Interest

Train Depot Popularized by Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Deals With Rise in Trespassing

Tenryu Hamanako Railroad stated on April 2 that it is having issues with trespassers at the Tenryu Futamata Station Turn Table & Rail Museum. Trespassing has become a daily incident and an issue for the company. The company explained that there are tour hours for the depot and people should refrain from visiting outside of tour hours.

【お願い】
車両基地への不法侵入者が多過ぎてとても困ってます。
直近は毎日いて、連続記録更新中です。
入口は一つしかなく、
注意喚起の看板は4箇所設置してます。
車両基地を見学可能な時間は決まってます。
見学時間以外はご遠慮いただきますようお願い申し上げます。https://t.co/h5dUcTh1S3 pic.twitter.com/86GxWNowfG

— 天竜浜名湖鉄道【公式】 (@tenhamasen) April 2, 2025

【Request】
We are troubled by the excessive number of trespassers at the depot.
Recently, there are trespasses every day, setting a new record.
There is only one entrance, And there four warning signs posted.
There are set hours when you can tour the depot. Please refrain from visiting outside of tour hours. https://tenhama.co.jp/events/5018/

While the museum did not specify why it is dealing with an increase in trespassers, the site is the inspiration for the Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time anime film's Village-3 setting, to where Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami are taken at the beginning of the film. This potentially makes the depot a popular destination for Evangelion fans. However, as the depot is on private property and is a Nationally Registered Tangible Property, it is generally inaccessible to the public.

However, according to the Tenryu Hamanako Railroad's website, guests can visit the museum with a tour guide from 1:50 p.m. on weekdays and from 10:50 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. on weekends and holidays. The tours take about 40 minutes. Ticket prices are 600 yen for adults and 300 yen for children (about US$4 and US$2 respectively).

The museum also offers night tours of the depot every second Saturday of the month. Tours start at 7:40 p.m. and cost 2,000 yen (about US$14). The tours are limited to 30 people and are about 40 minutes.

Evangelion: 3.0+1.01: Thrice Upon A Time (Shin Evangelion Gekijō-ban :||) opened in Japan in March 2021, and ranked #1 in its opening weekend. The film surpassed 10 billion yen (about US$74 million) in the Japanese box office.

The film's updated Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 version began playing in June 2021 for the film's "last run." The new version contains "minor revisions" to some animation sequences, but does not change the film's story. Evangelion: 3.0+1.11: Thrice Upon A Time shipped on Blu-ray Disc/DVD in Japan in March 2023.

The film debuted on the Amazon Prime Video service worldwide in August 2021.

GKIDS screened the film in select IMAX theaters in the U.S. in November 2022. The film then screened in U.S. theaters that December.

Sources: Tenryu Hamanako Railroad's website (link 2), Tenryu Hamanako Railroad's X/Twitter account via Hachima Kikō