Mahoroba Museum

Mahoroba Museum is Nara Toyota's own automotive museum, opened in November 2021 inside its U-CarMax Nara Hachijō site on Route 24. It's small, free, and unlike most museums every car on the floor is registered, road-legal and driven — each one restored from the ground up by Nara Toyota's own technicians as part of an in-house restoration program.

The headline car is the 1991 Toyota Supra A70 2.5GT Twin Turbo Limited that Sanae Takaichi bought new, drove for 22 years, and which Nara Toyota restored in 2022 — years before she became Japan's Prime Minister. Since then it's drawn crowds from across the country. Around it sits a tight collection of Toyota milestones: a 1966 Sports 800, 1962 Toyopet Crown and Corona, 1967 first-gen Corolla, 1975 Celica Liftback, 1989 MR2, a 1967 Stout with 500 km on the clock, plus rotating special exhibits that have included a Toyota 2000GT.

If you're a Toyota fan anywhere near Kansai, this is a must.

A compact, immaculate showroom-style hall shared with a working Toyota dealership — you'll walk past new cars to get to the classics. Photography is allowed and access is unrestricted; you can get close.

Look out for:

• The "ST Supra" — Takaichi's Super White Pearl Mica A70, 1JZ-GTE twin-turbo, 280PS, rare burgundy leather, 4-speed auto. Restored by a 10-person volunteer team of Nara Toyota technicians and painters. The restoration is documented alongside the car, and it's often displayed with her campaign vehicle.

• Toyota Sports 800 "Yota-Hachi" (1966, UP15) — the tiny 790cc targa that started Toyota's sports-car line.

• First-gen Toyopet Crown (1962, RS31) and Corona (1962, RT20) — Toyota's earliest passenger-car heritage.

• 1967 Corolla KE10, 1975 Celica Liftback TA27, 1989 MR2 AW11, 1992 Supra JZA70 — one-owner-quality restorations of cars most people only see rusty.

• 1967 Stout RK101 — a pickup with roughly 500 km on the odometer.

• Rotating special exhibits — past ones include a Toyota 2000GT (including the open-top "Bond car") and a 1998 Nagano Olympics HiAce.

• A retro corner of period memorabilia, restoration-process videos, and (oddly but charmingly) the uniforms of ex-Kintetsu Buffaloes pitcher Yasuo Kubo.

Plan on 30–60 minutes. Explanations are in Japanese, but staff are happy to talk restoration if you ask.

• Free entry. A ¥200 donation box supports the restoration program — worth dropping in.

• Hours: 10:00–17:00. Closed Mondays (open if Monday is a public holiday). Also closed over New Year, Golden Week and Obon — check the official site.

• Easy to reach without a car. From either of Nara's main stations (JR Nara or Kintetsu Nara) a single bus gets you almost to the door, with at most a couple of minutes' walk at the end. Routes differ by station, so check the bus app for the one nearest you.

• Finding it: there's no museum signage. Face the Nara Toyota dealership on Route 24 and it's the building on the left — look for the big glass door; you'll see the cars through it. Sat-nav may drop you at the main dealer entrance.

• The Supra travels occasionally. It's back on the floor in Nara after a loan to the Toyota Automobile Museum earlier in the year. If you're making a special trip for it, a quick check of the official site never hurts.

• No gift shop. Don't expect merch or souvenirs — it's a beautifully designed space, not a retail stop. There are a handful of artefacts and memorabilia on display, and you'll probably be surprised by the baseball collection too.

• Parking: free but only ~10 spaces; weekends have been busy since late 2025.

• Wheelchair entrance, accessible restroom, baby-change room and Wi-Fi on site.

• Exhibits rotate and individual cars may be out for maintenance, events or loans.

Access, signage and Supra notes are from our own visit on 27 August 2026.

Last updated: 1 September 2026