Nishi-Nippon Railroad to open bus and train museum in metaverse

Japanese railway and bus operator Nishi-Nippon Railroad, or Nishitetsu, will open a virtual museum in the metaverse on February 25 to showcase some of its most well-known car models.

The Nishitetsu-verse Bus and Train Museum will allow visitors to use their avatars to view 3D renditions of train models such as the Type 3000, Type 9000, Type 600, as well as the “Tabito,” “Suito,” and “THE RAIL KITCHEN CHIKUGO” sightseeing trains. 

A gallery will display photos of rarely-seen trains and track maintenance work.

In the bus section, visitors can act as a bus driver and operate the doors and fare monitors. They can view images of buses running on different routes, including the BRT (bus rapid transit), highway buses, and Fukuoka Open Top Bus. Illustrations of the company’s manga “Manga de Wakaranai! Nishitetsu Bus Driver” will also be on display.

As part of the project, NFTs featuring photos of Nishitetsu trains and buses will go on sale in the Nishitetsu NFT Gallery, which is linked to the LINE NFT marketplace and can be accessed by clicking on the items in the gallery.

According to Nishitetsu, this is the first time in Japan that a train and bus museum has been constructed on the metaverse. The company plans to hold special exhibitions related to trains and buses in the future, and will also use the site as a venue for virtual events and other services.