The is a railway line in

Kanagawa Prefecture 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 ...

owned by the Yokohama Minatomirai Railway Company and operated by

Tokyu Corporation The , a contraction of and formerly until 2 September 2019, is a Japanese ''keiretsu'' or conglomerate headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. While a multinational corporation, its main operation is , a wholly-owned subsidiary operating railways i ...

History

The line opened in April 1967, at the same time as its 'parent' station, Nagatsuta. It is a single track local line designed principally to cater for visitors to Kodomonokuni Theme Park (Children's Land) park. Consequently, the two-car trains are particularly busy during summer weekends and holidays. The line originally was built and opened as a transportation link to the park (which opened in 1965) from the

Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line The is a major commuter line operated by the private railway operator Tokyu Corporation and connecting south-western suburbs of Tokyo and neighbouring Kanagawa Prefecture, with its western terminus of , to a major railway junction of western do ...

. The Children's Land Association (''Shakai Fukushi Houjin Kodomonokuni Kyokai'') owned the right-of-way and the Kodomonokuni Station, but the actual operation was contracted out to

. In 1997, the line was sold to Yokohama Minatomirai Railway Company (MMR), a joint venture of Tokyu Corporation, the Kanagawa prefectural government and the

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 ...

city government. In 2000, an intermediate station, Onda, opened in

Aoba-ku, Yokohama is one of the 18 Wards of Japan, wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 302,643 and a population density, density of 8,610 persons per km2. The total area was 35.14 km ...

to reflect the changing role of this line as a commuter line. MMR today owns the right-of-way, Kodomonokuni and Onda stations and the rolling stock, but the actual operation continues to be contracted to Tōkyū. Local residents along the train line have expressed an interest in getting the Kodomonokuni Line extended northward to meet the

Odakyū Odawara Line The is the main line of Japanese private railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway. It extends from Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku in central Tokyo through the southwest suburbs to the city of Odawara, Kanagawa, Odawara, the gateway to Hakone in Ka ...

at Tsurukawa; however the planning has not yet taken off because the proposed rail alignment, despite its short distance, involves two prefectures (

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 ...

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 ...

) and three cities (

;

Asao-ku, Kawasaki is one of the 7 Wards of Japan, wards of the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 167,792 and a population density, density of 7,210 persons per km². The total ar ...

and

Machida, Tokyo is a Cities of Japan, city located in West Tokyo, the western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 428,851, and a population density of 6,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Due to ...

). The travel time from Nagatsuta to Kodomonokuni is 7 minutes (with one stop at Onda). At both Kodomonokuni and Nagatsuta stations there are ticket machines for this line, but the Kodomonokuni Line shares Tōkyū platforms at Nagatsuta. Trains depart every 20 minutes throughout the day (every 10 minutes between 8 and 9 a.m. both directions) and at weekends; however, services are more regular during morning and evening peak times, and during Golden Week.

Station list

All stations are located in

Rolling stock

* (since 1999) All trains are based at Nagasuta Depot, accessed via a spur located before Onda Station.

Former rolling stock

* Tokyu 3000 series (original) (from 1967 until 1975) * Tokyu 3600 series (from 1975 until 1980) * Tokyu 7200 series (sometimes substituted by Tokyu 5000 (original), 6000 (original) and 8000 series, from 1980 until 1993) * Tokyu 7000 series (original) (from 1993 until 2000)

Future rolling stock

Tokyu 8500 series The is a commuter electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Tokyu Corporation on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line and Tokyu Oimachi Line in the Tokyo area of Japan from 1975 until 2023, and the Jabodetabek are ...

(from Q4 2025). This train is set to be an excursion train, preserved from set 8637 shortened to 4 cars. As well as the Kodomonokuni Line, it is set to run on the Tokyu Oimachi and Den-en-toshi lines.

References

External links

Tokyu Corporation website

Yokohama Minatomirai Railway Company website
{{Tokyo transit Railway lines in Kanagawa Prefecture Lines of Yokohama Minatomirai Railway 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Japanese third-sector railway lines Railway lines opened in 1967 1967 establishments in Japan