It's hard to think of February as springlike, what with snowfalls, freezing winds and a dusting of dead leaves everywhere. But I know from experience that the intrepid Prunus mume, or plum tree, blooms this month, and a trek to see some blossoms seems de rigueur. From the Tobu Isesaki Line, I get off at Higashi Mukojima Station to search out Hyakkaen, a garden that has showcased plum trees for centuries.

Before I clear the south end of the station, though, I find the Tobu Museum of Transport and Culture. I pop in — it seems rude not to, having just availed myself of their services — and for ¥200 I pay to see "The Charms of Railways."

I'm not much of a "trainiac," but like most of the young children in the museum, I'm immediately drawn to the various simulation stations where visitors can practice driving model trains and buses, or choose to navigate along a virtual track with realistic and vertigo-inducing high-definition screens.