Thomas the Tank Engine and the Journey to England

"Ya, Tōmasu! Boku Gachapin, Nippon kara kitanda! (Hi, Thomas! I'm Gachapin, I came from Japan.)" "Anō, Anō, Watashi wa Mukku desū. (Um, Um, I am Mukku.)" "Yā! Yoku kitane! (Hi! Welcome to!)"

- Gachapin, Mukku and Thomas

Thomas the Tank Engine and the U.K. Trip is a Japanese Thomas & Friends/" Ponkicki" crossover special. It aired in December 1991 exclusively in Japan.

Plot
Two children's television characters from Japan, Gachapin and Mukku, travel to the United Kingdom. During their visit, they stop on Sodor to meet Thomas, Sir Topham Hatt, and the other engines. During the second half of the programme, they visit real railways as recommended by Sir Topham Hatt and learn how steam locomotives work.

Production
According to producer Yōichi Fujita, in 1991, Fuji Television Network submitted the plan of this special to the Britt Allcroft Company. Later, Britt Allcroft requested Fuji TV to submit the storyboard, and Atsuo Sugano completed and submitted it overnight. In the fall, the special was photographed in the UK with the filming cooperation of FCI London, a Fuji TV group company, and the cooperation of Japan Airlines, the British Tourist Authority and Kensington, Inc. Also, the scenes of Thomas and his friends interacting with Gachapin and Mukku were filmed at Shepperton Studios for this special during the production of the third series with the filming cooperation of the Britt Allcroft Group Limited.

The special was broadcast in Japan on 30 and 31 December 1991, the year before the third series broadcast.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * Percy
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Gachapin
 * Mukku
 * Henry
 * James
 * Oliver
 * Mavis
 * Bulgy
 * Edward
 * Toby
 * Duck
 * Donald and Douglas
 * Bill and Ben
 * Diesel
 * BoCo
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Henrietta
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Toad
 * Bertie
 * Trevor
 * Harold
 * Wilbert
 * Peckett No. 1900

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Shepperton Studios
 * Buckinghamshire Railway Centre
 * Kent & East Sussex Railway
 * Big Ben
 * Buckingham Palace
 * Tower Bridge
 * Great Western Railway

First day

 * 1) Thomas' Train
 * 2) Thomas Goes Fishing
 * 3) Thomas and Bertie
 * 4) Off the Rails
 * 5) Ghost Train

Second day

 * 1) Thomas and the Guard
 * 2) Trouble in the Shed
 * 3) Tenders and Turntables
 * 4) Edward's Exploit

Songs

 * I'm Thomas the Tank Engine
 * Thomas' Anthem

Cast

 * Keiko Toda as Thomas
 * Kenji Utsumi as Gordon
 * Chisato Nakajima as Percy
 * Kōhei Miyauchi as Sir Topham Hatt
 * Kuniko Amamiya as Gachapin
 * Juuji Matsuda as Mukku
 * Yoshimi Shūei as Facilitate

Trivia

 * This was the first mark of several things:
 * Oliver, Mavis and Bulgy's nameboards first appeared.
 * There are four instances of songs by The Beatles being played (of which Ringo Starr was the drummer) and one instance of a song that was covered by Marmalade (of which Junior Campbell was part):
 * "Magical Mystery Tour" can be heard during the intro.
 * An instrumental version of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is used when different shows of DIC Entertainment are being introduced.
 * An instrumental version of "The Fool on the Hill" is used when Tidmouth Sheds first appears.
 * "When I'm Sixty-Four" plays during the end credits.
 * Thomas' Anthem is played in English, thus being the first time a Thomas song is broadcast in English in the UK and the USA.
 * Fuji Television produced "I'm Thomas the Tank Engine" as Thomas' image song for Japan, so they did not acquire the right to produce a music video. After that, it officially acquired the right.
 * DIC Entertainment produced Song Time as a segment for in the UK, and in the USA
 * This is the first Thomas the Tank Engine production produced in 1995.

Goofs

 * When Thomas is talking to Fred and Ted, a wire is hanging from underneath Thomas' running board.
 * Henry's firebox is crooked.
 * When James and Henry puff out of the shed, they are going slowly, but the sound of them puffing is fast.