Here is a list of

monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...

s in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Currently operational

Tokyo Monorail The , officially the , is a straddle-beam, Alweg-type monorail line in Tokyo, Japan. It is an airport rail link that connects Haneda Airport, Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) to Tokyo's Ōta, Tokyo, Ōta, Shinagawa, and Minato, Tokyo, Minato ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, 1964. One of the world's most commercially successful monorail lines, carrying around 100 million passengers yearly. *

Tama Toshi Monorail Line The , also referred to as the Tama Monorail, is a monorail system in Western Tokyo. Operated by the Tokyo Tama Intercity Monorail Co., Ltd., the double tracked, monorail line carries passengers between the suburban cities of Higashiyamato and ...

: Tokyo, 1998. *

Disney Resort Line The , officially known as , is an automated monorail line in Japan that connects Maihama Station to the Tokyo Disney Resort. It is operated by the , a subsidiary of The Oriental Land Company, which owns and operates the resort. Passenger serv ...

Urayasu 260px, Old Urayasu is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 170,533 in 81,136 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Urayasu is best known as the home of Tokyo Dis ...

, Chiba, 2001. *

Chiba Urban Monorail The is a two-line suspended monorail system located in Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is owned and operated by , a third-sector company established on March 20, 1979. Investors include the city of Chiba. The first segment (Line 2 fr ...

(Townliner): Chiba, Chiba, 1988. (suspended monorail) *

Osaka Monorail The is a monorail system in northern Osaka Prefecture, Japan, operated by . At long, it is the longest monorail system in Japan. Its mainline forms an arc through the northern and eastern suburbs of Osaka, and is the only rail transit link ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, 1990. Second longest monorail line in the world. *

Shōnan Monorail The is a suspended SAFEGE monorail in the cities of Kamakura and Fujisawa in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the which belongs to Michinori Holdings, and opened on March 7, 1970, the first monorail of its kind in Japan. Trai ...

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, 1970. (suspended monorail) *

Kitakyūshū Monorail The is a monorail system in the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, operated by , which is wholly owned by the Kitakyushu municipal government. The is the only line. It runs the 8.8 km (5.5 mi) between Kokura station and ...

Kitakyūshū is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fukuoka. It is one o ...

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

, 1985. *

Okinawa Urban Monorail The , also known as , is a monorail line serving the cities of Naha, Okinawa, Naha and Urasoe, Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa, Japan. Operated by , it opened on 10 August 2003, and is the only public rail system in Okinawa Prefecture. Yui Rail is t ...

(Yui Rail):

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

, 2003.

Discontinued

*'' Nagoya Municipal'' Monorail,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

, 1964 — 1974. *,

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is ...

, Hyōgo, 1965 — 1974. *''

Meitetsu , publicly trading as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the '' Panorama Car'' and the '' Panorama Car Super'', both of w ...

Monkey Park Monorail Line The was a monorail in Inuyama, Aichi that connected the Japan Monkey Park to Inuyama-yūen Station, operated by Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu). The line featured steep sections, including one 9.7% grade, and traveled through an artificial canyon fo ...

: Inuyama, Aichi, 1962–2008. It linked the Monkey Park to the nearest railway station. *

Nara Dreamland Monorail , or just simply Dreamland, was a theme park near Nara, Japan, heavily inspired by Disneyland in California. It opened in 1961 and was in continuous operation until its permanent closure in 2006 as a result of falling attendance due to the overwhe ...

Nara Dreamland , or just simply Dreamland, was a theme park near Nara, Japan, heavily inspired by Disneyland in California. It opened in 1961 and was in continuous operation until its permanent closure in 2006 as a result of falling attendance due to the overwhe ...

, 1961 — 2006 * Odakyū

Mukōgaoka-Yūen Monorail The was a privately owned monorail system connecting Mukōgaoka-Yūen Station to the main gate of the Mukōgaoka Yūen amusement park. History Odakyu opened both the Odakyū Odawara Line electric railway from Tokyo to Odawara and the Mukōgaoka ...

Line, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, 1965 — 2001. *"Suspended Train" at the Exhibition of Transportation and Electricity in Osaka, 1928. Operated only for a week, from November 28 until December 3. It was the first monorail in the nation, as well as the only one in the pre-war period. *'' Toei''

Ueno Zoo Monorail The was a long suspended railway operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). It lies within the Ueno Zoo in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. The monorail is similar to the Wuppertal Schwebebahn, but has rubber tires rather than ...

: Tokyo, 1958-2023. It linked the two sectors of

the zoo ''The Zoo'' is a one-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson, writing under the pen name of Bolton Rowe. It premiered on 5 June 1875 at the St James's Theatre in London (as an afterpiece to W. S. Gi ...

Ueno Park is a spacious public park in the Ueno, Tokyo, Ueno district of Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. The park was established in 1873 on lands formerly belonging to the Buddhist temples in Japan, temple of Kan'ei-ji. Amongst the country's first public parks, i ...

. Service was suspended on 31 October 2019 and permanently closed in December 2023. *

Yokohama Dreamland Monorail The , formally the was a monorail connecting the Yokohama Dreamland amusement park to Ōfuna Station in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. Operational for barely over a year between May 1966 and September 1967,Demery, Leroy W. Monorails in Japan', p.25. ...

, Kanagawa, 1966 — 1967. *

Yomiuriland is an amusement park in Inagi, Tokyo, Japan that first opened on 19 March 1964. It is situated on hillsides, and features rides such as roller coasters and water flumes. It is home to Yomiuri Giants Stadium, one of the training fields for th ...

Monorail, Kanagawa and Tokyo, 1964 — 1978. *

Skyrail Midorizaka Line The was a monorail/people mover line operated by Skyrail Service. The line ran between Midoriguchi and Midori-Chūō, all within the new town called ''Skyrail Town Midorizaka'', located in Aki, Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The line ...

: Aki-ku,

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

, 1998 — 2024. (suspended monorail) A commuter line in a residential development suburb of the city. It was also considered as an automated guideway transit.

Other monorails

Slope car A is a small automated monorail, or a fusion between monorail, people mover, inclined elevator and rack railway. It is a brand name of . Since this mode of transportation is relatively unknown, it lacks widely accepted generic name, other than ...

s are small automated monorails found in the various parts of Japan. Unlike the monorails above, slope cars are not legally considered as railways. Similar concepts include Raxcars and Monoriders. *There are also small industrial monorails used in various places, most notably in steep

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

s, especially of ''

mikan ''Citrus unshiu'' is a semi-seedless and easy-peeling citrus species, also known as the satsuma mandarin or Japanese mandarin. During the Edo period of Japan, kishu mikans were more popular because there was a popular superstition that eating '' ...

'' citrus

The first of its kind was invented in 1966.
Vista liner
is another type of monorail which is not legally a railway. The system is smaller than ordinary monorails, but larger than slope cars. Vista liners can be typically seen in

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

s, such as

Expo Land Expoland, located in Suita, Japan was opened as the amusement zone at the International Exposition in 1970 (Expo '70) in Osaka and thrived for over 30 years as an amusement park. There were more than 40 rides and attractions (including eight roll ...

Automated guideway transits

Strictly speaking, these lines are not monorails, though they resemble one at first glance. The rail in the center of the track serve only to guide the train, not support it, so they don't qualify as monorails. *

Astram Line , also known as the , is a manually driven Rubber-tyred metro, rubber-tired transit system operated by Hiroshima Rapid Transit in Hiroshima, Japan. Astram opened on August 20, 1994, for the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima. The line connects centra ...

(''

Hiroshima Rapid Transit is a transportation company based in Hiroshima, Japan. Hiroshima Rapid Transit operate a rapid transit line called the Astram Line in Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1 ...

'' Hiroshima New Transit Line 1): Hiroshima, Hiroshima *

Linimo , formally the is a magnetic levitation train line in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, near the city of Nagoya. While primarily built to serve the Expo 2005 fair site, the line has since operated to serve the local community. Linimo is owned and opera ...

(''Aichi Rapid Transit'' Tōbu Kyūryō Line): Aichi. *

Nagoya Guideway Bus The is a bus rapid transit line in Nagoya, Aichi, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Aichi, Japan. The line is officially called the . Its official nickname, ''Yutorito Line'', is a portmanteau of ''yutori'' and . The line is owned by , itself owned by ...

Shidami Line (Yutorīto Line): Nagoya, Aichi. *

New Shuttle The is a manually driven rubber-tyred Automated guideway transit, people mover system in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, operated by . The that runs north from Ōmiya Station (Saitama), Ōmiya Station in Saitama, Saitama, alongside the Tohoku Shin ...

(''Saitama New Urban Transit'' Ina Line): Saitama, Saitama. * New Tram ('' Osaka Municipal'' Nankō Port Town Line):

, Osaka. *

Peach Liner The Peachliner, formally the was a people mover in the city of Komaki, Aichi, Komaki, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It operated from 1991 until September 30, 2006, when it became the first people-mover system in Japan to cease operations. It was then ...

(''Tōkadai New Transit'' Tōkadai Line):

Komaki is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 148,872 in 68,174 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city was . Komaki is commonly associated with the former Komaki Airport, whi ...

, Aichi. Already discontinued. *

Port Liner The , commonly known as is an urban automated guideway transit (AGT) system in Kobe, Japan, operated by Kobe New Transit. The initial system linked Sannomiya Station, Kobe's main transit hub, to the man-made Port Island, covering a distance o ...

(''

Kobe New Transit is the third-sector semipublic company that runs Port Island Line ("Port Liner") and Rokkō Island Line ("Rokkō Liner") automated guideway transit (AGT) systems in Kobe, Japan. When opened in 1981, the Port Liner was the world's first fully ...

'' Port Island Line):

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

, Hyōgo. * Rokkō Liner (''

'' Rokkō Island Line): Kobe, Hyōgo. * Seaside Line (''Yokohama New Transit'' Kanazawa Seaside Line):

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, Kanagawa. * '' Seibu''

Yamaguchi Line The is a railway line in western Japan operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line connects Shin-Yamaguchi Station in Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi and Masuda Station in Masuda, Shimane. History The Ogori (now Shin-Yamaguchi) - Yamaguch ...

(Leo Liner):

Tokorozawa is a Cities of Japan, city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,298 in 168,939 households and a population density of 4761 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Tokorozawa is ...

, Saitama. A people mover Between Seibuen Park and

Invoice Seibu Dome (official name: ) is a baseball stadium located in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan. It is home to the Saitama Seibu Lions, a professional baseball team. The stadium has a roof over the field and the stands, like other indoor ballparks. However, it la ...

. * '' Toei''

Nippori-Toneri Liner The is an automated guideway transit (AGT) system between Nippori Station in Arakawa and Minumadai-shinsuikōen Station in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan. The line opened on 30 March 2008. It is operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportatio ...

. * ''Yamaman'' Yūkarigaoka Line:

Sakura The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

, Chiba. *

Yurikamome , formerly the , is an automated guideway transit service operated by ''Yurikamome, Inc.'' in Tokyo, Japan. It connects Shimbashi Station, Shimbashi to Toyosu Station, Toyosu, via the artificial island of Odaiba, a market in which it competes with ...

(Tokyo Waterfront New Transit Waterfront Line):

Photo gallery

File:Okinawa Monorail 1000 series at Kencho-mae Station 20040719.jpg, Okinawa Urban Monorail at

Prefectural Office Station "Station names in English, Chinese and Korean"
is a railway station on the

File:Mono-shibaura.jpg, Tokyo Monorail across

Shibaura is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Minato ward located in Tokyo, Japan. The district is located between the eastern side of the Yamanote Line train and Tokyo Bay. Shibaura consists mostly of artificial islands created by the excavation of indust ...

File:KitakyushuUrbanMonorail.jpg,

Kitakyushu Monorail The is a monorail system in the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, operated by , which is wholly owned by the Kitakyushu municipal government. The is the only line. It runs the 8.8 km (5.5 mi) between Kokura station an ...

File:UenoZooMonorail1280.jpg, Toei

Ueno Zoo The is a zoo, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and located in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is Japan's oldest zoo, opened on March 20, 1882. It is served by Ueno Station, Keisei Ueno Station and Nezu Station, with convenient access from ...

Monorail in Tokyo File:TamaToshiMonorail6061.jpg, Tama Toshi Monorail File:Chiba monorail 1000.jpg, Chiba Urban Monorail File:Shonan monorail type 500.JPG, Shōnan Monorail near

Ōfuna Station Ōfuna Station (, ) is a railway station in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Shonan Monorail. Lines Ōfuna Station is served by the Tokaido Main Line, Shōnan-Shinjuku Line, Negishi Line (Keihin-T� ...

File:Skyrail-car.jpg, Skyrail Midorizaka Line File:Odakyu-500.jpg, Odakyū Mukōgaoka-Yūen Monorail, now closed. The photograph taken in 1990. File:Himeji monorail Daishogun stn.jpg, Ruins of Daishōgun Station, Himeji Municipal Monorail. File:Slope car Muya.jpg, Slope car at {{Interlanguage link, Muya Bus Stop, ja, 撫養バスストップ,

Tokushima is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

. File:VistaLiner.jpg, Vista Liner at Expo Land,

Suita is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 381,238 in 182,636 households, and a population density of 11,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a suburban city of Osaka City and a p ...

Currently operational

Discontinued

Other monorails

Automated guideway transits

Photo gallery

See also