The is a

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

company in

Okayama City is the prefectural capital, capital Cities of Japan, city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The private company operates

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

lines and

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

lines. The company was founded in 1910, while their first tram line was opened in 1912. This is one of the few Japanese railway operators that maintain their original corporation names from the foundation in

Meiji Period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

. The company or its lines are truncated as . The company is a core member of Ryōbi Group, another core member being Ryōbi Bus. From October 1, 2006, together with Ryōbi Bus and Shimotsui Dentetsu, another bus company, Okaden introduced Hareca, a

smart card A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card) is a physical electronic authentication device, used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) c ...

ticketing system. They accept

PiTaPa is a contactless smart card ticketing and electronic money system used in the Kansai region (and may also be used in some areas of Okayama Prefecture, Hiroshima Prefecture, and Shizuoka Prefecture) of Japan. The name ''PiTaPa'' is an acronym of ...

and

ICOCA The card is a rechargeable contactless smart card used on the JR West rail network in Japan. The card was launched on November 1, 2003 for usage on the Urban Network, which encompasses the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe (Keihanshin). It ...

as well.

Tram lines

With just 4.7 km in total, the tram lines are known to be one of the shortest in Japan.

Lines

:■

Higashiyama Line The is a rapid transit, subway line, which forms part of the Nagoya Municipal Subway system in Nagoya, Aichi, Nagoya, Japan. Officially, the line is referred to as . It runs from Takabata Station, Takabata in Nakagawa-ku, Nagoya, Nakagawa Ward ...

: Okayama-Ekimae — Yanagawa — Higashiyama :■ Seikibashi Line: Okayama-Ekimae — Yanagawa — Seikibashi (Officially, the section between Okayama-Ekimae and Yanagawa belongs to Higashiyama Line.)

Bus lines

Generally speaking, Okaden operates lines with shorter distances within Okayama City, while Ryōbi Bus operates lines with longer distances. They also operate limousine bus linking

Okayama Station is a railway station in Kita-ku, Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The station is operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Okayama Station is one of the major intersections of railways in the Chūgoku region. All trains conn ...

and

Okayama Airport is an airport in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. It is also known as Okayama Momotaro Airport. It is located northwest of central Okayama City and northwest or 30 minutes by bus from Okayama Station. It is about 10 minutes from the Okayama inter ...

, while ''Okaden Express'' is a highway bus that links Okayama and

Kōbe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, which ...

/ Kōbe Airport.

Supporting other railway lines

Okaden is known for its active stance to try to support other railway lines, when their operators announced to close them. So far, they have considered supporting 4 lines of

Meitetsu , referred to 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 which of ...

( Gifu City Line, Ibi Line, Minomachi Line, and Tagami Line), as well as

Hitachi Dentetsu Line () is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Nissan ''zaibatsu'' and later DKB Group and Fuyo Gr ...

, Nankai

Kishigawa Line is a railway line in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. It is the sole line of the Wakayama Electric Railway Co., Ltd. The 14.3 km route extends from Wakayama Station in the city of Wakayama to Kishi Station in neighboring Kinokawa. Including the ...

, and

Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway The was a railway line most recently operated by Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway Company in Hokkaidō, Japan. The line connected the municipalities of Ikeda and Kitami until its closure in 2006. History The first segment of the line, origi ...

Furusato Ginga Line. Among them, they succeeded to support Kishigawa Line, now operated by Wakayama Electric Railroad, their subsidiary company.

External links

* Okayama Bus companies of Japan Tram transport in Japan Transport in Okayama Prefecture {{Bus-company-stub

Tram lines

Lines

Bus lines

Supporting other railway lines

See also

External links