Yurikamome

The line opened on 1 November 1995, when the 11.9-kilometre section from a temporary Shimbashi terminus to Ariake began service. Built to carry passengers across Tokyo Bay to the newly reclaimed islands of the waterfront sub-centre, it ran on rubber tyres along an elevated concrete track and, as Tokyo's first fully automated and driverless transit system, drew immediate attention as much for its technology as for the views from its windows. In the first few months ridership hovered around 27,000 passengers per day.

The line's character was transformed by the development of Odaiba. In 1996 the Tokyo Metropolitan Government re-zoned the island from purely business and residential use to also permit entertainment zones, giving Tokyo a livable seaside district of shopping centres, hotels and leisure attractions. As Odaiba grew into a destination, the Yurikamome's elevated alignment — which crosses Tokyo Bay on the lower deck of the Rainbow Bridge between Shibaura-futō and Odaiba-kaihinkōen — became one of the most scenic stretches of urban transit in the country, and ridership climbed steeply.

In its early years the operator and its rolling stock were reorganised. On 1 April 1998 the operating company, then Tokyo Waterfront New Transit Co., changed its name to Yurikamome, Inc., adopting the line's popular nickname as its corporate identity. New trains followed: the 7200 series entered revenue service in February 1999, joining the original fleet on the steadily busier line.

The northern end of the line was completed in stages. The temporary Shimbashi station that had served since 1995 was replaced when the permanent Shimbashi Station opened on 22 March 2001, and an intermediate station at Shiodome — in the midst of a major redevelopment of the former Shiodome rail-yard site — opened on 2 November 2002, giving the inner end of the line two closely spaced stations near the heart of the city.

The line reached its present extent on 27 March 2006, when the 2.7-kilometre extension from Ariake to Toyosu opened, carrying the Yurikamome across to a connection with the Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line and completing the Shimbashi–Toyosu route. Soon after opening, the extension's first weeks were marred by a wheel-detachment incident on 14 April 2006 that suspended the whole line until 17 April while the cause was investigated.

The automated line has continued to modernise its fleet and refine its operation in the years since. The 7300 series entered service on 18 January 2014 and the 7500 series on 11 November 2018, progressively replacing the older trains, while the line was briefly suspended for a full day on 12 March 2011 in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake. A round of station renamings took effect on 16 March 2019, and in July 2023 the Yurikamome marked one billion cumulative passengers since opening — a measure of how thoroughly the once-experimental waterfront line has become part of everyday Tokyo.

• 19951 November: the line opens, with the 11.9 km section from a temporary Shimbashi station to Ariake entering service — Tokyo's first fully automated, driverless transit system.
• 1996The Tokyo Metropolitan Government re-zones Odaiba from purely business and residential use to also permit entertainment zones, spurring the waterfront's growth as a destination.
• 19981 April: the operating company, Tokyo Waterfront New Transit Co., changes its name to Yurikamome, Inc.
• 1999February: the 7200 series enters revenue service.
• 200122 March: the permanent Shimbashi Station opens, replacing the temporary terminus in use since 1995.
• 20022 November: Shiodome Station opens on the inner section of the line, amid the redevelopment of the former Shiodome rail-yard.
• 200627 March: the 2.7 km extension from Ariake to Toyosu opens, completing the Shimbashi–Toyosu route and connecting to the Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line.
• 200614 April: a wheel-detachment incident suspends the whole line until 17 April.
• 201112 March: the line is suspended for the full day in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
• 201418 January: the 7300 series enters revenue service.
• 201811 November: the 7500 series enters revenue service.
• 201916 March: a round of station renamings takes effect.
• 2023July: the Yurikamome reaches one billion cumulative passengers since opening.