History
Hiraishi was given its current name on 23 April 2021 (Reiwa 3), having been planned under the provisional name Hiradechō. The stop opened on 26 August 2023 (Reiwa 5) with the inauguration of the Utsunomiya Light Rail; a press-only preview run terminated here on 21 August 2023, and on opening day a special train from Utsunomiya East Exit was met at this stop by about 250 people, with the mayor handing yellow flags inscribed with well-wishes to three children from Hiraishi Central Elementary School. On 28 March 2026 (Reiwa 8) the eastern comprehensive park "Ark Town Utsunomiya" opened just north of the stop, and at the same time the stop received a sub-name: "Ark Town Utsunomiya-mae." The stop is built on dedicated right-of-way between Tochigi Prefectural Route 64 (Kinu-dōri) and the Shi-yon-gō National Bypass (Ishibashi-Utsunomiya Bypass), and carries station number 07 on the Utsunomiya–Haga Light Rail Line.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
Hiraishi has unusual scale for a tram stop: it is built at-grade on dedicated right-of-way with island platforms 2-face 4-track, allowing express trains to overtake locals, and the adjacent vehicle base means it is the only overnight-stabling stop on the line. Service melodies sound from departing trains — "Birai-to" for outbound trains and "Kō-yu" for inbound — both composed by Naoya Fukushima. The stop pairs with Hiraishi Transit Centre (TC), the line's largest intermodal point: 176 car spaces, 50 bicycle spaces and a general-vehicle drop-off area connect the LRT to the Hiraishi-Ishii-Mizuhono area's community transit. The new Ark Town Utsunomiya complex north of the stop, opened in March 2026 under a Park-PFI scheme (the first such case in a newly built Tochigi park), houses 3x3 basketball, skateboard and BMX urban-sport facilities (some covered for all-weather/international-meet use) alongside a local farmers' market and event café spaces.