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Welcome

Keibin Light Railway Yonabaru Station Museum

As of 2024, the only rail-based public transportation system in Okinawa Prefecture is the Okinawa Urban Monorail (Yui Rail). At the same time, the prefecture continues to face major transportation challenges, including chronic traffic congestion and carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles.

So where did these issues begin?

Today, Okinawa is not widely associated with railways. Yet before WW2, trains did run here. The best-known example was the prefecture-run Okinawa Prefectural Railway. Centered on Naha, it operated three lines, and Yonabaru Station also prospered as an important transportation hub.

What kind of railway was it, and why does it no longer exist today? By exploring the history of the Okinawa Prefectural Railway, we hope this exhibit will offer an opportunity to think about the future of Yonabaru—and about Okinawa’s transportation environment in the years ahead.

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Ryukyuan Experienced the Steam Locomotive

In 1868, the Meiji government was established, and the following year (1869) it decided to build a railway. At the time, Okinawa was still the Ryukyu Kingdom. In 1872, Japan’s first railway line opened between Tokyo (Shinbashi Station) and Yokohama (Yokohama Station).

An opening ceremony was held at Shinbashi Station on October 14 (September 12 in the lunar calendar). Ie Ueekata Chōchoku and others, who were staying in Tokyo as the Ryukyuan Envoys in the Meiji Restoration, also attended. They even rode the imperial train—a special train reserved for the Emperor. In an illustration published by overseas media at the time, a figure dressed in traditional Ryukyuan clothing can be seen.

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Yonabaru Connecting Capital Shuri and Yanbaru Region

Yonabaru, located on the east coast of Okinawa Island, lies close to Shuri—the royal capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom—and has long served as an important port. Timber and charcoal produced in Yanbaru (the northern part of Okinawa Island) were shipped via Yonabaru and carried on to the main markets in Shuri and Naha. In the opposite direction, everyday goods were transported from Shuri and Naha to Yanbaru. Yonabaru also had a log yard for official timber used at Shuri Castle.

Before the railway opened, this flow of goods was supported by the Yanbaru-Sen Ship and the Basa-Sungchaa (Horse carriage handler). The Yanbaru-Sen Ship connected communities along the east coast, while overland transport was handled by the Basa-Sungchaa.

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Establishment of the Light Railway Law

In Okinawa Prefecture, there were repeated proposals from investors inside and outside the prefecture to build railways from the Meiji period onward. However, these plans were never carried out, often because government approval was not granted or because funding could not be secured.

A turning point came with the Light Railway Law, enacted in 1910. It made it possible to build railways to simpler standards than before, reducing construction costs. As a result, light railways were built in many parts of Japan. In Okinawa, the prefectural assembly finally approved a railway construction plan in 1913. The project would be led by the prefecture itself, making it a publicly operated, prefecture-run railway.

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Birth of “The Prefectural Railway”

In February 1913, Okinawa Prefecture obtained licenses to build railways on the Naha–Yonabaru route and the Naha–Itoman route (the Itoman Line license later lapsed and was obtained again). Construction began in December of the same year. Work started from the Naha Port side, and by October of the following year the line was complete. The entire project took less than a year and cost 300,000 yen. Locomotives and passenger cars arrived in May, and test runs were carried out on the sections where construction had been finished.

On December 1, 1914, the Yonabaru Line of the Okinawa Prefectural Railway finally opened. The Kadena Line followed in 1922, and the Itoman Line opened in 1923.

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Railways in Okinawa

The first railway in Okinawa was built on Minami-Daito Island. In 1902, construction began on a hand-pushed track used to transport sugarcane. Later, in 1917, it was rebuilt to light railway standards.

As for railways that carried passengers, the Okinawa Electric Tramway opened in May 1914. In November, the Okinawa Horse-Drawn Tram began service, and in December the Yonabaru Line of the Okinawa Prefectural Railway opened as well—making 1914 a landmark year for rail transport in Okinawa. In 1919, the Itoman Horse-Drawn Tram also opened. Before WW2, Okinawa had a wide variety of rail-based transport systems.

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Timetable and Tickets

Timetables issued by the Okinawa Prefectural Railway were sold at the kiosk in Naha Station, and when schedules were revised they were also printed in local newspapers. They even appeared in the nationwide timetable published by the Japan Travel and Culture Association (now JTB). Looking at these timetables, you can see how services were adjusted to match demand. For a period, the Yonabaru Line operated a rapid service, with the fastest Naha–Yonabaru trip taking just 22 minutes (based on a timetable from around 1936, on the last upbound train).

In addition to standard single-ride tickets, passengers could also purchase round-trip tickets, coupon books, and discounted student season passes.

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Passenger and Cargo

The Okinawa Prefectural Railway carried both passengers and freight. In its early years, ridership did not grow as expected, so the railway worked to attract more users—for example, by cutting fares in half. As new lines opened, passenger numbers gradually increased, reaching a total of 3.28 million passenger journeys in fiscal 1941 (counted as the cumulative number of boardings and alightings).

People used the railway for commuting to school, class trips, festivals, and family visits for seasonal events, and it became an essential part of everyday life—often described as “the prefecture’s main way to get around.” At the same time, it supported the sugar industry by carrying sugarcane to sugar mills and transporting the produced brown sugar to Naha Port. It also shipped a wide range of other goods.

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Okinawan Railroad Man

Operations on the Okinawa Prefectural Railway were carried out by staff of the Okinawa Prefectural Railway Administration Office. They were public employees. Under the director of the office, the organization included administrative staff (such as clerks and stationmasters) as well as technical staff responsible for driving and maintaining locomotives. In 1941, the railway employed 297 people, making it a mid-sized railway by national standards.

There were many specialized roles that supported safe operations, including conductors (onboard duties and safety), ticket sellers, gate staff who checked tickets, locomotive drivers, signal operators, track maintenance workers who inspected and repaired the line, and level-crossing attendants who ensured safety at crossings.

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Prefectural Railway and Tourism

When the Okinawa Prefectural Railway first opened, there was steady demand for travel from Yonabaru to Naha, but far less demand in the opposite direction, from Naha to Yonabaru. To address this imbalance, the prefecture developed a public beach in Yonabaru the following year, creating a new leisure destination for visitors from Naha. This is considered Okinawa’s first example of station-area development.

During the Yonabaru Great Tug-of-War (Yonabaru Ōtsunahiki), the railway added extra cars and carried festivalgoers from Naha in groups of several hundred.

Tourist guides from the period also listed the “nearest station” for major sites. Shikinaen, for example, was linked to Ichinichibashi Station, and Futenma Shrine was linked to Ōyama Station.

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Yonabaru Sta.: Okinawa's Only Modern Sta. Bldg.

When Yonabaru Station first opened, its station building was a wooden structure. Seventeen years later, in 1931, it was replaced with a modern reinforced-concrete station building.

In front of the station was a shopping street, and the area was a lively town with a constant flow of people. Private bus operators, such as Miyagi Jidōsha, also served the area. Yonabaru became a key transportation hub where many modes of travel came together: the Yanbaru-Sen Ship, horse-drawn carts, horse-drawn trams, buses, and the light railway.

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Crown Prince's Visit

In 1921, the Crown Prince (Tōgū)—later Emperor Shōwa—stopped in Okinawa on the outbound leg of his visit to Europe. He came ashore from the coast of Yonabaru aboard the battleship Katori, commanded by Kanna Kenwa, who was from Okinawa. From Yonabaru Station, he traveled to Naha on the Okinawa Prefectural Railway, and stayed in Okinawa for about half a day. A monument marking the landing site, the “Memorial to His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince’s Landing,” was erected there; the monument standing today is the third one.

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Phantom Plan: Extension Line to Nago

The northernmost terminus of the Okinawa Prefectural Railway was Kadena Station, but there were also plans to extend the line as far as Nago. The first proposal was made in 1920, before the Kadena Line itself opened. Looking at the planning map from that time, the route would have run north from Kadena Station, passed through Onna Village, and continued to the Aga rie (Agarie) area of Nago. In the end, however, the plan was abandoned.

Later, in 1941, a group known as the “Extension Promotion League,” formed by the towns and villages of Kunigami District, submitted a petition to the Minister of Railways calling for the extension. Even then, this north–south “trunk railway” was never realized.

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Public Transportation Changed to Military Railroads

In October 1941, the Nakagusuku Bay Temporary Fortress Command, with its headquarters in Yonabaru, was completed. In May 1944, barracks were built in Eguchi Ward in Yonabaru, and the 7th Heavy Artillery Regiment was transferred there. In December, the 27th Squadron of the Kaijō Teishintai arrived from Hiroshima and began constructing defensive positions.

WW2 also affected the railway. In July 1944, it was converted into a military railway that carried troops and weapons, with no service for ordinary passengers. During the October 10, 1944 air raid, Naha Station was burned down, but operations resumed the following month. In December, a train explosion also occurred, killing more than 200 people.

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Battle of Okinawa and Railroad Destruction

In late March 1945, U.S. forces carried out air raids before landing on Okinawa Island. As a result, the Okinawa Prefectural Railway was forced to suspend operations. According to a memoir by Keikou Kohagura, who was the stationmaster of Ōyama Station at the time, trains on the Kadena Line continued running until March 23.

U.S. forces landed on April 1, and Okinawa became the site of intense ground fighting between Japan and the United States. Railway facilities were destroyed in the fighting. Railway staff evacuated on their own, and some were killed.

Under these conditions, the usual procedures required to formally abolish a railway—such as filing a request with the national government and obtaining approval—could not be carried out. That situation has effectively remained unchanged to the present day.

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Postwar and Railway Reconstruction Plan of Prefectural Railways

The Okinawa Prefectural Railway was completely destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa during WW2. Soon after WW2, discussions began about building railways again. Koshin Shikiya, the governor of the Okinawa Civilian Administration at the time, repeatedly submitted requests to the U.S. military for new railway construction. The U.S. side also recognized the need for rail transport and appears to have taken steps to procure materials, but in the end the materials never arrived and the plan was abandoned.

Even after the 1972 reversion of Okinawa’s administrative rights to Japan, railway construction continued to be debated, eventually leading to the introduction of the Okinawa Urban Monorail (Yui Rail). In 1974, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly also adopted a resolution calling for the introduction of Japanese National Railways, but this was never realized.

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Memory of Yonabaru Station Building

The Yonabaru station building was heavily damaged in the Battle of Okinawa during WW2, but its basic structure survived. Immediately after the war, holes in the walls were covered with wooden boards, and the building was used as a fire engine garage. In the mid-1950s, it underwent major repairs and became the Yonabaru Town Office. From 1968 to 2012, it was used by the agricultural cooperative (JA).

Later, in fiscal 2014—the 100th anniversary of the opening of the prefectural railway—the pre-war exterior of the station building was restored, and the museum opened. Behind the building, pre-war pillars remain in their original location.

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Public Transportation in the Future

As of 2024, Okinawa has the Okinawa Urban Monorail (Yui Rail), but it has no other rail-based transport. Among Japan’s 47 prefectures, Okinawa is the only one without a line that was part of Japan National Railways (now JR). It is also rare nationwide for cities and towns with populations of over 100,000—such as Okinawa City and Ginowan City—to have no railway service.

The central and southern part of Okinawa Island is known as the “Central-Southern Urban Area,” and around 1.2 million people live there. In terms of both land area and population, it is one of Japan’s most densely populated regions. In this setting, why not think together about ways that everyone can travel with minimal burden—in a sustainable way?