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Towada Kanko Dentetsu Co., Ltd. is a company headquartered in Towada City, Aomori Prefecture. The company operates bus routes in the southeastern part of Aomori Prefecture and sightseeing boats on Lake Towada. However, despite the fact that the company name includes "Dentetsu" (an abbreviation for "electric railway"), it does not operate any railways To explore the reason for this mismatch between the name and reality, 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 Electric Railway was founded in 1914, during the early Taisho period, more than 110 years ago. When it was first established, the company was called Towada KidoTowada Railway in 1920 , and the railway finally opened in September 1922. The section (at the time of opening) was 14.9 km, from Furamaki Station (later Misawa Station) to Sanbongi Station (later Towada-shi Station). At the time of opening, it was called a "light railway," with a gauge of 762 mm between the two rails, narrower than that of regular railways. Of course, it was used for transportation within the area along the line, but at the time, the main route for sightseeing at Lake Towada was from Sanbongi to the shores of Lake Towada, and the Towada Railway was also used for tourism.
In 1951, after the war, the track gauge was widened to 1,067 mm, the standard for Japanese railways, and electrification was implemented to allow for the supply of electricity for trains to run (before electrification, steam locomotives and gasoline-powered cars were used). With electrification, the company name was changed to Towada Kanko Dentetsu As the name suggests, the line continued to be active in promoting tourism around Lake Towada, and in the 1960s, as the baby boomer generation born after the war began attending schools along the line, it also became popular 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 Dentetsu Line peaked in 1970, and has since declined due to factors such as the increasing popularity of cars and the declining and aging population along the line. As time has passed, the number of bus routes available for sightseeing around Lake Towada has increased, and the line's competitiveness as a means of transport for tourists has also declined. While buses can connect hubs (such as train stations and bus terminals) directly to Lake Towada, those using the Towada Kanko Dentetsu Line must transfer at Towada-shi Station or elsewhere, so it is no wonder that tourists have shunned trains.
Due to its worsening financial situation, Towada Kanko Dentetsu established a new corporation in 2007, and transferred its business to the new corporation the following year in 2008, renaming the new corporation Towada Kanko Dentetsu (2nd generation). The original Towada Kanko Dentetsu, which had debts of 5 billion yen, was renamed Towada Management As a result of the above, Towada Kanko Dentetsu, which was established in 1914, and the current Towada Kanko Dentetsu, which was established in 2007, are, at least on paper, different companies.
The difficulties continued even after that. In 2010, the Tohoku Shinkansen opened between Hachinohe Station and Shin-Aomori Station, but no Tohoku Shinkansen stations were established along the Towada Kanko Dentetsu Line. The only Tohoku Shinkansen station that opened in a nearby area was Shichinohe-Towada Station in Shichinohe Town, Kamikita District, which is a Shinkansen-only station with no transfers to other lines. Before the Tohoku Shinkansen extension opened, tourists sometimes used the route of transferring from the JR Tohoku Main Line to the Towada Kanko Dentetsu Line at Misawa Station, but the opening of the Shinkansen almost completely cut off this flow of tourists.
The Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 also dealt a blow to tourism in the Tohoku region, which became a setback for Towada Kanko Railway. The hotel and bus businesses, which had been offsetting the deficit of the railway business, also slumped due to the effects of the earthquake, and with the need to fund future railway equipment upgrades, Towada Kanko Railway sought support from local governments along the line to keep the railway running. However, with the number of railway passengers declining and no bright prospects in sight, and with support for a private company not being within the existing financial framework, the local governments along the line all refused to provide support, raising the possibility that the railway would be discontinued.
In addition, the Towada City Station building needed to be rebuilt, and the building owner wanted the Towada Scenic Railway Line facilities to be removed from the building. This was a factor that hastened the decision on whether to continue or discontinue the railway.
Towada Kanko Electric Railway Line closes after 90 years of history
Due to declining usage and a lack of financial support, the Towada Kanko Dentetsu Line was decided to be closed. March 31st, 2012 was its last day of business, bringing an end to its 90-year history. The trains in use were scrapped, but two 7200 series trains were transferred to the Oigawa Railway, which runs in Shizuoka Prefecture, and are still in operation today. The 7200 series trains were transferred to Towada Kanko Dentetsu from Tokyu Corporation (now Tokyu Corporation), which runs in the Tokyo metropolitan area. They are now living a third life on the Oigawa Railway.
Meanwhile, major facilities such as Misawa Station* and Towada City Station were demolished after the Towada Kanko Dentetsu Line was abolished. With the rails and other equipment removed, there are almost no traces of the railway remaining, but the Shichihyaku Station building and surrounding tracks in Rokunohe Town, Kamikita District remain. The building of the carriage depot (car yard) adjacent to the station has also been preserved as Shichihyaku Railway Memorial Museum Cars used by the Towada Kanko Dentetsu are preserved within the building and are open to the public several 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 has lost its railway business, which it had operated since its founding, the company has not been dissolved and the name remains the same. The company continues to operate the Totetsu Bus a bus business it had operated before the line was closed It also operates express buses to Tokyo and Sendai, so the Totetsu name can be seen in areas outside of Aomori Prefecture.
Expressway buses operated by Totetsu Bus
The company also operates other businesses, such as the Lake Towada sightseeing boat service, Makado Onsen Ski Resort (closed for the 2023-2024 season), and an insurance agency. Towada Kanko Dentetsu is no longer a railway company, but it continues to operate businesses rooted in the local community, including a route bus service.
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