JR Central's rolling-stock museum at Kinjofuto, near the port, holds 39 full-size trains under one enormous hangar roof — every era of Japanese intercity rail from a Meiji-period steam locomotive to a sleek N700 shinkansen and a maglev test bullet. The flagship hall positions three Japan-built world speed-record holders nose-to-nose for emphasis: the 300-series shinkansen, the maglev test vehicle, and the iconic streamlined C62 steam loco.
You can climb into many of the trains, including a dining car from the 1960s and the cab of a 1964 first-generation shinkansen. A separate area contains driving simulators that put you in the seat of a shinkansen or commuter line — book on arrival, slots fill fast. The museum sits at the terminus of the Aonami Line from Nagoya Station, a 25-minute ride.