Sakura Shukugawa Station
Encyclopedia
Nishinomiya, Hyogo
is a city located in Hyōgo, Japan, between the cities of Ōsaka and Kōbe. On April 1, 2005, the city of Nishinomiya celebrated its 80th anniversary. It is best known as the home of Kōshien Stadium, where the Hanshin Tigers baseball team plays home games and where Japan's annual high school baseball...
, Hyōgo Prefecture
Hyogo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...
, and is operated by the West Japan Railway Company
West Japan Railway Company
, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group companies and operates in western Honshū. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka.-History:...
. The station is on the JR Kobe Line
JR Kobe Line
The is the nickname of portions of the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Sanyō Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture...
which runs between Osaka Station
Osaka Station
is a station on the West Japan Railway Company located in the Umeda district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. It is the city's main rail terminal in the north....
and Himeji Station
Himeji Station
on the West Japan Railway Company is located in the heart of Himeji, Japan. Himeji is a major stop on the Sanyō Main Line, and the western end of the JR Kobe Line...
; part of the Tōkaidō Main Line
Tokaido Main Line
The is the busiest trunk line of the Japan Railways Group , connecting Tōkyō and Kōbe stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities...
. The station was built between two existing JR stations, Nishinomiya Station
Nishinomiya Station (JR West)
is a train station located in Ikeda-chō , Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan operated by the West Japan Railway Company . The station is on the JR Kobe Line which runs between Osaka Station and Himeji Station; part of the main Tōkaidō Line...
and Ashiya Station
Ashiya Station (JR West)
is a train station on the Tōkaidō Main Line of JR West, located in Ashiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Operation:The JR station consists of six tracks, with two island platforms serving the four tracks on the inside, and two express tracks on the outside for passing trains...
. As a part of the JR West Urban Network, the following cards are accepted: J-Thru Card, ICOCA
ICOCA
The card is a rechargeable contactless smart card used on JR West rail network in Japan. The card was launched on November 1, 2003 for usage on the Urban Network, which encompasses the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe...
, Suica
Suica
is a rechargeable contactless smart card used as a fare card on train lines in Japan. Launched in November 2001, the card is usable currently in the Kantō region, at JR East stations near Sendai and Niigata...
, and PiTaPa
PiTaPa
is a contactless smart card ticketing and electronic money system used in the Kansai region of Japan. The name PiTaPa is an acronym of "Postpay IC for Touch and Pay"...
.
The station's name comes from the park approximately 200m west of the station, Shukugawa Park (夙川公園). The park is situated on the banks of the Shukugawa riverbed and is famous for its annual display of Cherry Blossoms
Sakura
A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...
, and is quite a popular site for flower viewing parties
Hanami
is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms or ume blossoms. From the end of March to early May, sakura bloom all over Japan, and around the first of February on the island of Okinawa...
.
Station Placement
Most of the JR Kobe LineJR Kobe Line
The is the nickname of portions of the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Sanyō Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture...
runs on , meaning that there are two tracks for each direction. Similar to other stations such as Kōnan-Yamate Station
Konan-Yamate Station
is a train station in Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Adjacent stations:...
, Sakura Shukugawa Station is of the island type, that is situated between the four tracks. Specifically, it is between the two inner tracks that provide local service. Local trains stop at this station. Rapid Service trains pass the station on the same track, but do not stop. Special Rapid Service and other Limited Express trains pass by on the outer track.
Building Design
With regard to the design of the station building, the basic concept was to give the station a natural warmth and vibrance. The roof line is a conceptual representation of waves flowing down the Shukugawa River, and the walls are the color of cherry blossomsSakura
A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...
.
Hyōgo Prefecture Highway 82 passes underneath the platform and tracks.
Train Platforms
| 1 | ■ JR Kobe Line JR Kobe Line The is the nickname of portions of the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Sanyō Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture... (Tōkaidō Main Line Tokaido Main Line The is the busiest trunk line of the Japan Railways Group , connecting Tōkyō and Kōbe stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities... ) |
for and |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | ■ JR Kobe Line JR Kobe Line The is the nickname of portions of the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Sanyō Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture... (Tōkaidō Main Line Tokaido Main Line The is the busiest trunk line of the Japan Railways Group , connecting Tōkyō and Kōbe stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities... ) |
for , and |
Area Around the Station
- Shukugawa River (West of the station)
- Shukugawa Park (West of the station)
- Hankyū Kōbe LineHankyu Kobe LineThe of Hankyu Railway is one of the three major commuter heavy rail line in the Keihanshin conurbation of Japan. It links the urban centres of Osaka and Kobe by connecting the major stations of Umeda in Osaka and Sannomiya in Kobe....
- Shukugawa StationShukugawa Stationis a train station operated by Hankyu Corporation in Aioichō, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Lines:*Hankyu Railway**Kōbe Line**Kōyō Line -Layout:...
(To the northwest) - Hanshin Main Line - Nishinomiya StationNishinomiya Station (Hanshin)is a train station on the Hanshin Electric Railway Main Line in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The station is called "Hanshin Nishinomiya" or "Han-Nishi" to distinguish the name from Nishinomiya Station on the JR West Tōkaidō Line and Nishinomiya-kitaguchi Station on Hankyu...
(To the southeast) and Kōroen Station (To the southwest) - Route 2Route 2 (Japan)National Route 2 is a major highway on the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū in Japan. It follows the old Sanyōdo westward from the city of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture in the Kansai region to the city of Kitakyūshū in Fukuoka Prefecture, passing through the San'yō region en route...
- Nishinomiya Jinja (Eight minutes walk south)
Station history
- 2001 - Construction began. Tentative station name: JR Shukugawa (JR夙川駅).
- 22 November 2006 - Official station name announced: Sakura Shukugawa (さくら夙川駅).
- 18 March 2007 - Station opens to the public and passenger service begins.
Adjacent stations
History
- The establishment of this station was quite unique. Normally, the local government encourages people to petition for a new station to be built. The widening of Prefecture Road 82 was already underway and money from the national government was being used. Because of that, basically, Nishinomiya didn't have the burden of petitioning for the station, but rather JR West went to the government and began to work out the plans for a new station.
- Prefecture Road 82, directly below the station, had already been undergoing construction to widen the road, so when the construction of the station began, both construction sites were operating at the same time, one on top of the other.
- In preparation of JR Sakura Shukugawa Station's opening, on 28 October 2006, both Hankyū RailwayHankyu Railwayis a Japanese private railway that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region and is one of major businesses operated by Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc. The railway's main terminal is at Umeda Station in Osaka...
and Hanshin Electric RailwayHanshin Electric Railwayis a Japanese private railway company of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links Osaka and Kobe. It also owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.The second character for Osaka and the first character for Kobe combine to form the company name, 阪神, which can be read Han-shin.IC cards are accepted when...
altered their schedules and changed which trains would stop at the stations that are direct competitors of JR Sakura Shukugawa Station. At Hankyū Shukugawa StationShukugawa Stationis a train station operated by Hankyu Corporation in Aioichō, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Lines:*Hankyu Railway**Kōbe Line**Kōyō Line -Layout:...
, where before only local service stopped, now Limited Express and Commuter Express would stop. At Hanshin Kōroen Station, Limited Express trains began stopping in the morning. These changes were made, it is thought, to go head-to-head with the new JR Sakura Shukugawa Station. - Before the station opened to the public, there was no practice for stopping the train at the station in an actual train. Training was presented in a classroom. The train operator labor union severely opposed this. In response, it was decided that for any operator stopping at Sakura Shukugawa Station for the first time would be accompanied by an instructor.