Idakiso Station

Idakiso Station

伊太祈曽駅
Station entrance
Idakiso Station
General information
LocationIdakiso, Wakayama-shi, Wakayama-ken 640-0361
Japan
Coordinates34°12′15″N 135°15′06″E / 34.2041°N 135.2516°E / 34.2041; 135.2516
Operated by Wakayama Electric Railway
Line(s)■ Kishigawa Line
Distance8.0 km from Wakayama
Platforms1 island platform
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Other information
StatusStaffed
Station code08
History
Opened15 February 1916 (1916-02-15)
Passengers
FY2017808 per day[1]
Location
Idakiso Station is located in Wakayama Prefecture
Idakiso Station
Idakiso Station
Location within Wakayama Prefecture
Idakiso Station is located in Japan
Idakiso Station
Idakiso Station
Idakiso Station (Japan)
Idakiso Station, March 2012

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.

Lines

Idakiso Station is served by the Kishigawa Line, and is located 8.0 kilometers from the terminus of the line at Wakayama Station.

Station layout

The station consists of one island platform connected to the station building by a level crossing. The station is staffed.

Adjacent stations

« Service »
Kishigawa Line
Kire Local Sandō

History

Idakiso 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

Main article: Tama (cat)

In 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

Ridership per day [1]
Year Ridership
2011 623
2012 618
2013 656
2014 653
2015 872
2016 825
2017 808

Surrounding Area

See also

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Goss, Rob (22 May 2019). "The cat who saved a Japanese rail line". BBC. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  4. ^ "ニタマ伊太祈曽駅長誕生！！". Wakayama Electric Railway (in Japanese). 18 February 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  5. ^ Wong, Maggie Hiufu (25 August 2015). "Meet Nitama, the new cat in charge at Japan's Kishi Station". CNN. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  6. ^ "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.