Naha, Okinawa

The Okinawa Urban Monorail is the first rail system on the island of Okinawa since World War II. Following the precedents set by earlier monorails in Japan, the Naha dual-beamed line connects city points with the airport. Starting at the airport, the line runs northeast through the city center. The guideway terminates at Tera. Including the thirteen stops along the route, end to end journey time is around 30 minutes. Trains run every six minutes during peak periods. Following a precedent set almost a century earlier in Wuppertal, part of the line follows along a river channel. Good ideas bear repeating. In 2012, a 4.1 kilometer extension was approved. The line will be an extension from the Shuri Station at the northeastern end of the line. Completion is expected by 2019.