The line is named after the black-headed gull (yurikamome in Japanese),[3] a common denizen of Tokyo Bay and the official metropolitan bird.

The artificial island of Odaiba, which it serves, had been designed and constructed at prodigious expense before Japan's economic crash and, much like London's equally beleaguered Canary Wharf, there simply did not seem to be enough demand to support it.

However, in 1996, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government re-zoned Odaiba from pure business and residential to also permit entertainment zones.

[6] On 27 March 2006, the section between Ariake and Toyosu opened and stations adopted letter and number codes based on Tokyo Metro.

[5] To raise itself from ground level to the Rainbow Bridge, the Yurikamome makes a 270-degree loop, providing panoramic views of both mainland Tokyo and Odaiba.

[1] This came at the start of a busy weekend when events were taking place at Tokyo Big Sight on Odaiba, but, according to news reports, alternate means of transportation were offered and there was no major confusion.

On the morning of 14 August 2006, a large-scale power outage in the Tokyo metropolitan area occurred, causing trains to come to a complete halt on the elevated tracks, trapping passengers for nearly an hour.

[9] At over 110,000 passengers per day, the Yurikamome is making a net profit and will pay off its loans in full faster than the 20 years originally anticipated.

[10] The extension has become more likely as part of infrastructure improvements for the 2020 Summer Olympics, which will largely be held within the Yurikamome corridor around Toyosu, Ariake and Odaiba, with six competition venues along its route.

[11][12][needs update] The Yurikamome is Tokyo's first fully automated and driverless transit system, controlled entirely by computers with no drivers on board.

[13][11][14] The Yurikamome is sometimes mistakenly called a monorail, but the trains run with rubber-tired wheels on elevated concrete track guided by the side walls.