Watarase Keikoku Railway Omama Station Building and Down Platform

The Gateway Station at Omama

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Omama Station Building and Down Platform (わたらせ渓谷鐵道大間々駅本屋及び下り線プラットホーム) is a single-storey timber station building rebuilt in 1941, with a stone down platform from the opening of 1911, standing at Omama-cho, Midori City, Gunma Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 2, 2009 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a single-storey timber station building with a tiled roof and a building area of 166 square metres, and a stone platform 73 metres long with a canopy, registration number 10-0301.

The Ashio Copper Railway

According to Watarase Keikoku Railway, the Ashio copper mine, bought by Furukawa Ichibei in 1877, grew to produce half of Japan's copper, more than horses and a horse tramway could carry, so a railway was built from Kiryu to Ashio. The Ashio Railway opened to Omama in 1911, reached Ashio in December 1912 and was completed to Ashio Honzan in 1914. Nationalised in 1918 as the Ashio Line, it has been run by Watarase Keikoku Railway since 1989.

According to Watarase Keikoku Railway, Omama Station opened as Omamacho Station in April 1911 and was renamed Omama in December 1912. The Watarase Keikoku Railway Omama Station Building and Down Platform lies about 2,800 metres south-east of the Teburiyama Flume (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Value as a Registered Cultural Property

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Omama Station Building and Down Platform was registered as a structure contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a simple, clear station design with white mortar walls.

What to Look For

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes a north-south gabled main block roofed in cement tiles, with a cross gable forming the front entrance and walls finished in white mortar. To the east, the original 73-metre platform carries a timber canopy.

Watarase Keikoku Railway's pamphlet says the building was rebuilt in 1941 because of growing passenger and freight traffic and the age of the old one, and still conveys a modern air. The platform canopy was added in 1929.

Visiting

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Omama Station Building and Down Platform is part of Omama Station and can be seen when using the station, a base for the Takatsudo Gorge, the Nagame theatre and old Omama town (Watarase Keikoku Railway). Watarase Keikoku Railway notes that all of its registered structures can be seen from the train.

Do not enter the tracks; view it from the train, the station or nearby roads. It is located at 1360-1 Omama, Omama-cho, Midori City, Gunma Prefecture, and other lots. Of the line's 38 registered structures, the 26 in Gunma and 11 in Tochigi are gathered on the group pages Watarase Keikoku Railway (Gunma Section) and Watarase Keikoku Railway (Tochigi Section).