Yonabaru Railway Museum

Yonabaru Station in Yonabaru Town was the terminal station of the Okinawa Prefectural Railway Yonabaru Line plying between Naha and Yonabaru, which was the first line in Okinawa to open in December 1914. This was a light railway with a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge. The railway was badly damaged during the Battle of Okinawa in the Pacific War (World War II) in March 1945, bringing an end to the 30-year history of the Okinawa Prefectural Railway. Yonabaru Station has been restored in 2014, and today serves as a railway museum for the former Okinawa Prefectural Railway, and also as a community hall on certain days with community events.

Yonabaru Railway Station Building

The façade of Yonabaru Railway Station.

The rear side of the building is now a road over the former railway alignment. The platform also now has a road kerb around it.

Some of the original pillars are kept in its original destroyed form.

Looking down on the former railway alignment looking towards Naha.

One of the pillars have an orange side painted to it, probably for road safety as the junction kinks out due to the platform location.

The main entrance porch of Yonabaru Railway Station.

There is a sign for commemorative phototaking including the date.

Yonabaru Railway Museum Tickets

Yonabaru Railway Museum charges a nominal entry fee of just ¥100. Locals from Yonabaru, as well as all youth and children, enjoy free entry to the Yonabaru Railway Museum.

The ticket counter is located to the left of the main entrance.

The Yonabaru Railway Museum entrance ticket is a replica ticket to Naha.

After collecting your ticket, there are also ticket clips for you to help yourself in clipping your own ticket. There is a No. 4 clip with a round head, and a No. 9 clip with a square and triangular pattern.

I chose the No. 9 clip for a more interesting clip.

Yonabaru Railway Museum

Included in the entrance fee is an AR guide using an iPad. The museum staff changed the settings to English before guiding me on the use of the AR guide. This greatly enhanced the information for me since the displays are all in Japanese only.

The exhibition starts with the timeline of the Okinawa Prefectural Railway.

Maps of the old Okinawa Prefectural Railway network are also displayed.

A modern version of the map overlays the railway network with the current Yui Rail alignment.

A translation of the map in English is also provided on a line diagram.

Hmm, travelling around Okinawa would have been easier with a railway and Yui Rail.

Some old photos and artefacts are also on display.

There is a scale model of the former Yonabaru Railway Station in the middle of the museum.

There seems to be a freight line in front of the station building.

On the platform side, there is a loop line and a siding.

The pictures then move on to the Yonabaru Railway Station and rolling stock being destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa in the Pacific War (World War II) in March 1945.

The Yonabaru Railway Station was rebuilt in 1958 with a second floor above the station building, used as a town hall, fire station, and agricultural cooperative. It was then restored again in 2014 to commemorate the relocation of the agricultural cooperative and the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Yonabaru Line. On June 16, 2017, it was designated as a nationally registered monument.

There is also a board listing the current locations of the former Yonabaru Line stations for anyone who wishes to retrace the railway.

Yonabaru Railway Museum Souvenirs

A variety of souvenirs are on sale at Yonabaru Railway Museum.

Replica station signs and logos are recreated in miniature pins.

A modern network map version of the Okinawa Prefectural Railway is also sold on an A4 folder.

My purchased souvenirs were packed in an envelope stamped with the Yonabaru Line logo.

Conclusion

While the Okinawa Prefectural Railway is long defunct since 1945, Yonabaru has still kept its railway history alive even today in 2024 with this museum from a restored original station and holding various railway-related events frequently, even if no trains are running now. It is a great effort to preserve the railway heritage of Yonabaru and it should be a must-visit for any railway fan visiting Okinawa.