Idakiso Station (伊太祈曽駅, Idakiso eki) is a passenger railway station in located in the city of Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway company Wakayama Electric Railway.
Idakiso Station 伊太祈曽駅 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Idakiso Station | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Idakiso, Wakayama-shi, Wakayama-ken 640-0361 Japan | ||||
| Coordinates | 34°12′15″N 135°15′06″E / 34.2041°N 135.2516°E | ||||
| Operated by |  Wakayama Electric Railway | ||||
| Line(s) | ■ Kishigawa Line | ||||
| Distance | 8.0 km from Wakayama | ||||
| Platforms | 1 island platform | ||||
| Construction | |||||
| Structure type | At-grade | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Status | Staffed | ||||
| Station code | 08 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Opened | 15 February 1916 | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| FY2017 | 808 per day[1] | ||||
| |||||
Lines
editIdakiso Station is served by the Kishigawa Line, and is located 8.0 kilometers from the terminus of the line at Wakayama Station.
Station layout
editThe station consists of one island platform connected to the station building by a level crossing. The station is staffed.
Adjacent stations
edit| « | Service | » | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kishigawa Line | ||||
| Kire | Local | Sandō | ||
History
editIdakiso Station opened on February 15, 1916 as Sandō Station (山東駅) . It was renamed Idakiso Station (伊太祁曽駅) on August 18, 1933 after the nearby Shinto shrine. When the Kishigawa Line's ownership was transferred from Nankai Electric Railway to Wakayama Electric Railway in 2006, the station name was changed to its current name. The only difference between the two is the writing of the third kanji; the pronunciation remains the same. Some of the station's older signage retain the old writing format.[2]
Stationmaster cat
editIn January 2007, Kishi Station, the eastern terminus of the Kishigawa Line, named a stray calico cat named Tama as the stationmaster. The cat quickly became the face of the franchise and caused a surge of tourism to the railway line.[3] In February 2012, another stray cat named Nitama (literally "Tama two") was named Tama's apprentice, and was installed as Idakiso Station's stationmaster.[4] Following Tama's death in August 2015, Nitama was reassigned to Kishi Station.[5] In January 2017, another stray cat named Yontama ("literally "Tama four") was named stationmaster at Idakiso Station.[6]
Passenger statistics
edit| Ridership per day [1] | |
|---|---|
| Year | Ridership |
| 2011 | 623 |
| 2012 | 618 |
| 2013 | 656 |
| 2014 | 653 |
| 2015 | 872 |
| 2016 | 825 |
| 2017 | 808 |
Surrounding Area
edit- Wakayama Electric Railway Headquarters
- Idakiso Depot
- Itakiso Shrine
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "国土数値情報 駅別乗降客数データ". GIS (in Japanese). MLIT. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- ^ 住田至朗 (12 September 2018). "ちょっと不思議？【私鉄に乗ろう 65】". 鉄道チャンネル (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ Goss, Rob (22 May 2019). "The cat who saved a Japanese rail line". BBC. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ "ニタマ伊太祈曽駅長誕生！！". Wakayama Electric Railway (in Japanese). 18 February 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ Wong, Maggie Hiufu (25 August 2015). "Meet Nitama, the new cat in charge at Japan's Kishi Station". CNN. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ "和歌山電鉄 「よんたま、あなたを駅長見習いに任命する」" (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
External links
edit
Media related to Idakiso Station at Wikimedia Commons- Idakiso Station timetable
