In 1872, Japan’s first railway connected Shimbashi with the port city of Yokohama.
The line linked Shimbashi in Tokyo, then commonly called Edo or Tokyo after the Meiji Restoration, with Yokohama, one of Japan’s major international ports. Its official opening took place on October 14, 1872, using the Gregorian calendar. The route is associated today with Shiodome and Sakuragichō stations rather than the original station names.
The railway was a flagship project of the Meiji government, which viewed modern transport as essential to national strength and industrialization. British engineers, contractors, and railway technology played a major role, while Japanese officials and workers gained expertise that later supported domestic railway expansion.
A useful detail is that limited provisional service began before the formal opening, including operations between Shinagawa and Yokohama. The original journey took roughly 53 minutes and used steam locomotives. The line was not Japan’s first exposure to rail technology—foreign demonstrations and small experimental tracks came earlier—but it was the country’s first public railway.