Historical Landmark D51 222 Steam Locomotive

[David]

Believe it or not, prior to the congestion on the roads and packed monorail cars in Okinawa that we see today, there was a rail system (which I'd arguably say would be more efficient today).

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Pre-war, it was said to be quite a busy rail system. Though, this was soon short-lived as the advancement of gasoline cars took most of the business away from the railway. Because of which, they cut services to just two lines.

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Both lines stopped operations in 1944-1945 during the aerial bombardments and ground wars during the Battle of Okinawa when they were nearly decimated.

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If you want to see a D51, that coincidentally never served the Okinawa rails, Yogi Park in Naha is home to the D51 222 Steam Locomotive. The D51 is a type of 2-8-2 steam locomotive—named due to its two leading wheels, eight powered wheels, and two trailing wheels—was built by various Japanese manufacturers from 1936 to 1945.

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Despite the historical disconnect from Okinawa, the D51 222 is still something to marvel at for train fanatics and aspiring kiddo engineers alike.