Watarase Keikoku Railway Omama Station Up Platform

The Kiryu-Bound Platform at Omama

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Omama Station Up Platform (わたらせ渓谷鐵道大間々駅上り線プラットホーム) is a stone up platform of Omama Station opened in 1911 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 stone platform 107 metres long, registration number 10-0302.

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 Up Platform lies east of the down platform (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Value as a Registered Cultural Property

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Omama Station Up Platform was registered as a structure contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that, with the down platform, it keeps the look of the station's opening in the late Meiji period.

What to Look For

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes a 107-metre structure with retaining walls of squared split stone laid in mortar; the part where carriages stop has been raised, but the walls are essentially original.

Watarase Keikoku Railway's pamphlet notes that the Watarase Keikoku Railway Omama Station Up Platform serves trains bound for Kiryu. Its kenchi stones are cut blocks about 30 centimetres square, named because six of them make one ken (about 180 centimetres). The 39 metres at the Kiryu end were altered in 1978, so the original platform is now shorter.

Visiting

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Omama Station Up Platform is part of Omama Station and can be seen when using the station (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).