Naha Airport Station • Japan’s Westernmost Railway Station
Naha Airport is the gateway to Okinawa by air, and is also home to Japan’s westernmost railway station. Upon arriving in Okinawa, I made sure to pay a visit to Naha Airport Station first before beginning my trip.
This also marks RailTravel Station’s 2000th Article! Surprisingly quick, since my 1000th article was only done about 3.5 years ago. That means I’ve published an article almost once a day since then.
And coincidentally, my 1000th article was also on a monorail. Should this be a tradition on RailTravel Station? Or should I see where the future 3000th article will take me?
Thank you for sticking around for two thousand articles so far. And hopefully, there will be many more thousands to come.
Naha Airport Station
Naha Airport Station is directly connected to the passenger terminal building on the domestic end by 2 bridges on Level 2. Follow the signs in the terminal pointing to the monorail.
The connecting bridge is open-air, but with Okinawa’s weather, this wasn’t too hot to walk on it.
The façade of Naha Airport Station.
The 2 bridges will merge in the middle for the central link bridge to Naha Airport Station.
The central link bridge to Naha Airport Station had a pair of travellators.
Unfortunately, the travellators have been decommissioned since September 2022.
Naha Airport Station is also the terminus of Yui Rail.
Japan’s Westernmost Station Monument
The Japan’s Westernmost Station Monument stands on the Naha Airport Station concourse just after the linkbridge.
The Japan’s Westernmost Station Monument at Naha Airport Station also includes the GPS coordinates to prove that it is indeed the westernmost station at 26°12’23″N 127°39’8″E.
The concourse of Naha Airport Station is compact and simple.
Yui Rail tickets can be purchased from the ticket machines at Naha Airport Station.
The fare table is displayed above the ticket machines.
Single trip tickets can be purchased from the ticket machines. There are also 1-day and 2-day passes which may be of more value for your trip, if taking multiple trips in a day.
Yui Rail Passes
| Type | Validity | Price |
| Klook 1 Day Pass | 1 Calendar Day (till end of service) | ¥510 |
| Yui Rail 1 Day Pass | 24 hours from purchase | ¥800 |
| Yui Rail 2 Day Pass | 48 hours from purchase | ¥1,400 |
Fares can be paid in cash.
There is also an Okinawa-only IC card called OKICA which can be purchased from the ticket machines. However, OKICA cannot be used in other parts of Japan.
The timetable of the monorail trains are also displayed above the ticket machines. Trains run around every 10 minutes during off-peak periods.
Unlike other train systems in Japan, Yui Rail uses QR tickets. Scan the QR code at the gate to enter and exit.
The end of the line at Japan’s westernmost railway station at Naha Airport Station.
The island platform of Naha Airport Station. Trains mainly use Platform 1, with Platform 2 in use as a secondary platform.
Yui Rail • Okinawa Urban Monorail
Yui Rail currently mainly operates with 2-car Okinawa Urban Monorail 1000 type trains. There are currently 21 2-car sets.
If you are living in Singapore and the monorail train design looks a little bit familiar to you, that’s because the Okinawa Urban Monorail is built based on the Hitachi Monorail system, as a standard-type monorail.
If it’s starting to sound familiar, that’s because the Sentosa Express is also built based on the Hitachi Monorail system, as a small-type monorail, and is pretty much a downsized version.
The Okinawa Urban Monorail is also just 4 years older than the Sentosa Express.
There are also some new 3-car sets which are being progressively delivered. There are currently 2 3-car sets, with 2 more on the way. 5 existing 2-car sets will also be upgraded with a middle car to form 3-car sets in future.
The switch at the south of the station is a pinched X, combining 2 segmented switches to form sort of a scissors crossing, but with all trains passing through the middle point where the 2 segmented switches meet.
On a “straight” path, the tracks also pass through the middle point of the switch set.
When crossing over to the other track, the train makes 2 small “S” curves.
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