Chuarashima Travel




Yui rail exhibition hall
  • Parking available
  • Reservation ok

You can learn about the history of Okinwan railway at the Yui rail exhibition hall. It is a 10 minutes walk from Naha airport.

Yui rail opened as a way to connect Shuri station and Naha airport station. The Yui rail exhibition hall was built at the Okinawa Urban Monorail,Inc building.

The building is two-stories. The first floor exhibits the documents of Yui rail. On the 2nd floor, there are some documents explaining the railway. There are more than 400 pages of documentation, You can read them for free.

On the 1st floor, There is a movie corner showing the history of yui rail. You can learn about how Yui rail was made and why. On the 2nd floor, you can observe the many things that are related to railway. Such as old stamps, and other railway souvenirs, and very important documents about light railway that ran before WWⅡ.

Must-see sights

  • 1st floor

    Introduction of each station

    The introduction of each station is exhibited with pictures and descriptions. For Information about facilities near the station, You can check for hotels and shopping malls close to the station. Moreover, you can check the good points of each station and know what to do at the station. You may be able to find a new feature about the station!

  • The rusted rail

    Rail

    You can observe the rails, that run in Okinawa, they are The Keibin railway Kadena line and Okinawa street car (Shuri train) rail. Both of them are very rusted however, you can feel the time from the rusted rail, and feel the history that is left behind.

    The Keibin railway was a train used to transport sugar cane which was a very important industry in Okinawa. On December 1914, the first Yonabaru line was built. After that, the Kadena line and Itoman line were built. However, they were all destroyed during the war.

  • Collection of Yutaka Hajime

    Collection of Railways

    There are goods adopted by railway collectors at the Yui rail exhibition hall. This is a very special place where you can see the ticket, hat, Armband, the guide-board, timetable, and the number plate of railways up close in person.

    Tea cup, teapot, sample of Ekiben (the traditional Japanese lunch box which were sold at the stations) are exhibited and you can enjoy observing them.

History of Keibin railway and Yui rail

Okinawa prefectural railway

The railway in Okinawa was built the first time as Yonabaru line on 1914 December. Next, they were planning on making the 2nd Itoman line, but the construction was stopped due to the economic stagnation after WWⅠ in 1916. However, with the government's help, The Kadena line was built on 1922 March, and on July 1923 the Itoman line was built. From Naha, to Yonabaru, Kadena and, Itoman. The 3 lines were completed.

Unfortunately, the rail was used for shipping war equipment as the army shipping was proceeding at full speed on 1994 July. On the same year, Naha station was destroyed from the air raid, on November Itoman line was destroyed from the bomb attack, On 1945 March, the war got so heated that they stopped the railway completely. After the standstill, the railway was completely destroyed from the war. Unfortunately, the rail was used for shipping war equipment as the army shipping was proceeding at full speed on 1994 July.

After WWⅡ, the Korean War broke out and due to the iron shortage, the rail was collected for resources. Moreover, for building U.S. bases, the rail was separated and the railway industry in Okinawa disappeared from the island.

The economy grew rapidly in 1970, the population increased dramatically, especially Naha and middle part of Okinawa. The traffic jam was a big problem in Okinawa. In 1972, Okinawa was returned to Japan, and the government stated the new project for development of Okinawa. The new transportation route was considered by the Japanese government and Okinawa.

In 1982 September, Okinawa Urban Monorail, Inc was built and the construction of the Yui rail had began on 1996 November.

In Okinawa, there are still unexploded bombs from the War that haven’t been found The first survey for building the rail worker found an Unexploded bomb. During the construction, some bombs was discovered, but on 2003 August the railroad celebrated its 21st anniversary.

Yui rail exhibition hall is a place where you can learn about railways that run in Okinawa before WWⅡ. The exhibition hall opens on weekdays only. The place is not crowded and you can take your time observing the exhibits. The place is located next to Naha airport and very easy to get to.

Pictures

  • Yui rail exhibition hall
  • Shelf next to the reception
  • Goods
  • Shuri/Gibo station
  • Naha city hospital/Furujima station
  • Omoromachi/Asato station
  • Makishi/Miebashi station
  • Airport station under the constructuion
  • Monorail under construction
  • Monorail model
  • 1st floor
  • The rusted rail
  • Collection of Yutaka Hajime
  • Okinawa prefectural railway
  • Tire of Monorail
  • Yui rail the Southernmost and Westernmost station (Naha airport/Akamine station)
  • Different Art glasses in each station
  • Different art tiles in each station
  • Excavated real rail
  • Newspaper article about the rail excavation
  • Chronological table of vihicles
  • A map of Okinawan rail way before WWⅡ
  • Pictures of Railway
  • Naha staion at the time
  • 10th anniversary stamp of returning to Japan
  • Train goods
  • Exhibition about railway history
  • Rail way model (double roof)
  • Exhibition about railway history(steam locomotive)
  • Rail way model(steam locomotive)
  • Real Shinkansen rail
  • Benkei railway model
  • Introduction pannel of old tickets
  • real old tickes
  • Introduction of rail way goods collecter
  • rail way goods(hat,arm band,scissors)
  • Rail way goods(Ekiben,teacup,plate)
  • Yui rail original paper craft making sheet
  • tutorial of the paper craft
  • Finished paper craft
  • Same color as the real Yui rail

Yui rail exhibition hall Information

Name Yui rail exhibition hall
Tel/Fax:

TEL:0988-59-2630

FAX:0988-59-2941

Address:

Postcode:901-0143 377-2 Ashimine Naha-city Okinawa

Access

It takes 10 minutes walking from Naha airport
  On Okinawa Urban Monorail,Inc building

Hours

9:30-16:30

Open only weekdays
※The last entry is 16:00

Closed

Weekend/Holiday

Fees

Fees

Free

How to pay

Budget

0

Optional fee

0

Credit card

Not available

Currency

JPY

Reservation

Reservation is available

Reservation is only available for group tour

※To make reservations, please contact the General affairs of Okinawa urban monorail,Inc.

Facilities

Parking

Car : 30 free parking lots

Bus : 3 free parking lots

Information

Time

About 1 hour

Smorking

You are not allowed to smoke in non-smoking area.

e.t.c

The Yui rail exhibition hall welcomes visitors with disabilities.

A little advise from Churashima travel

A brief comment

At the exhibition hall, you can observe the special collection of Rail way goods. Kids can enjoy.

Important notice


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