is a train station

Train station

A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

 located in Ikeda, Osaka

Ikeda, Osaka

is a city located in Osaka, Japan. As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 104,704 and a density of 4,740 persons per km². The total area is 22.09 km²....

, but is on the border with Toyonaka

Toyonaka, Osaka

is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 388,633 and a population density of 10,680 persons per km². The total area is 36.38 km²...

 to the south and Minoo to the east. It serves as a transfer point for the Hankyu Minoo Line

Hankyu Minoo Line

The Hankyū Minoo Line is a Japanese railway line run by Hankyu Railway which links Ishibashi Station in Ikeda and Minoo. Its main function is to provide access to Osaka, but this requires a transfer except during commute hours....

 on one side and on the other side is an express station on the Hankyu Takarazuka Line．The station has five platforms connected by tunnels, two for Osaka-Takarazuka service, and three for Minoo service.

Ishibashi is home to one of the two campuses of Osaka University

Osaka University

, or , is a major national university located in Osaka, Japan. It is the sixth oldest university in Japan as the Osaka Prefectural Medical College, and formerly one of the Imperial Universities of Japan...

, and it is perhaps because of its large student population that Ishibashi has a rather bohemian

Bohemian

A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...

, and certainly foreigner-friendly, feel to it. Ishibashi station is surrounded by an interesting, scruffy, ugly, but entirely safe warren of bars, karaoke

Karaoke

is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...

 boxes, and izakaya

Izakaya

An is a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks. They are popular, casual places for after-work drinking.-Name:...

 restaurants along with more traditional small-stall shopping streets.

The word Ishibashi literally means Stone Bridge, referring to the old stone street bridge immediately north of the station over a small river that serves as the northern end of the shopping area, which is called Akai hashi.

Layout

There are three platforms with five tracks on the ground level.

History

The station opened concurrently with the opening of the Takarazuka Line and the Minoo Line on March 10, 1910. Since then the structure of the station as an interchange of the two lines has not been largely changed except for the stretched platforms.

On June 25, 1952, hours before the first scheduled train of the day, hundreds of protesters against the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 who left a meeting at the Osaka University campus thronged Ishibashi Station and forced station master to run a train to transport them to Osaka. After getting off the forcedly operated train at Hattori Station

Hattori Station (Osaka)

is a railway station in Toyonaka, Ōsaka Prefecture, Japan, on the Hankyu Takarazuka Line operated by the Hankyu Railway.- Adjacent stations :-External links:*...

, they marched and burst into Suita Classification Yard of Japanese National Railways

Japanese National Railways

, abbreviated or "JNR", was the national railway network of Japan from 1949 to 1987.-History:The term Kokuyū Tetsudō "state-owned railway" originally referred to a network of railway lines operated by nationalized companies under the control of the Railway Institute following the nationalization...

. As a result, more than one hundred people were arrested on charge of riot

Riot

A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...

. The incident is called the Suita Incident.

Adjacent stations

|-
!colspan=5|Hankyu

External links

• Ishibashi Station (Hankyu Railway)