the Tokorozawa Aviation Museum.  Part of the larger Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park, it is located on the site of Japan's first airfield, and a large portion of the museum is dedicated to showcasing the proud history of aviation in Japan.

 

Nieuport 81 E.2 Biplane

 

In 1909, an imperial decree was issued to establish the Provisional Military Balloon Research Society, Japan's first public aircraft research institute.  In 1910, Japanese Army captains Hino Kumazo and Tokugawa Yoshitoshi were sent to Germany and France to learn how to fly an airplane and to purchase an airplane.  Needing a place to conduct aviation activities, the Tokorozawa Airfield was opened on April 1, 1911, with a 50m wide by 400m long runway, a hangar, and a weather observatory.  Just four days later, on April 5, 1911, the French-made Henri Farman biplane made its successful maiden flight at Tokorozawa Airfield.

 

Over the years the airfield grew rapidly, and by the 1920's the Tokorozawa Army Aviation School was training many aircraft pilots and engineers.  During World War II, the airfield was bombed many times by Allied air raids, as it was an important military target.  When World War II ended, the airfield was handed over to the United States, which used it as a base for several decades.  Most of the land was returned to Japanese control in the 1970s and 1980s.  In 1978, the Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park was created, and in 1993, the Tokorozawa Aviation Museum was opened to the public.

 

The museum contains around 20 aircraft, ranging from a Nieuport 81 E.2 from World War I to a Fuji T-1 jet trainer.  Outside the museum, there is a Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando from World War II on display.  And if you take the train to get to the museum and get off at the Koku-Koen station (on the Seibu Shinjuku Line), you can't miss the NAMC YS-11 turboprop airliner on display just outside the train station.  Designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation, the YS-11 was the first airliner to be completely designed and manufactured in Japan after World War II.

 

NAMC YS-11 Turboprop Airliner

 

In addition to the exhibits, the museum contains an IMAX theater; a gift shop, with toys, die-cast airplane models, clothes, and more; and a small cafe, with items like pizza, hamburgers, chicken tenders, curry, and more.  While walking around outside the museum, be sure to listen for the sound of military jets flying to or from the nearby Iruma Airbase; I heard several flying around, but could not see them due to clouds.

 

For more information, visit the Museum's website at: https://tam-web.jsf.or.jp/

 

Until next time, keep looking to the sky and keep dreaming.

 

- Matt