The Yodo Line: Along the Shimanto River by Slow Train

The route

The name joins the two old provinces it links: Iyo, now Ehime, and Tosa, now Kōchi. It grew from the Ehime end. A small private railway opened from Uwajima to Chikanaga in 1914, the line reached Ekawasaki in 1953, and the last 43 km through the mountains to Wakai opened on 1 March 1974.

Trains start at Kubokawa, on the main line from Kōchi city, and run 4.4 km over another company’s track to Wakai, where JR Shikoku’s line begins. Soon the Shimanto comes alongside and stays for about 40 km, as far as Ekawasaki. There the river turns south for the sea and the train climbs into Ehime beside a smaller river, the Hiromi, then runs down to Uwajima on the coast. It is single track all the way, so trains wait for each other at stations.

The river has its own place in Japanese writing. An NHK documentary in 1983 gave it the name it still carries, the last clear stream. Sasayama Kyūzō’s six-part novel Shimantogawa follows a boy growing up in a village on its banks around 1960. In the 1991 film of it, he climbs above the river to watch the train taking his sister away to work in the town.

What the rail journey is like

At Kubokawa the train is often a single car, with locals and visitors in about equal numbers. On Torokko days the open wagon is coupled to the ordinary car, and passengers sit in the car until the open stretch begins. A few minutes out, past Wakai, the river appears, and from then on it is rarely out of sight.

What passengers remember first is the water. It is green, quick and clear enough to show the riverbed, even on a grey day. The line follows its bends, so the river slips from one side to the other, sometimes beneath the train on a steel bridge. Between the trees are tiny stations where schoolchildren and older passengers get on and off. At Tosa-Taishō the train may wait to pass a train coming the other way, and sometimes that is one of the line’s two hobby trains, decorated inside and out.

Beyond Tosa-Shōwa comes the heart of the line. The train slows for the bridges, and on the Torokko this is the open stretch. There is no glass. The wind is strong enough to take a hat, the engine is loud, and in the tunnels the air turns cold and bare bulbs pass overhead. Some trains carry a guide pointing out the sinking bridges, though the wind takes half of what is said. In spring, around Tokawa, hundreds of carp streamers hang on lines across the river.

The bridges are built that way on purpose. A railing would catch the logs a flood brings down; without one, the water and the driftwood pass over the top with almost nothing to stop them. There are 47 on the Shimanto, and Kōchi Prefecture protects them as part of the life and culture of the river.

After Ekawasaki the Shimanto leaves, and the train climbs into Ehime beside the Hiromi River, past rice fields, mandarin orchards and another railingless bridge. The last stretch, on the old 1914 railway, rides more roughly, and then the train runs down into Uwajima.

It is not a comfortable ride. The open wagon’s seats are hard, there is no toilet on board, and when rain comes the openings are covered and the view goes misty. A single car can fill to standing when a connecting train arrives. Almost everyone who writes about the line counts the noise and the jolting as part of the fun, and some say they would ride it again tomorrow.

The stages

Distances are from Kubokawa. Times are for the 09:39 ordinary train; the Torokko is slower. The river changes sides throughout, so sides are given only where they hold.

Stops worth breaking the journey for

JR tickets allow a break of journey only on longer trips, so ask at the ticket office whether yours does; if not, buy a ticket for each leg, or use a rail pass. With three through trains a day, a stop means waiting for the next one, so plan it around the timetable.

Kubokawa

Iwamoto-ji, temple 37 of the Shikoku pilgrimage, is about ten minutes on foot. Its main hall ceiling holds 575 paintings given by artists from across Japan. Open 7:00 to 17:00; free.

Tosa-Shōwa

About 20 minutes on foot to the Daiichi Mishima sinking bridge, which crosses the Shimanto right beside the Yodo Line’s own steel bridge. You can walk out across it, and with luck see a train cross beside you.

Matsumaru

A hot spring, Mori no Kuni Pocco Onsen, is in the station building, with a free foot bath outside (¥520 for the bath; closed the second Monday). Namedoko Gorge is about 30 minutes by taxi; book one ahead.

Uwajima

Uwajima Castle is one of only twelve keeps in Japan to survive from the age of castles, a 25-minute walk and climb from the station (¥200). Then try tai-meshi: raw sea bream on hot rice.

The Kaiyodo Hobby Museum, a collection of model figures near Utsuigawa, is reached by a bus on Sundays and public holidays, or otherwise a shuttle booked ahead, so allow half a day.

Planning the journey

Which side should I sit on?

It does not matter much: take any window. The line crosses the Shimanto so often that the river is on the right for one stretch and the left for the next, and passengers disagree about which side is better. If the car is quiet, move with the view. On the Torokko the open wagon has no glass, so you see both sides at once.

Should I ride the Torokko or the ordinary train?

Ride the Torokko if it runs on your day. It is the same train with an open-sided wagon added, and it gives you the wind, the sound of the river and the bridges below without glass. It runs westbound from Kubokawa at 13:15 and eastbound from Uwajima at 09:34. Since July 2026 the open stretch has been shortened “for the time being” to Tosa-Shōwa to Hage westbound and Hage to Tosa-Taishō eastbound. The rest of the way you ride in the ordinary car.

On other days the ordinary train is the same view behind glass. Two hobby trains also run in the ordinary timetable. The Kaiyodo Hobby Train carries model figures in glass cases, and the Tetsudo Hobby Train is made up to look like the first Shinkansen. We could not find their running days, so you may meet one by chance.

How do I book, and what does it cost?

The ordinary fare end to end was ¥2,040 in 2025, and there is nothing to book: buy a ticket at Kubokawa or Uwajima, the only staffed stations, and check the fare there. We found nothing to say that IC cards work on the line, so carry cash.

For the Torokko, buy a reserved seat as well: ¥530, or ¥260 for a child. Seats go on sale at 10:00 one month before, at JR ticket offices or online through JR West’s e5489, which cannot choose a particular seat.

The Japan Rail Pass covers the line except the first 4.4 km, Kubokawa to Wakai, which belongs to the Tosa Kuroshio Railway, so pass holders pay a small extra fare for it. We have not confirmed whether the pass covers the Torokko seat. The All Shikoku Rail Pass covers the whole route; its price rises on 1 December 2026, to ¥15,000 for three days.

Can I go there and back in a day?

Yes, from either end. From Kubokawa, take the 09:39 to Uwajima, arriving at 12:07, and come back at 13:27, giving about an hour and twenty minutes in Uwajima. From Uwajima on a Torokko day, take the 09:34 to Kubokawa and the 13:15 Torokko back, arriving at 16:08.

Can I travel with a mobility need, or with luggage?

Only partly, as far as we can find. Uwajima lists a step-free route but no lift, and its accessible toilet is outside the ticket gates; contact the station ahead. We found nothing published for Kubokawa, and the stations between are unstaffed platforms. We could not find how passengers reach the open wagon, and passengers report no toilet on board. The trains are one or two cars and can fill to standing, so a large case is awkward.

If the journey breaks down

Heavy rain is the usual cause. On 5 July 2026 a landslip put earth on the track between Hage and Ekawasaki, and buses replaced trains until 14 July. Smaller things happen too, such as fallen bamboo on the line. With so few trains, a cancellation can cost half a day. Check JR Shikoku’s service information on the morning you travel. Leave a buffer before any onward train from Kubokawa or Uwajima, where the wait can be a few minutes or more than an hour.