In Spring 2015 I visited Naha, in the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa (after a slightly crazy five sector overnight trip from Langkawi - zero public transport there!). Okinawa is around 3 hours flying time from Tokyo, and as well as a large US military presence is a domestic holiday destination for the Japanese, and increasingly mainland Chinese and Taiwanese (the capacity of Naha Airport's international terminal hasn't kept pace with the growth in flights there). Naha Airport is connected to the city centre and northern suburbs by what is unbelievably the only railway in the whole of Okinawa prefecture, the Okinawa Monorail, branded as Yui Rail.
As with most Japanese rail systems, once you understand the basics of how they tell you what the fares are and how they sell them it gets quite simple. Above the ticket machines is a line diagram with a fare to each station, and on the machine is a button you press for that fare, pay your money and you have a ticket. In Okinawa's case the process for buying a day ticket (at 600 yen) was simple - but then it helps it is a simple one line system and not the multitude of lines and operators in Tokyo.
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| Line diagram for the Okinawa Monorail, situated above the ticket machine, showing adult and child fares to each destination. |
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| Okinawa Monorail ticket machine, looking not dissimilar to ATMs in the Far East! |
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| Departure information for the Okinawa Monorail. |
Irrespective of city or operator the basic infrastructure on Japanese metro systems is very similar. There are ticket gates which remain in the 'open' position, but if you fail to insert a ticket at entry or exit they will sense your passage and close on you (personal experience on the Tokyo monorail taught me this!).
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| Friendly looking ticket gates, but the paddles will close on you with some force if you pass through without presenting a ticket. |
Each of Okinawa Monorail's 15 stations is built with many common design elements. They are nearly all located above the central reservation of a road, with access by bridge from below. There are lifts provided at every station and the trains have level boarding. The platforms have midriff-height platform edge doors, and if you even think about leaning over one for a better photo a safety minded Japanese commuter will shout at you! Personal experience, again.
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| A lift. A non scientific survey suggested 100% availability and very little use. As with everything in Japan, clean and functional. |
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| Overview of a Okinawa Monorail station, with gated edges and platform edge doors about 3 feet tall. |
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| Close up of one of the platform edge doors, and instructions on where to stand - allow customers off the train first please! |
The rolling stock is domestically built 2-car units with walk-through capability longitudinal seating and a capacity apparently somewhere north of 160. The interior is again very similar to my other experiences on Japanese metros, with every inch of space on interior panels, ceilings, doors, grab handles, etc used for advertising.
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| Two Okinawa Monorail trains to the south of Tsubogawa station. If you're also a dedicated member of Le Club Accor Hotels, this ststaion is immediately adjacent to the Mercure Hotel! |
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| An Okinawa Monorail service heading in to the city centre |
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| A service arriving at the southern terminus, Okinawa Kuko (Airport) showing the points set for its arrival in to one of the two terminating platforms. It is weird to see such large lumps of concrete move as 'points'! |
