This site is an online media that delivers all sorts of trivia about the six Tohoku prefectures, from sightseeing and gourmet spots to local customs, history, and more
TowadaKanko Dentetsu Co.,Ltd. is a company headquartered in Towada City, Aomori Prefecture. It operates bus routes in southeastern Aomori Prefecture and sightseeing boats on Lake Towada. However, despite its name including "Dentetsuany railways" (an abbreviation for electric railway), it does not actually operate To explore the reasons for this mismatch between its name and its actual operations, let's take a look at the past and present of Towada Kanko Dentetsu.
The opening and heyday of Towada Kanko Electric Railway
Towada Kanko Dentetsu was founded in 1914, during the early Taisho period, more than 110 years ago. At the time of its founding, the companyTowada Kidowas called In 1920, it was renamed "Towada Tetsudo" (Towada Railway), and the railway finally opened in September 1922. The section was 14.9 km (at the time of opening), from Furumaki Station (later Misawa Station) to Sanbongi Station (later Towada-shi Station). At the time of its opening, it was a "light railway" with a track gauge of 762 mm, narrower than that of a typical railway. It was used for transportation within the area along the line, of course, but at the time, the route from Sanbongi to the shores of Lake Towada was the main route for sightseeing around Lake Towada, so the Towada Railway was also used for tourism.
In 1951, after the war, the railway track gauge was widened to 1,067 mm, which is common for Japanese railways, and electrification was implemented to supply electricity for electric trains to run (before electrification, steam locomotives and gasoline-powered railcars were used). the current "Towada Kanko Dentetsu" (Towada Sightseeing Railwaywas changed to As the name suggests, it continued to play an active role in tourism around Lake Towada, and in the 1960s, when the baby boomer generation born after the war began attending schools along the line, it also saw a surge in use for commuting to school. Records show that in 1970, approximately 1.65 million people used the Towada Kanko Dentetsu line annually.
The Towada Kanko Electric Railway Line is in decline
The former Towada Kanko Railway and Misawa Station
The number of people using the Towada Kanko Railway line peaked in 1970, and has since declined due to factors such as the increasing prevalence of car ownership, a decrease in the population along the line, and an aging population. As time progressed, the number of bus routes available for sightseeing around Lake Towada increased, which also reduced the railway's competitiveness as a means of transporting tourists. While buses can connect directly from hubs (stations, bus terminals, etc.) to Lake Towada, using the Towada Kanko Railway line requires a transfer at Towada City Station or elsewhere, so it's understandable that tourists tend to avoid the railway.
Due to its deteriorating financial situation, Towada Kanko Dentetsu established a new corporation in 2007, transferred its business to the new corporation the following year in 2008, and renamed the new corporation Towada Kanko Dentetsu (2nd generation). The original Towada Kanko Dentetsu, which had 5 billion yen in debt,Towada Kanriwas renamed Given this history, Towada Kanko Dentetsu, established in 1914, and the current Towada Kanko Dentetsu, established in 2007, are, at least on paper, separate companies.
The difficulties continued. In 2010, the Tohoku Shinkansen line opened between Hachinohe Station and Shin-Aomori Station, but no Tohoku Shinkansen stations were built along the Towada Kanko Railway line. The only Tohoku Shinkansen station to open in the neighboring area is Shichinohe-Towada Station in Shichinohe Town, Kamikita District, which is a Shinkansen-only station with no transfers to other lines. Before the extension of the Tohoku Shinkansen, tourists sometimes used the route of transferring from the JR Tohoku Main Line to the Towada Kanko Railway line at Misawa Station, but the opening of the Shinkansen almost completely cut off this flow of tourists.
Furthermore, the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 dealt a blow to tourism in the Tohoku region, which also created headwinds for Towada Kanko Railway. The hotel and bus businesses, which had been offsetting the railway's deficits, also declined due to the earthquake. With the need for future upgrades to railway equipment, Towada Kanko Railway sought support from the municipalities along its line to keep the railway running. However, the municipalities along the line unanimously refused to provide support, citing reasons such as declining passenger numbers, a lack of promising prospects, and the inability to provide support to a private company within the existing financial framework. As a result, the possibility of the railway being discontinued became very likely.
Furthermore, the station building at Towada City Station needed to be rebuilt, and the building's owner had requested that the Towada Kanko Railway facilities be removed from the building. This became a factor that hurried the decision on whether to continue or discontinue the railway.
Towada Kanko Electric Railway Line closes after 90 years of history
Due to low ridership and a lack of financial support, the Towada Kanko Railway line was scheduled for closure. March 31, 2012, marked its last day of operation, bringing its 90-year history to a close. While the trains used were scrapped, two 7200 series trains were transferred to the Oigawa Railway in Shizuoka Prefecture, where they are still in operation. The 7200 series trains were originally transferred from the Tokyo Kyuko Electric Railway (now Tokyu Corporation), which operates in the Tokyo metropolitan area, to the Towada Kanko Railway. They are now enjoying a third life on the Oigawa Railway.
On the other hand, major facilities such as Misawa Station (*) and Towada City Station were demolished after the Towada Kanko Railway line was discontinued. The rails and other tracks were also removed, so there are hardly any traces of the railway that once ran there, but the station building of Shichihyaku Station in Rokunohe Town, Kamikita District, and the surrounding tracks remain. The train depot building adjacent to the stationShichihyaku Railway Memorial Museumhas also been preserved as Inside the building, trains that were used by the Towada Kanko Railway are preserved, and it is open to the public a few times a year.
*Misawa Station still exists as a station on the Aoimori Railway Line (formerly the JR Tohoku Main Line)
Although Towada Kanko Dentetsu lost its railway business, which had been its core business since its founding, the company has not been dissolved, and its name remains the same. which it had been running even before the railway line was discontinuedTotetsu Bus,It continues to operate Since it also operates express buses to Tokyo and Sendai, you can see the Totetsu name in areas outside of Aomori Prefecture as well.
Expressway buses operated by Totetsu Bus
In addition, they operate other businesses such as the Lake Towada sightseeing boat, the Makado Onsen ski resort (closed for the 2023-2024 season), and an insurance agency. Although Towada Kanko Dentetsu is no longer a railway company, it continues to move forward by operating community-based businesses, including route bus services.
![Lake Usoriyama at Mount Osore](https://jp.neft.asia/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/25110883_m-1200x900.jpg-150x150.webp "The mysterious world of Shimokita Peninsula Geopark: "The northernmost monkeys at Mount Osore and Hotokegaura" [Aomori Prefecture]")
![What day is it today? Tohoku Edition [0804]](https://jp.neft.asia/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/0804-150x150.png.webp "[What day is it today? | Tohoku Edition] What day is August 4th?")
![What day is it today? Tohoku Edition [0803]](https://jp.neft.asia/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/0803-150x150.png.webp "[What day is it today? | Tohoku Edition] What day is August 3rd?")
![What day is it today? Tohoku Edition [0805]](https://jp.neft.asia/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/0805-150x150.png.webp "[What day is it today? | Tohoku Edition] What day is August 5th?")
