EN日本語

Izuhakone Railway line2 min read

Izuhakone Railway Sunzu Line

駿豆線

The Sunzu Line (駿豆線, Sunzu-sen) is a 19.8-kilometre commuter railway in Shizuoka Prefecture, operated by the Izuhakone Railway.

Running from Mishima Station in the city of Mishima south to Shuzenji Station in the city of Izu, it is a single-track line laid to 1,067 mm narrow gauge and electrified throughout at 1,500 V DC overhead, serving 13 stations. Although it is a privately owned local railway, JR's "Odoriko" limited expresses run through onto it from Tokyo to reach the hot-spring town of Shuzenji.

IzunokuniNumazuShimizu5 km
Route of the Izuhakone Railway Sunzu Line · Shizuoka · Boundaries: MLIT / GSI / Japan Post

History

The line was not built by the state but by a private promoter. It opened for operations on 20 May 1898, when the Zusō Railway (豆相鉄道) connected Mishima-machi Station — present-day Mishima-Tamachi — with Nanjō Station, the site of today's Izu-Nagaoka. A short extension on 15 June 1898 linked Mishima-machi to the original Mishima Station, and the following summer, on 17 July 1899, the line was pushed south from Nanjō to Ōhito, establishing most of the present route.

Ownership then changed hands several times in the early twentieth century. The line became part of the Izu Railway on 19 July 1907 and passed to the Sunzu Electric Railway on 1 April 1912. That company merged with Fuji Hydroelectric in 1916 and was spun back out as the Sunzu Railway on 5 November 1917.

Electrification came in stages during the 1910s. The Mishima-machi–Ōba section was electrified on 10 August 1918, through-running with the local tramway began in May 1919, and the line was fully electrified by June 1919. The southern terminus was then extended from Ōhito to Shuzenji on 1 August 1924. Weekend through-services to Tokyo over the connecting national railway began as early as 1933.

On 1 June 1957 the Sunzu Railway was renamed the Izuhakone Railway, the company that runs the line today; the Izuhakone Railway is a member of the Seibu Group, and its corporate roots reach back to the Zusō Railway (豆相鉄道) founded in 1893. Under the renamed company the line was modernised: the supply voltage was raised from 600 V to 1,500 V on 7 September 1959, automatic block signalling was extended across the whole Mishima–Shuzenji route by 1967, and all freight operations were discontinued on 16 June 1972.

The limited express "Odoriko" started running on 1 October 1981, through-operating from Tokyo over the Tōkaidō Main Line and onto the Sunzu Line to terminate at Shuzenji; from 13 March 2021 the Odoriko services were re-equipped with E257 series stock and a limited-express charge was introduced for the Sunzu Line section. Among the railway's own trains, the 3000 series entered service in 1979 and the 7000 series in 1991.

The Sunzu Line links the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and JR interchange at Mishima with Izu-Nagaoka and Shuzenji. Local services are supplemented by the through "Odoriko" expresses from the capital. One-person operation of local trains began in 2009, and contactless tap payment was introduced at all stations in December 2024.

Stations on this line

13 stations tracked on the map, listed alphabetically. Select any to read its page.

Timeline
  • 189820 May: the Zusō Railway (豆相鉄道) opens the line, connecting Mishima-machi Station (now Mishima-Tamachi) with Nanjō Station (now Izu-Nagaoka).
  • 189917 July: the line is extended south from Nanjō to Ōhito.
  • 190719 July: the line becomes part of the Izu Railway.
  • 19121 April: the operator becomes the Sunzu Electric Railway.
  • 19175 November: after a 1916 merger with Fuji Hydroelectric, the railway is spun back out as the Sunzu Railway.
  • 191810 August: the Mishima-machi–Ōba section is electrified.
  • 1919The line is fully electrified by June; through-running with the connecting tramway begins in May.
  • 19241 August: the southern terminus is extended from Ōhito to Shuzenji.
  • 19336 May: weekend through-services from Tokyo begin running over the line.
  • 19571 June: the Sunzu Railway is renamed the Izuhakone Railway, a Seibu Group company, which still operates the line today.
  • 19597 September: the supply voltage is raised from 600 V to 1,500 V.
  • 1967Automatic signalling is introduced across the whole Mishima–Shuzenji route (25 March).
  • 197216 June: all freight operations are discontinued.
  • 19811 October: the limited express 'Odoriko' begins running, through-operating from Tokyo via the Tōkaidō Main Line to terminate at Shuzenji.
  • 202113 March: the Odoriko services are re-equipped with E257 series stock and a limited-express charge is introduced for the Sunzu Line section.
  • 202418 December: contactless tap payment by card or smartphone begins at all stations on the line.

Sources

Last updated 16 October 2026.

← All lines