About West Japan Railway Company

West Japan Railway, or JR West, is the main railway operator in Western Japan, headquartered in Osaka. It was originally established when the government-owned nationwide railway operator underwent a six-way territorial split in 1987. Its main assets are the Sanyo Shinkansen, which stretches from Osaka to Fukuoka, and the urban rail network in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area. Its nearly 5,000 kilometers of rail track covers a third of Japan’s population and a fifth of its land area. Rail operations contribute more than half of revenue, with most of the balance from retail operations, real estate investments, travel agencies, and hotels.