Plans to build Japan's first airport rail link surfaced in 1959 as Tokyo was preparing to host the 1964 Summer Olympics.

That year, the Yamato Kanko Co., Ltd.—later renamed the Tokyo Monorail Co.—was established to build the rail connection.

The monorail also connects with Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit's Rinkai Line at Tennōzu Isle Station.

Tokyo's Haneda Airport had emerged as the country's international gateway by the time Japan's commercial aviation industry recovered from the Second World War in the early 1950s.

[3]: 9 In August 1959, the Yamato Kanko Co., Ltd. was established to build the rail line; it renamed to Japan Elevated Railway Co., Ltd. a year later.

The company applied for a route license to build a straddle-beam, Alweg-type monorail in January 1960, which the Japanese government granted the following December.

To further minimize costs, the line was routed over other public waterways donated by local municipalities, which eliminated the need to acquire expensive private land, but reclaimed parts of Tokyo Bay, as well as rivers and canals.

[12][13] At the time of opening, the Tokyo Monorail ran a total length of 13.1 kilometers (8.1 mi) and served only its termini: Hamamatsuchō Station and the airport.

It was originally built as a temporary station above the water along the coast and only operated on days when an event was taking place at Ohi Racecourse.

The city government subsequently reclaimed the area around this station and developed a housing complex known as Yashio Park Town [ja].

[6]: 3 When the monorail began operating, the passenger terminal at Haneda Airport was located on the west side of the airfield, south of Seibijō, and this was the southern end of the line.

Upon the opening of a new passenger terminal—now Terminal 1—in 1993, the monorail was extended to a new platform and another station, Shin Seibijō, was built for the employees of nearby maintenance facilities.

[6]: 4  Meanwhile, the former airport passenger terminal was razed and the monorail tunnel beneath it abandoned to make room for an extension of Runway B.

[19] Although the rails were removed and its entrance walled off, the now-unused tunnel remains otherwise intact today below the Runway B extension.

In Japanese, the word "building" (ビル, biru) in the station names was modified to "terminal" (ターミナル, tāminaru).

[20][21] In June 2009, Tokyo Monorail Co., Ltd., formally notified the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of its intent to convert the present single-track terminal at Hamamatsucho, which has remained unchanged since 1964, into a dual-track, dual-platform structure.

To be built in six and a half years at an estimated cost of ¥26 billion, this would increase the line's capacity from 18 to 24 trains per hour and lay the groundwork for a long-mooted extension to Shimbashi Station.

[23][24] However, in 2021 JR East has announced the construction of the Haneda Airport Access Line which will connect Tokyo Station with conventional rail.

[27] On an artificial island within Kōnan [ja] just east of Shinagawa Station and the main campus of Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology,[28] the monorail starts to follow the Shuto Expressway Haneda Route alignment with a stop at Tennōzu Isle.

The purchase of "school commutate" multiple-trip tickets requires proof of a student discount certificate with the Open University of Japan.

[35] A special discount ticket is offered to riders needing to transfer to JR East's Yamanote Line.

[39] After a suspension of sales (except for commuter passes) due to the 2020–2023 global chip shortage, it was announced in January 2025 that the cards would be discontinued in March of that year.