Monorail Opening Day

What Is Monorail Opening Day?

Every September 17th is "Monorail Opening Day" (モノレール開業記念日, Monorēru Kaigyo Kinenbi) in Japan. It was established by Tokyo Monorail Co., Ltd. to commemorate September 17, 1964, when the Tokyo Monorail opened between Hamamatsuchō and Haneda Airport ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The Tokyo Monorail was Japan's first passenger monorail, introduced as a new means of transport linking the airport with central Tokyo.

A Rush to Finish Before the Tokyo Olympics

The Tokyo Monorail was built to improve access between Haneda Airport and the city center for the many domestic and international travelers expected for the Olympics.

• Opened about three weeks before the opening ceremony: The opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics was held on October 10, 1964. Construction began with a groundbreaking ceremony in May 1963, and the line opened only about one year and four months later.
• A route built over a canal: To minimize land acquisition, much of the line was built over the Keihin Canal. Round-the-clock construction pushed up costs, which is said to have weighed on the company's finances for years afterward.
• An ALWEG-type straddle monorail: The trains straddle a single guideway beam. Among lines currently operating in Japan, the Tokyo Monorail is the only one that uses the ALWEG system.

At First, a "Too Expensive" Ride

When it opened, the line ran about 13 km between Hamamatsuchō and Haneda with no intermediate stations. A one-way fare was 250 yen, at a time when the minimum fare on Japan's national railway trains in Tokyo was 20 yen and a medium-size taxi started at 100 yen. Because it was expensive and air travel was not yet common, ridership stayed at around 20 percent of capacity. At one point, the company even turned off the lights inside the cars on some sections at night and promoted the ride as a date course for enjoying the night view. In 1966 it cut fares sharply and added new stations to attract more passengers.

Fun Facts About Monorails

• Japan's first monorail was at Ueno Zoo: Including sightseeing lines, the first monorail in Japan was the Ueno Zoo monorail, which opened in 1957. The Tokyo Monorail was the first for regular passenger service.
• Japan's fastest monorail: The Tokyo Monorail has a maximum operating speed of 80 km/h, the fastest of any monorail in Japan.
• Parts of it run underground: Although most of the line is elevated, there are underground sections, including around Haneda Airport.
• Part of the JR East group: Long run by the Hitachi group, it became a subsidiary of JR East in 2002, which led to easier transfers at Hamamatsuchō Station and the introduction of Suica IC cards.
• "Mono" means "one": The word "monorail" combines "mono" (single) and "rail." In Japanese it is also called tanki tetsudō, "single-track railway."

Ideas for Monorail Opening Day

• If you are heading to Haneda Airport, enjoy the view of the Tokyo Bay waterfront from the monorail window.
• Look into the history of the transportation infrastructure built around the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
• Compare monorails in other parts of Japan, such as Osaka, Chiba, Kitakyushu and Naha.
• Talk with family or coworkers about when and why the transport you use every day was built.

Linking the Airport and the City for More Than 60 Years

September 17 is the day Japan's first passenger monorail began running in 1964, just before the Tokyo Olympics. Although it struggled with low ridership in its early years, it became established as a key link to Haneda Airport as air travel became part of everyday life. Every route to the airport has its own history. The next time you ride the monorail, why not think about that history as well as the scenery outside the window?