Hojo Railway

A Country Branch Line Since 1915

The Hojo Railway (北条鉄道, Hōjō Tetsudō) is a 13.6-kilometer line running from Ao Station in Ono City to Hojomachi Station in Kasai City, Hyogo Prefecture; it opened in 1915 as part of the Banshu Railway, and four station structures at Hokkeguchi, Harima-Shimosato and Osa were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on April 25, 2014.

The company histories published by Kasai City and Hyogo Prefecture trace a line that changed hands more often than its stations changed shape. The Banshu Railway Company was founded in 1913, and the stretch between Hojomachi and Ao opened in March 1915. In 1924 the operator renamed itself the Bantan Railway; in 1943 the state bought it, and for four decades it ran as the national railways' Hojo Line. Hojo Railway Co., Ltd. was set up in 1984 and took over operation as a third-sector railway, jointly backed by public and private capital, on April 1, 1985.

At Ao the line meets the JR Kakogawa Line and the Kobe Electric Railway's Ao Line, and Hojo Railway revises its timetable in step with both. From Ao the one-car trains call at Abiki, Tahara, Hokkeguchi, Harima-Shimosato, Osa and Harima-Yokota before reaching Hojomachi in the center of Kasai.

The Four Registered Structures

The four carry registration numbers 28-0589 to 28-0592. Japan's Council for Cultural Affairs recommended them on November 15, 2013, and registration followed on April 25, 2014. Kasai City's newsletter noted that they were the first station buildings in Hyogo Prefecture to be registered at national level. All four were registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country.

• Hojo Railway Hokkeguchi Station Building and Platform (28-0589): a 1915 timber station with a stone-faced platform 67 meters long
• Hojo Railway Hokkeguchi Station Toilet (28-0590): a small 1915 privy built together with the station
• Hojo Railway Harima-Shimosato Station Building and Platform (28-0591): a station dated 1918 in the national record, with a 53-meter stone-faced platform
• Hojo Railway Osa Station Building and Platform (28-0592): a 1915 station with a 77-meter stone-faced platform

All three station buildings are single-story timber structures, roofed, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, partly in tile and partly in slate. What ties the group together is that each station was registered along with its platform, a raised bank faced in masonry. Hokkeguchi is the largest, with a building area of 85 square meters, followed by Osa at 60 square meters and Harima-Shimosato at 49 square meters.

The three stations sit one after another in the middle of the line: Hokkeguchi 6.1 kilometers from Ao, Harima-Shimosato 8.0 kilometers and Osa 9.8 kilometers. For Harima-Shimosato, Kasai City and the railway give an opening year of 1917, one year earlier than the 1918 date the national record assigns to the building.

Kept Up by Volunteers

Kasai City reports that in 2006 Hojo Railway began appointing volunteer stationmasters, residents of the city and beyond who sweep platforms, tend flower beds and run small classes in the waiting rooms. The registered stations are still in everyday service and owe much of their tidy condition to this help.

A presentation the railway gave to a Hyogo Prefecture meeting in July 2023 lists 21 round trips a day, with 23 minutes for the full run between Ao and Hojomachi.

Riding the Line and Visiting

Trains are driver-only. Board by the rear door and take a numbered ticket, then pay at the fare box beside the driver when you get off. Japan's nationwide transit IC cards are accepted, and Hojomachi Station has a ticket machine. Single fares from Ao are 310 yen to Hokkeguchi or Harima-Shimosato and 360 yen to Osa; from Hojomachi they are 210 yen to Osa, 260 yen to Harima-Shimosato and 310 yen to Hokkeguchi.

The one-day pass, 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for children, covers the whole line and is sold at Hojomachi Station, through ticket terminals at 7-Eleven stores across Japan and in the RIDE PASS app. With it you can ride up from Ao and step off at Hokkeguchi, Harima-Shimosato and Osa in turn, seeing all four registered structures in a single trip.

Each of the three stations has a free car park in front. The buildings and platforms belong to a working railway, so keep clear of trains and passengers, and do not step onto the track.