Nagasaki Electric Tramway Ōura Line

The line began in the Taishō era as a short extension toward the southern waterfront. On 27 December 1916 the section from Senbamachi to a temporary terminus at Izumomachi was opened, and the Sushibashi and Matsugaehashi stops opened with it. Half a year later, on 4 June 1917, the temporary terminus was abolished and a permanent Izumomachi stop opened about 120 metres further on, completing the branch through to its southern end.

The network around the junction was then adjusted and the stops renamed over the following years. On 25 December 1920 the Tsukimachi stop was abolished. In April 1930 two stops were renamed: Matsugaehashi became Bentenbashi, and Izumomachi became Ōura-Ishibashi.

The war brought the line to a halt. On 9 August 1945 the atomic bombing of Nagasaki put the branch out of service. Operation did not resume until 11 December 1946, more than a year later.

The post-war decades saw the branch's alignment and stops reworked. On 5 October 1961 the track on the Ōura-Ishibashi side was relocated: the starting point was shifted to a re-opened Tsukimachi stop, the Senbamachi stop was abolished, and Sushibashi was renamed Shimin-byōin-mae (City Hospital). A subsidence accident near Irienomachi suspended the line from 28 August to 30 September 1965. On 1 May 1980 the Bentenbashi stop was renamed Ōura-Tenshudō-shita, after the nearby Ōura Cathedral.

Further changes followed in the late twentieth century. The Nagasaki Flood of July 1982 suspended the branch on the 23rd, with service resuming on the 25th. On 10 June 1983 the Ōura-Ishibashi stop was renamed simply Ishibashi, and on 17 June 1990 the Irienomachi stop was abolished. On 31 August 1999 the Route 7 service, which had once linked the branch with the Nagasaki Station area, was discontinued, leaving Route 5 as the branch's sole service.

The most recent change came on 1 August 2018, when stops across the system were renamed: on the branch, Tsukimachi became Shinchi Chinatown, Shimin-byōin-mae became Medical Center, and Ōura-Tenshudō-shita became Ōura Cathedral. Today the Ōura Branch Line is a short, frequently served link — Route 5 runs at roughly eight-minute intervals — that carries visitors to the Glover Garden, Ōura Cathedral and Chinatown districts in the south of the city, and it remains the only part of the Nagasaki tramway with a single-track section.

• 191627 December: the first section opens from Senbamachi to a temporary terminus at Izumomachi; the Sushibashi and Matsugaehashi stops open.
• 19174 June: the temporary terminus is abolished and a permanent Izumomachi stop opens about 120 m further on, completing the branch.
• 192025 December: the Tsukimachi stop is abolished.
• 1930April: Matsugaehashi stop is renamed Bentenbashi, and Izumomachi stop is renamed Ōura-Ishibashi.
• 19459 August: the branch is put out of service by the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
• 194611 December: service resumes.
• 19615 October: the track toward Ōura-Ishibashi is relocated; the start point shifts to a re-opened Tsukimachi stop, Senbamachi is abolished, and Sushibashi is renamed Shimin-byōin-mae (City Hospital).
• 196528 August – 30 September: the line is suspended owing to a subsidence accident near Irienomachi.
• 19801 May: the Bentenbashi stop is renamed Ōura-Tenshudō-shita, after the nearby Ōura Cathedral.
• 198223 July: the Nagasaki Flood suspends the branch; service resumes on 25 July.
• 198310 June: the Ōura-Ishibashi stop is renamed Ishibashi.
• 199017 June: the Irienomachi stop is abolished.
• 199931 August: the Route 7 service, which had linked the branch with the Nagasaki Station area, is discontinued, leaving Route 5 as the branch's sole service.
• 20181 August: stops are renamed across the system; on the branch, Tsukimachi becomes Shinchi Chinatown, Shimin-byōin-mae becomes Medical Center, and Ōura-Tenshudō-shita becomes Ōura Cathedral.